Similarities Between The Red Scare And The Crucible

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Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, is essentially about the horrifying Witch Trials of 1690 Salem, Massachusetts. However, there is another witch hunt at the heart of this short play; Miller subtly writes about the search for communists in 1950’s America. Between the two, there are many, many similarities, and few differences.

In 1950’s America, the World War II had just ended, and the Cold War had just began. Everybody was terrified of communists infiltrating America from the inside out. This is now known as America’s second “Red Scare.” A "Red Scare" is the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. The United States had a hatred of communism so deep, they had a lingering fear of being invaded by communists, and felt they had to do something about it. The House Un-American Activities was a committee of the US House of Representatives created to investigate disloyalty and subverse organizations; in the 1950’s however, this committee was primarily focused on Anti-communist investigations. …show more content…
Witchcraft became the widespread fear of colonial Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in 1690 Salem, MA. These trials began in February 1692, and came to an end in May 1693. These trials led to the executions of twenty people, fourteen of whom were women, and all of which were presumed guilty until proven

Similarities Between The Crucible And The Red Scare

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller relates this play to the Red Scare of the early 1900’s. Americans were terrified of communists, when someone was accused of being communist they were either imprisoned or killed. In the crucible the town of Salem is known for false accusations, but somehow many people believed them. People would be hung or imprisoned for being accused of witchcraft. The crucible and the red scare are similar because they both represent a period in which false accusations were made and…

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Similarities Between The Red Scare And The Crucible

The final thing that the Red Scare and “The Crucible” share is that the accusers did not have intentions of doing good, but instead only sought for self wants and needs. For example in “The Crucible” Abigail Williams and John Proctor had sex while John was married to his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth had been cold to John and John’s wants were not being fulfilled so Abigail capitalized upon the opportunity presented. Abigail falls for John but John wants nothing to do with her. When the Witch Trials…

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The Crucible Essay

0032: period 5 18 March, 2015 The Similarities Between The Crucible and The Red Scare Accusing someone of false accusations is easy. Seeing that someone face consequences for those accusations is difficult and often unheard of. In the case of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the false accusations made by the girls were carried out causing the victim’s lives to end with a rope around their neck and nothing more than air beneath their feet. A similar connection is found between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the people associated with the Red…

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Why Did Arthur Miller Write The Crucible

playwright who was born in Harlem,New York in 1915. (biography).The question that lies within the society today is why did Arthur Miller write “The Crucible”? Miller wrote this production in the 50’s, when specific individuals were accusing others of supporting communism without evidence. Essentially, Miller wrote “The Crucible” to explain the similarities between the persecution people were going through in his times and the persecution people went through two-hundred years prior in the Salem Witch Trials…

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Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthyism

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Communist Witch Hunt during the McCarthy Era, which showcases the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare. The Crucible shares many concepts with that of the McCarthy Era, such as the similarities between the trials, the paranoid and hysterical crowd mentalities, and the plot occurrences. Perspectives are influenced, judgements become distorted, and vengeance comes forth when both reputation and pride are put on the line during…

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Self-Interest In The Crucible

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…

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Crucible: Rwandan Genocide and Black Sea Coast Essay

Research Paper Find 2 or 3 examples from history that have similar themes that we have seen in the Crucible. You will need to do research on these historical experiences in order to be able to write about them. Discuss each of these themes and make comparisons between the Crucible and one of the historical examples: false authority or authority figures basing themselves on representing the "word of God", herd mentality, separation of Church and State. In conclusion, talk about some of…

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The Crucibal - Symbolism Essay

evidence. It feels like the media and everyone you know suddenly hates you, and there’s no way out of this snowball effect. Play writer Arthur Miller used his playwright "The Crucible" to symbolize the similarities between the Witch Hunts and the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600s and the threat of Communism, and The Red Scare, in the 1960s. Both incidents used scapegoats in order to relieve tensions and attempt to calm the people by creating a common enemy to take the blame. The lack of technology…

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The Crucible Never Again Essay

After tragic events in history, it is common for people to say “Never Again”, but unsurprisingly, it always happens again. For example, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was originally based on the Salem Witch Trials, with allusions to the Red Scare. Still, this powerful book can be applied to many other historical events because humans constantly repeat their mistakes. Any historical era where fear triumphs over truth can be reflected in Miller's skillful storytelling. Moreover, the story paints a vivid…

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The Crucible Act Structure Essay

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller is a four Act play that reveals the heinous crimes and the malicious vendettas brought upon the people of Salem, due to nothing but their own greed, envy, lust, and fear with an overall fable that compares the similarities of the atrocities in Salem of the 1690’s to false accusations and murders of McCarthyism during the red scare. While most plays follow the guide lines of The Five-Act Structure or even the more simplistic Three-Act Structure, The Crucible seemingly…

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