How Fear of the Unknown Inspires Sheer Panic Man has always reacted passionately to strong emotions. It is an evolutionary reaction for most social animals to do so. Feelings that convey a lot of passion, such as anger, sadness, or fear, have a big role in our society. Unfortunately, when feelings become too passionate, or too intense, people begin to revert to an animalistic nature. This is displayed in The Crucible, when the town of Salem is paralyzed by the fear of its unknowns: witches. Over the course of the play, people are accused of witchcraft, thrown into jail, and become victim to one of the strongest enemies that man has, fear, and at that, fear of the unknown. All the while, the author Arthur Miller writes a convincing parallel
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In a time where Communism (The “Red” of the red scare: reflecting Russia’s colors) was beginning to appear as a functional idea, the United States government began to crack down on believers in its own freedom filled land. One of the biggest spots the State’s government hit was one of its cultural epicenters, Hollywood. In a land of dreamers, idealists, and very liberal politics, communism was a dream, and that dream floated over the head of a young Arthur Miller. He wrote the Crucible as an allegory, displaying how the United States handled the Red Scare. He even goes so far as to write about communism in Hale’s introduction, saying that “in America any man who is not reactionary in his views is open to the charge of alliance with the Red hell.” (P183) The allegories purpose is to show that people change over time, similar to what Miller says in his rambly intro to the priest. Three hundred years ago, man believed in witches, devils, and other ridiculous secular ideas that are now scoffed at. What Miller is trying to say is that maybe, in another three hundred man will believe that a society in which humans are all equal in the things that are received, or at least have the ability to be able to chose their ideological views without ridicule or jail time. Miller shows that the fear in the town of Salem reflects the fear in America. It is the fear of the unknown, not the fear of wrong or
In a time where Communism (The “Red” of the red scare: reflecting Russia’s colors) was beginning to appear as a functional idea, the United States government began to crack down on believers in its own freedom filled land. One of the biggest spots the State’s government hit was one of its cultural epicenters, Hollywood. In a land of dreamers, idealists, and very liberal politics, communism was a dream, and that dream floated over the head of a young Arthur Miller. He wrote the Crucible as an allegory, displaying how the United States handled the Red Scare. He even goes so far as to write about communism in Hale’s introduction, saying that “in America any man who is not reactionary in his views is open to the charge of alliance with the Red hell.” (P183) The allegories purpose is to show that people change over time, similar to what Miller says in his rambly intro to the priest. Three hundred years ago, man believed in witches, devils, and other ridiculous secular ideas that are now scoffed at. What Miller is trying to say is that maybe, in another three hundred man will believe that a society in which humans are all equal in the things that are received, or at least have the ability to be able to chose their ideological views without ridicule or jail time. Miller shows that the fear in the town of Salem reflects the fear in America. It is the fear of the unknown, not the fear of wrong or