The Crucible An Artist's Answer To Politics Summary

In his article “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics”, Arthur Miller not only explains his reasoning for writing The Crucible, but also draws parallels between the play and the Second Red Scare. During the time of its release, America was in the midst of the McCarthyism and Communist paranoia ran unchecked throughout the country. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller formulates a near perfect analogy for the Second Red Scare through the Salem Witch Trials. His depiction of the paranoid Puritan atmosphere, fear of the court, and the fall of the integrity of leaders to mob hysteria greatly mimics the occurrences of the McCarthy Era. When Miller refers to the mindset McCarthy created for the American people he describes it as one alarmed by the prospect of enemy infiltration. He writes that McCarthy reduced it to “we had ‘lost China’ and would soon lose Europe as well, because the …show more content…
This is apparent in the character of Reverend Parris who at first says, “Thomas, I pray you, leap not to witchcraft” (The Crucible 14). Although he attempts to stop the reports of witches early, he quickly changes positions when he realizes the momentum behind the rumors. For fear of losing his reputation, Parris surrenders to the will of others and allows the accusations of witchcraft to run rampant. For Miller, Parris is analogous to President Truman who “was outraged at the allegation of widespread Communist infiltration of the government… But such was the gathering power of raw belief in the great Soviet plot that Truman soon felt it necessary to institute loyalty boards of his own” (“Why I Wrote”). Truman is at first affronted by the accusations of Communist plots in America, but he, like Parris, quickly surrenders to the momentum of the claims. Miller uses Parris as an analogy to demonstrate Truman’s failure to uphold his integrity in the face of mob