Self-Interest In The Crucible

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This poem by Martin Niemöller is a very famous poem from the Holocaust period. This poem is a representation of the cowardice of people, who are unwilling to stand up for people if it is not in their self-interest. This idea ties into the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller because of people accusing others and not helping others, only because they do not want to get into trouble. But at the very end, they still were attacked, and this time, just like all the others, no one came to save them. Within The Crucible, self-interest is a trait that is displayed by many people, even the protagonist, John Proctor. McCarthy wanted to raise his position in office using a scare tactic claiming he had many names of communists. This act, putting other people’s …show more content…
Miller uses the theme of selfishness, one that can be related to widely today, to show the similarities between the Red Scare and the Witch Trials of Salem. Parris, who is a prominent figure, fears of nothing but his reputation, and he wants to help himself become richer as he becomes a pastor, demanding goods of gold and other things that benefit only him. McCarthy only wants his position to be higher, and consequently, destroys the reputation of his opposers by accusing them of being communists. In The Crucible, the family feud between the Putnams and the Porters cause them to cry out each other's names as witches constantly. These petty quarrels with the intent to hurt others is something common to both the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare. Therefore, this play is a perfect allegory of the Red Scare. The Red Scare had many accusations, many of which unfounded and wild, whereas The Crucible also had many accusations, many of them for the gaining of land or getting back at people for old wounds. The Crucible is best known as an allegory for the Red Scare, and Miller does an excellent job of creating the Red Scare in a Puritan society. Wounds are opened, and people start accusing others of being a specific something to get back at them, and they succeed, so they do it more, and other people decide to do it as well, which causes a massive disaster. As stated before, Executive Order 10421 was one of the catalysts to the Red Scare, as it made it easier for people to remove others from office. Just like in The Crucible, where the council that got together to “try” the witches, when all they were doing was making it more official and much easier for people to accuse others of being
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