Similarities Between The Crucible And The Second Red Scare

Improved Essays
The Second Red Scare bears many similar aspects of the historical event of Salem Witch Trials, which turned into a historical basis for the somewhat fictional play of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The Crucible was an allegory of The Red Scare and McCarthyism, an era of communist fear and espionage, where the HUAC accused many Americans of being a communist without clear evidence. Similarly so, The Crucible portrayed a time mass hysteria over the fear of people committing witchcraft. The Second Red Scare was very similar to The Salem Witch Trials in the ways that both of these events are fueled by fear and presented unfair trials, insubstantial evidence, and one-sided allegations. Both these events historically reflect each other in ways of

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Due to his experiences in the 1950s, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to portray the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller Is much more than just a dramatization of a Witch Hunt but instead is an example of human weakness, hypocrisy and vindictiveness. Throughout the Witch Trials people in Salem were able to seek revenge on their enemies, human weakness, and show the outright hypocrisy of the witch trials as a whole. Throughout The Crucible you see examples of these three elements through Abigail, Mrs.Putnam, Parris, and many other characters. Quotes and examples from the text will show how The Crucible was a clear illustration of these elements through the storyline, conflicts between characters and the play itself. The Crucible as a whole is a pure example of hypocrisy through some of the main characters.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During American history, the red scare event that parallels that of the witch trials in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Red Scare was an event when the United States was scared of communism and Soviet spies in America. In the Salem witch trials people were afraid of witchcraft the same way that Americans were of communism. Parallels are infallible between the Crucible by Arthur Miller and the Red Scare in American history.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Red scare and The Crucible (Arthur Miller), both are tied with each other because many articles are compared to one another and are as if history is repeating itself, just in different ways and for different reasons. The Red Scare was the hunt for communists in America and The Crucible was the hunt of witches in Salem. I am sure there are plenty of things that both The Red Scare and the Crucible had in common but I will go through many articles and compare the two to see why they are similar.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible has been compared with many events in real life that has happened in life, such as the Holocaust the Holocaust was such a tragic event that had many people killed. Till this day it is one of the worst things that has ever happened in history. Just like the Holocaust in the novel The crucible by Arthur Miller compares and is similar to the event like the Holocaust. Just like the holocaust has none leader that would give cammons and tell everyone what to do, something like a boss. The leader who would give commands and orders to everyone around them.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Has a story about you ever been twisted? the Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red scare in the Mccarthyism era; in both stories people feared something whether it was witchcraft or communism. they also have people that twist the story to benefit themselves or others, and exaggerated rumors or lies just to help themselves or hurt others. Something as little as fear in people could really be big. Communism in the time period was really bad, people had thought that it was going to take over.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Dillon Shuster Mrs. Jacobs Honors English 11 15 October 2015 The Holocaust And The Crucible Two seemingly unrelated events that have so much more in common than just the word, “the.” Although these times were hundreds of years apart, numerous connections can be made throughout the two events. Hitler had an astounding amount of power over the Nazi army.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Use Power Wisely” During the late 1940’s and early 2950’s the fear of communism spread through America like wildfire. Investigations took place and the outcome was based on a few people with authority. The judge or investigator decided the future of these suspects. Many people went to jail or had their lives destroyed based on little evidence. The Red Scare was very similar to the Salem Witch Trials in the1690’s.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible- who’s the blame The Crucible, by Arthur Miller was a play that dealt with many false trials in Salem, Massachusetts that condemned many innocent beings to death, leading the country to its first severe trial. These trails are performed to drive Satan out of Salem so that Satan could not corrupt more of God’s children . Arthur Miller created this play to show how similar it was to the Red Scare. During the 1950’s the government tried to drive out communist in our country, just like in the play where the higher government tried to rule out the Salem witches. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was John Proctor’s flaw, lust and pride that led him to be most responsible for the tragedies that happened…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Crucible: Allegory, Or Just Befunky? Was the events in the Crucible a witch hunt?, crusade?, or just plain lust-lead Manslaughter? The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy Era because Abigail had no solid evidence that those she accused were actual witches (she only had her own word), Mccarthy accused hundreds of being Communists, and Mccarthy had a claim that the only proof was on a piece of paper, Abigail Williams had no solid evidence that those she accused were actual witches (she only had her own word) However those who believed her followed her almost blindly… As Abigail claimed more and more people had pledged themselves to the Devil the number of accused grew and so did the anxiety, people…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Puritanism exercised a profound influence on both the politics and culture of the seventeenth century…” (History Study Centre) Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century Puritanism had a large impact on almost every aspect of life. Similar to the previous quote, it was said there was almost no difference between religion and law during this era. Compared to modern laws, the laws of this time were much stricter; one could be sentenced to prison time or even be hung for things that are deemed more acceptable in today’s society.…

    • 1981 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in 1863, but African Americans continued to be separated from the rest of society. The Civil Rights Movement was a protest movement against discrimination and segregation of African Americans in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement began shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that “racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional” in the Brown v Board of Education case in 1954 ("- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum"). The case was the beginning of the movement that intensified during the 1960’s.…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The last person someone would ever expect to turn on them is their neighbors, friends, or even relatives, but the people of Salem, Massachusetts often found themselves in this situation. In 1692, a small town called Salem on the coast of Massachusetts began a horrific time period which was named the “Salem Witch Trials.” Innocent people were being hung because of these girls that pointed their fingers at someone they felt like accusing. The witch hunts that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts back in 1692 were not the only witch hunts that plagued the history of the United States. Joseph McCarthy, a Senator from Wisconsin, led a group that intensely investigated and punished anyone being suspected of being communist or anyone that was for the…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Unjust Trials In The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes about Giles Corey, a real man that lived during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The court executed Giles Corey for not turning in his friends. Eventually, the church exonerated Giles Corey. Similarly Jesus Christ, the son of God, executed for his proclamation of divinity, encountered the same tribulation as Corey.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible during the period of time where Americans were scouring for communists hidden within their society. Miller reflects upon those times a few decades later, explaining that “[i]n those years, our thought processes were becoming so magical, so paranoid, that to imagine writing a play about this environment was like trying to pick one's teeth with a ball of wool.” He compares writing about the Red Scare to picking teeth with wool to depict the ineffectiveness of both tasks. Like how wool simply brushes the enamel, authors writing about the Red Scare could only convey the hysteria they felt, and not objective details. Miller therefore states that his memories of those times were largely polluted by fear.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays