Miller's play follows the story of the town of Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials in the late 17th century. But how does this connect to McCarthyism? While there is no mention of McCarthyism in the play itself (it wouldn't be chronologically accurate), Miller wrote it during the era of McCarthyism and specifically tried to draw obvious parallels between the two periods of time. The Crucible isn't completely historically accurate because Miller changed a few of the character motivations to make it more entertaining, but he preserved the important, absurd aspects of the trials.
How do the witch trials and McCarthyism actually relate?
- During the Salem witch trials, people feared that witches would summon the Devil to their religious community, causing paranoia. During the McCarthy trials, people feared that communists would infiltrate America, causing paranoia.
- Both trials involved unsubstantiated claims against others.
- No one had the courage to stand up to the unjust trials for fear of being accused of witchery/Communism.
- There was no proof!
Because The Crucible took subtle stabs at the process of the McCarthy trials going on at the time, and Arthur Miller had some potential associations with communism, he was interrogated before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). When asked to give names of communists, he refused, not wanting to throw anyone else under the bus. In 1957, Miller was convicted, but his conviction was overturned by US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Communist or not, Arthur Miller highlighted the fact that history was repeating: intense accusations, heated trials, and one man's word against another. All of these elements, and the method of guilty until proven innocent, connect the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism in a frightening way.
Sources:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
I love how you wrote about the Crucible because we just started reading about it in English and I feel like I have even more background now. It's so interesting how these mindsets repeat themselves in history, and that we can constantly be finding parallels in situations that are extremely different. It's interesting how so recently during the McCarthy era, that people were so easily persuaded by false information and empty claims, but even now we have that in our society. Really well written, Audrey!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were able to find a connection these 2 periods of time because it made your post more intriguing. To add, the McCarthy trials were referred to as "Witch Hunts," and both scenarios had this idea that one was guilty until they confessed. To further your connection, McCarthy and Abigail from the Crucible are both similar in the way that McCarthy accused innocent people of being associated with communism while Abigail accused innocent women of witchcraft.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/JoeMcCarthy/report.html