To view our updated curriculum, visit our 10th Grade English course. In The Crucible, the doll (as well as Rebecca Nurse) symbolizes the transformation of good to evil: dolls, in a normal society, represent childhood innocence and bring happiness. He argues that, in the 17th century, "the existence of witches was never questioned by the loftiest minds in Europe and America" because the Bible spoke of their existence. Although The Crucible was written because Miller considered many of the emotional and power dynamics of the Salem Witch Trials similar to the persecution of communists and fellow travelers by Joseph McCarthy and theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), it is not actually a "roman clef" ("story with a key") in which historical figures are intended to have a one-to-one correspondence with Miller's contemporaries. The church, the legal system, and the togetherness of the community died so that the girls and their families social status might be protected. An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. (D) someone who assembles equipment, -Joesph McCarthy - senator who leads the "witch hunts", -"House of Un-American Activities Committee", -Group of ten members of the Hollywood film industry who publicly exposed the tactics of the HUAC, -Very strict Protestant religion - protesting against the Church of England, -Broad term for language that is not literal - simile, metaphor, The setting is Salem, Massachusetts in a small Puritan community in 1692 (6 months - spring to fall), -The opposite of what is said is actually meant McCarthyism: The media were not willing to stand up to Senator McCarthy for fear of being accused of being a Communist. In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy brash and ill mannered but to many authentic and true (Article page 1), was very convincing in his supremacy. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. Who caused the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible? The Crucible vs. McCarthyism. The Boiling Cauldron: The controversy begins with Salem girls running wild through the forest around a cauldron of boiling water. Parris's niece, had an affair with John and was fired by his wife. There were, of course, communists in the US in the 1950s, but the vast majority of them had no designs on overthrowing the US government or becoming Soviet spies. Giles's wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones. The Crucible is a four-act play, which presents a dramatised and partially fictionalised depiction of the 1692 Salem witch trials. The hysteria was ignited by a group of young girls who were powerless individually, yet as a group, had the power to control the court. Communist infiltration of the US government and the Devils infiltration of Salem are both disastrous scenarios that must be prevented at all costs, even if it means throwing innocent people under the bus. (pg. Both times, decisions were made without any evidence. These questions are evidence of the hysteria that swept through Salem, Massachusetts during the winter of 1692 and again during the peak of the anti-communist revolution in the 1950s. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife. The puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th century. which character in the crucible represents joseph mccarthy -Reverend Hale begs people to lie, The audience knows something the characters do not -- results in suspense The book was written as a reaction to a tragic time in our countries history. Any man who has been named by a either a senator or a committee or a congressman as dangerous to the welfare of this nation, his name should be submitted to the various intelligence units, and they should conduct a complete check upon him. Having taught 'Crucible' many times to 11th-year students, I would surmise that the character most like McCarthy is Putnam. While the Salem witch trials occurred in the late 1600s, a similar unfortunate situation occurred in the 1950s with McCarthyism. The Crucible Character Analysis | LitCharts After Proctor is accused of witchcraft, he runs into a small pond and with arms spread shouts, God is dead. Proctor is in water, symbolic of baptism, and his arms are spread, symbolic of the Biblical Christ on the cross. each sentence. What happened to the city during the war in Fahrenheit 451? Explain. This extends to the Puritan government and church, both being entrusted to protect its citizens, yet both doing the opposite. Images Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe (scroll three-quarters down the page). Compare the events of the play to other historical or current events where innocent people are used as scapegoats. The main themes in The Crucible include the destructive power of lies, the importance of reputation, and hysteria and corruption. Communism was increasing around the world, and many Americans were in fear that the communists in the Soviet Union would take over the United States. She was controlling, crazy, wild, vindictive when crossed, , smart, good liar Rev. The Crucible represents a male-dominated world where the women have little power and are treated lesser and are most likely to be associated with the devil. Arthur Miller uses Abigail Williams is lying in the courtroom and to others in The Crucible to show the lying and unfair treatment of McCarthyism; there are many situations where Abigail Williams lies to try and protect herself from getting in trouble and blaming innocent people for witchcraft. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession. At first glance Senator McCarthy and Abigail Williams, the antagonists during McCarthyism and throughout The Crucible respectfully, seem very different, however, their actions and mannerisms are mirrored in many aspects. McCarthy was, in effect, conducting "witch hunts". Unfortunately, nobody actually doubted or suspected any of their mannerisms, and people were also scared of Joseph McCarthy and Thomas Danforth. The majority, however, valued their morals and refused to give into political pressure by lying. The Crucible manages a unique examination of political persecution as a means for deflecting attention from difficult situations. Judge Danforth a character in The Crucible was a puritan leader who was against witches. During the early 1690s in Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials took place. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Need some quotes to fill out your essay for English class? Proctor would represent any rebellion movement against the red scare, and the voice of reason and logic against mass hysteria that often gets squelched in the craziness that accompanies any type of witch hunt. In The Crucible, Arthur Millers message is that public hysteria based on fear destroys peoples lives. While at first glance you may wonder how McCarthyism and The Crucible are intertwined. Abigail Williams was a real person involved in the Salem Witch Hunt but her character in the play was altered a small bit for dramatic effect. (pours, pour). Mary Warren's poppet that was found inside the Proctor house with a needle inside it. The fear of witches only seems archaic because most of society no longer holds serious beliefs in the supernatural. The Second Red Scare happened between 1947-1954 and Sen. Joseph McCarthy feared that Soviet, Korean and Chinese communist spies occupied the federal government which later turned out to be false. How did McCarthy come up with his catalog of commies? McCarthy was a Republican from Wisconsin who rose through the political ranks in the 1940s and was elected to the Senate in 1946. On February 9, 1950, he claimed to possess a list of the names of 205 people in the US State Department who were members of the American Communist Party. The period of time play was written in was troubling at some senses for the USA. And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! Symbolism and Similarities Between McCarthyism and The Crucible What are the parallels between the incidents Miller dramatizes and the acts of Senator McCarthy in the 1950s? She accuses John Proctors wife of witchcraft in order to have him all to herself. Second, Proctor showed much pride during the trials as well as revealing his previous lust for another. McCarthy was an Republic Senator for the state of Wisconsin who made claims that Communist spies were in the U.S Federal Government. While a servant in John Proctor 's household, Abigail briefly became John's lover before Elizabeth found out and fired read analysis of Abigail Williams. If patriotism is taken too far, it can transform itself into a hatred of "outsiders" rather than a love of political freedoms. Many believe The Crucible's high profile as a criticism of McCarthyism partially led to Millers own investigation by HUAC. After all, communists are real, and witches arent. Salem was a Puritan society at the time, which meant that there was a strict moral code that encompassed Puritan lifestyle. This resulted with the death of 19 people including John Proctor and several other highly respected members of Salem., The Salem witch trials and the Red Scare both involved ongoing accusations that led to numerous innocent people being accused. From Salem to McCarthy | Chicago Public Library Manage Settings He had no proof. YOU WON'T TRICK ME WITH YOUR SHARING WAYS! The Forest: Puritans believed that the forest was the devils dominion. In Arthur Millers play The Crucible, there is evidence of parallels between the Salem of 1692 and America of the 1950's, the American Government of the 1950's and its misuse of power, and the high court depicted in the play, using its power to impose a misguided ju! In another relevant quote, Miller writes, "The Soviet plot was the hub of a great wheel of causation; the plot justified the crushing of all nuance, all the shadings that a realistic judgment of reality requires." 10th Grade English Curriculum - The Crucible | Common Core Lessons He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land. The Crucible: The girls unsubstantiated claims ruin lives and lead to increased hostility in Salem. Why, as a nation, do we fear others? In The Crucible, hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail's request. Learn who Aleister Crowley was and what influence he had on counter-culture with this article. The Salem witch trials took place in the late 1600s in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, about 260 years prior to when he wrote it. His greatest sin is his pride concerning his reputation. What are the main conflicts in The Crucible and why? He was sentenced for Contempt of Congress and was to be imprisoned for 1 month and to pay a $500 fine. Specifically, three of the townspeople showed their sins the most; Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Thomas Putnam. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. These investigations went on for two years, during which the questioning spread to numerous government departments, and there was a continued proliferation of communist panic. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. He was a target for Senator McCarthy. Everybody was afraid to speak up, tell their opinions in public, they all were afraid of being suspected to be against the truth which was the idea what leaders believed at the time. Her activities are crucial to the development of the drama. chapter 8 - schizophrenia spectrum and other, Psych study guide 1 (modules 4,5,6)(class not, Social Studies: The komagata Maru and Canadia. ", Latest answer posted October 02, 2020 at 10:46:39 AM. Miller wrote the play during the brief ascendancy of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a demagogue whose vitriolic anti-Communism proved the spark needed to propel the United States into a dramatic and fractious anti-Communist fervor during these first No matter how farfetched the accusations were, the copious amount of lies told within the small town made it nearly impossible for anyone to know what really happened. McCarthyism: McCarthys unsubstantiated claims ruined lives and led to increased hostility. PDF Notes on The Crucible - Amshawk&English Department A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor's husband. (B) one who gives professional or technical advice Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. ~John Proctor experienced internal conflict when deciding to tell the court about the affair, A reference to a famous work or famous literacy or historical character or event (bible references) eNotes Editorial, 9 June 2017, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/who-represents-whom-in-the-crucible-and-why-69913. Abigail has Mary Warren fooled. They were brought in if anyone even suspected they were a communist; they were ratted out by fellow workers, friends, and brought in for any tiny communist-esque slants in their work. Early in the essay, he relates the US State Departments fear of China after the communist takeover to the fear of black magic in The Crucible. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, even though most did not in fact belong to the communist party."The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, was written during the time McCarthyism took place which explains the major similarities between the two. Danforth also insists that "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between" (pg. The Crucible a play in which Arthur Miller changes some events of the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the problems that were happening in his own society. stice. Corey represents courage perfectly in The Crucible. The Crucible is a play by the American playwright Arthur Miller, it is a dramatized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in 1692. From their differing time periods and setting, both plays explore the justice system within society and the role people play within the system. Some people believed him because they had fear of communism. In his play, he used the Salem witch trials to represent the McCarthy Era because he saw that the nation was facing the same events that Salem went through back in the late 1600's. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. Underline the verb in The ghost supposedly appears every night at twelve. It took place in the Massachusetts Bay colony during the year of 1692, which was about a group of young girls in the Salem village who claimed to have seen others with the devil, and accused several innocent women of witchcraft. The Crucible: Those who are accused are assumed guilty, put on trial, expected to confess, and expected to accuse others of being witches. Even though he is not a character in the play, his role in history is important to Millers story. In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, which explores the consequences of the McCarthyism scare of the 1950s, students explore the central topics of history, community, herd mentality and truth. The play encapsulated the hysteria of the townsfolk and provided a general arc of the events, adding to my fascination surrounding the Salem witch trials and why they occurred., Arthur Millers play The Crucible was composed in the context of McCarthyism, using the subject matter of the Salem witch hunts to make comments about the communist witch hunts that occurred in the 1950s in America. I find Abigail to be the most intriguing character in the "The Crucible" because I feel she is manipulative and a home wrecker. McCarthy finally lost power in 1954 soon after proposing an investigation of the military to root out communists. At the same time, the communist. The Crucible and McCarthyism can be compared to other modern forms of rumor, persecution, suspicion, and hysteria such as: Now that you've read the article, you can try your hand at answering some of these discussion questions. Abby and the girls claim they see a bird - a metaphor for Mary's spirit, What does Judge Hathorne ask Mary Warren to do in court to prove she was pretending during her previous testimonies. The 1950s marked the beginning of the Cold War, an era of great tension between the US and the communist USSR. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, local teenage girls accuse women in the town of witchcraft. He was especially fascinated by people who disagreed with the communist "witch hunt" but chose to keep their heads down and go along with it to avoid their own persecution. As a result of this, Arthur Miller created the character in his play, "The Crucible" who is a McCarthy-like character named Judge Thomas Danforth, who spread the fear of witchcraft among many people while encouraging his own power in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible, directed Alex Segal. In both situations, there were people who confessed even though they had no relation to the crime at all. Download Unit Unit Summary Who are the main characters in the Crucible? Although The Crucible is fictitious, the story depicts the historical information of the Salem witch trials, and blends them with fictitious characters to create a very realistic plot and conflict in the story. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and its relation to McCarthyism - GRIN Latest answer posted April 17, 2020 at 1:25:04 AM. which character in the crucible represents joseph mccarthy 2021, In The Crucible, the character Abigail Williams represents Joseph McCarthy. Paranoia ensued. In The McCarthy Era it was said that there was spies in the US that had gotten control of the atomic bomb. As an effect of this bias, the accused were never discharged, but were given the opportunity to confess to the crime of witchcraft to lessen their sentence. They have no proof. This put fear and paranoia into millions and created The Red Scare that ruined many aspects of people lives, putting them into a mass panic. The Crucible and 12 Angry Men are two plays with the same theme of justice that is expressed differently throughout each play. Apparently, certain processes are universal." He tried to regain his passport but, the HUAC subpoena him to appear before them. All rights reserved. Puritans were a strict religous group that tolerated no devious behavior. The entire plot of the novel is moulded by the repressive Puritan society. Joseph Mccarthyism In The Crucible - 688 Words | Studymode Reverend John Hale A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Abigail cheats with John Proctor behind Elizabeth Proctor's back. This type of harmful attitude remains an issue in the US to this day. Is this a timeless cautionary tale. Elizabeth Proctors Pregnancy: Elizabeths execution is stalled on account of her pregnancy. A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam's brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. Identify appropriate dress for three special occasions. Paranoia ensued. Joseph McCarthy - The Crucible In The Crucible, Arthur Miller alludes to this period of time by using Abigail Williams to represent Joseph McCarthy and by using the General Court of Salem to represent the Division of Security. Martha's reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft. Meanwhile, HUAC, McCarthy and the subsequent paranoia were growing stronger by the day. While Miller did take some poetic license, combining characters and slightly altering their biographies, in fact, the characters in his play are all based on real characters who actually lived in Salem. Written in the early 1950s, "The Crucible" served as an allegory for Miller to criticize McCarthyism - a veritable "witch-hunt" of the Cold War era. Copyright 2022 Bright Hub Education. To be fair, Miller had less at stake than many others who were called before HUAC to testify. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Abigail represents the government and Joseph McCarthy who initiated the Red Scare because similarly she started the Salem Witch hunt by accusing Tituba and all the other innocent people as witches. Latest answer posted November 22, 2020 at 10:36:50 AM. As a result of this, Arthur Miller created the character in his play, The Crucible who is a McCarthy-like character named Judge Thomas Danforth, who spread the fear of witchcraft among many people while encouraging his own power in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote this play as a response to the political environment in which he lived. House of Un-American Committee was an investigative committee in the house of reps which is intentions were to uncover citizens with Nazi ties within the U.S but later after WW2 changed to investigate citizens with communist ties. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. The story follows the people of Salem, Massachusetts as their lives turn to chaos as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. Another congressional group called the House UnAmerican Activities Committee played a similar and, some would argue, even more dramatic role at the same time. Danforth claims that there is "a moving plot to topple Christ in the country!" She is a strong, well-known rep for being honest. Why, as individuals, do we fear others? In The Crucible, innocent people were in danger of being accused of witchcraft and during the reign of McCarthyism innocent people were being accused of communism. Originally, all Abigail wants is a man, John Proctor. Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. Abigail Williams is presented as one of the main antagonist in The Crucible. 87). In 1946 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and in 1950 he publicly charged that 205 communists had infiltrated .