The Crucible’s hidden meaning An allegory is a narrative story which is similar in events, characters, and settings to another situation (Abrams 4). Many people in the world are afraid that history will repeat itself. During the 1950’s it was known as The Communist Red Scare. Many of the characters and events that happened during this time period, are similar to what happened during The Salem Witchcraft Trials in Massachusetts in the year 1692. The Crucible written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the similarities of Abigail Williams and Senator Joseph McCarthy, false accusations, people starved for power, and lack of evidence against the accused. One of the most noticeable connections is the similarities between Abigail Williams in The Crucible
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In The Crucible there wasn’t sufficient proof to demonstrate people were witches. Elizabeth was given a doll by Mary Warren and later accused of sticking a needle in the VooDoo doll to harm Abigail (Miller 1243). There is no way to prove that Elizabeth used witchcraft to harm Abby. It is very likely that Abby could have stuck herself with a needle to make it look like Elizabeth was practicing witchcraft. During the time the witchcraft trials were going on The Reverend Increase Mather, President of Harvard College and father to Cotton Mather, denounces the use of spectral evidence. (Linder “Famous American Trials”). Which most of the cases going on at the time were based on spectral evidence. Soon after this was announced the accusations of witchcraft diminished. Similarly in The Red Scare accusations proved to not have sufficient evidence. Senator McCarthy accused the United States military with little to no evidence (Appleby, et .al 550). His initial allegations against government officials proved to be false, so he called out the U.S military for communist activity. McCarthy had no solid evidence to support this accusation. The public began to question McCarthy and other accusers (Appleby, et .al 550-551). They questioned the source of his names and the extent of the communist threat. Additionally people started to believe Senator McCarthy had a hidden agenda. It is evident in both The Crucible and The Communist Red Scare little or no proof supported the
In The Crucible there wasn’t sufficient proof to demonstrate people were witches. Elizabeth was given a doll by Mary Warren and later accused of sticking a needle in the VooDoo doll to harm Abigail (Miller 1243). There is no way to prove that Elizabeth used witchcraft to harm Abby. It is very likely that Abby could have stuck herself with a needle to make it look like Elizabeth was practicing witchcraft. During the time the witchcraft trials were going on The Reverend Increase Mather, President of Harvard College and father to Cotton Mather, denounces the use of spectral evidence. (Linder “Famous American Trials”). Which most of the cases going on at the time were based on spectral evidence. Soon after this was announced the accusations of witchcraft diminished. Similarly in The Red Scare accusations proved to not have sufficient evidence. Senator McCarthy accused the United States military with little to no evidence (Appleby, et .al 550). His initial allegations against government officials proved to be false, so he called out the U.S military for communist activity. McCarthy had no solid evidence to support this accusation. The public began to question McCarthy and other accusers (Appleby, et .al 550-551). They questioned the source of his names and the extent of the communist threat. Additionally people started to believe Senator McCarthy had a hidden agenda. It is evident in both The Crucible and The Communist Red Scare little or no proof supported the