Similarities Between The Salem Witch Trials And The Crucible

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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 …show more content…
In the “Salem Witch Trials” the people in some cases were accused because they were not liked or not agreed with or maybe even jealous of. In “The Crucible” certain characters were accused because they had something that the accuser did not have: “She’d (Abigail) dare not callout such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John,” (Miller 61). In this case, Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witch craft for being married to John Proctor, whom is the man that Abigail, the accuser, still seems to love. Just like this people were accused of witch craft in Salem, for having something or believing in something that the accusers did not have or believe in. On the other hand, the people during the “McCarthy Trials” accused others for completely different reasons. During the “McCarthy Trials” people accused others as a form of staying out of jail: “Many of Miller’s peers, fearing the wrath of the court, provided names of the suspected communists in an attempt to save themselves,” (McCarthyism, The Red Scare, Communism, Arthur Miller). Unlike the “Salem Witch Trials,” the people of the “McCarthy Trials” had to rat out people regardless if he or she was liked or not, as long as it meant not going to jail. Along with jail, came the shame and the being looked upon as being against the U.S. so many people decided to give up whatever they needed to in order to continue their regular life. Even though there are differences, the “Salem Witch Trials” continue to resemble the “McCarthy Trials.” Both the “Salem Witch Trials” and the “McCarthy Trials” were serious time periods that marked the United States for the rest of eternity. Even though they were centuries apart, both resembled each other in unique ways, but also differentiated in distinctive ways. In “The Crucible” by

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