Arthur Miller’s “Are You Now or Were You Ever” discusses his purpose in writing the The Crucible and how the accusations that were made toward him led to the development of the play. During the 1950’s, there was a fear among society in the United States regarding communism. Communism is a political theory in which everyone in society works and is paid depending on their needs and property is publicly owned. Russia had once been a threat to the United States and its influence of communism still haunted the capitalist nation during the McCarthy era. Miller’s The Crucible, depicts the Salem witch trials that occurred during the 1600’s, which in a way relate to what was ocurring in 1950s America. It was a time of fear and chaos that erupted from
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One example of when Miller appeals to pathos is when he mentions, “ I thought I was making sense when the lady began screaming that I was killing the boys in Korea [ this was during the Korean war]. She meant me personally, as I could tell from the froth at the corners of her mouth, the fury in her eyes, and her finger pointing straight into my face”(Miller). During this part of his explanation, Miller is discussing the time of when he was accused of being a communist and had to go to trial. He appeals to pathos, not only for his audience to be able to understand his position at the time but also to prove that the witch trials in Salem were very similar to what was going on in during that time politically. The accusations that were made toward Miller risked his career as a writer and inspired him to write The Crucible. He continues his writing and states, “ Only this ritual of humiliation, the breaking of pride and independence,could win the accused readmission into the community” (Miller). The author explains that only by giving out the names of other communist whom they knew, could the accused be forgiven for their communits beliefs. He appeals to pathos by creating a sense of sympathy for the people that were accused in the witch trials and the anti-communist chaos. By doing so, Miller is also able to show the reader the correlation between both events in
One example of when Miller appeals to pathos is when he mentions, “ I thought I was making sense when the lady began screaming that I was killing the boys in Korea [ this was during the Korean war]. She meant me personally, as I could tell from the froth at the corners of her mouth, the fury in her eyes, and her finger pointing straight into my face”(Miller). During this part of his explanation, Miller is discussing the time of when he was accused of being a communist and had to go to trial. He appeals to pathos, not only for his audience to be able to understand his position at the time but also to prove that the witch trials in Salem were very similar to what was going on in during that time politically. The accusations that were made toward Miller risked his career as a writer and inspired him to write The Crucible. He continues his writing and states, “ Only this ritual of humiliation, the breaking of pride and independence,could win the accused readmission into the community” (Miller). The author explains that only by giving out the names of other communist whom they knew, could the accused be forgiven for their communits beliefs. He appeals to pathos by creating a sense of sympathy for the people that were accused in the witch trials and the anti-communist chaos. By doing so, Miller is also able to show the reader the correlation between both events in