Exploring the Politics of Fear: The Crucible

Arthur Miller compares John Proctor (a character in the crucible) to himself, which allows the reader to be able to relate and understand the similar experiences they had both faced. “The Crucible” shows how hard it was against corruption involving the court, which ended up leading to the death of very many individuals that should’ve been and were innocent in Salem. In “The Crucible” the play creates an allegory for Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of the similar experience he and John Proctor have with the Salem Witch Trials, and the similarity of the actions of the court in both of these situations.

In the novel, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, which was written in 1953, is about the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the late 1600s.

Abigail along with several other young women go around and accuses innocent citizens of witchcraft in the play. They would then go to trials where they were unfairly prosecuted. This event could be associated with the Red Scare.

Arthur Miller has several writing methods he uses in order to convey “The Crucible” as an allegory for how he had struggled with McCarthyism.

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He demonstrates by showing and relating his experiences to the plot of the novel to show how “The Crucible” is an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism. One way Miller relates to the novel to his struggles is by stating “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates” (Are You Now). He is talking about how the court was operated by the way they came to their conclusions.

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He is showing the similarities of the trials of Salem and those in which he experienced during the Red Scare.
The trials of witchcraft were very similar to the communism suspicions in the U.S., in which many people were accused of crimes they had not committed. The court's job was to select random names of other people of the crimes they were accused of. Arthur Miller shows the similarity in Judge Danforth’s statement to McCarthyism in the following quote, “Mr. Proctor. When the devil came to see you did you see Rebecca Nurse in his company?” (The Crucible 129). This shows how the court only believed in your testimony if you had named or mentioned other people.

Miller uses his ability to bring the two experiences together looking over the approaches in which the court used to obtain their information. The actions of the court shows just how unfair they were at coming to conclusions. Another way in which Miller creates an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism in the novel is when Hale tells Abigail “You must have no fear to tell us who they are, do you understand? We will protect you” (The Crucible 43). This technique would make Abigail want to falsely someone else for something they have not done, even though she is turning the blame away from herself.

Updated: Nov 01, 2022
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Exploring the Politics of Fear: The Crucible. (2020, Sep 03). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/exploring-the-politics-of-fear-the-crucible-essay

Exploring the Politics of Fear: The Crucible essay
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