The Crucible was published in the 50's, right around the time of McCarthyism. In the play, the slightest wrong move, such as Elizabeth owning a doll, could send one to the noose. Similarly, in the 50's, a single misinterpreted word or action could land one in prison. Miller uses the hysteria, the hasty accusations, and the fear of anything that isn't considered normal present during the Salem witch trials to represent those same attitudes present in the 50's towards communism.
I agree in the fact that the Salem Witch Trials are very much like the era of McCarthyism. However, the situations can also be related to the Final Solution with Adolf Hitler's mass genocide of the Jewish faith and other communities. If, in Europe, a person was even suspected of hiding a Jew, they were immediately arrested and tortured, or even killed. The complete and total objection to any differences was just as ruthless as McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials.
I agree that the Salem witch trials were very similar to the Final Solution and McCarthyism. Both situations dealt with the fact that people were being unfairly treated.The accused people had no chance of getting away from the situation without some sort of punishment even if they were completely innocent. All of these situations divided the community and turned neighbors against neighbors. The play could definitely be a political allegory.
Even though this play as published over 50 years ago, the political allegory used in it could apply to modern politics. We may not condemn people to death or send them to prison if they say something against the socially accepted beliefs, but don't we judge them harshly, just as the women in Salem were judged? The American people are very critical of the government (and others in general), just as John Proctor, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse are critical of the court. Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris represent those politicians who are more focused on their personal or partisan desires rather than the desires of their constituents. Today's political situation is not quite as corrupt or intense as it was in Salem during the witch trials, but the characters in the play are timeless examples of a dysfunctional government.
I would agree. Our society has become very critical over the years. Now a part of that is because, as a country, we have the freedom to do so. The play was no different. There were plenty of people who judged the court and the people on trial during the witch hunt. Their form of government was essentially dysfunctional, they did not fix the core cause of the problem. They just hung a lot of people and kept the ones who admitted to witchery. I think there are, not many, but parts of our government that have turned dysfunctional (or I guess not necessarily what our country needs).
The Crucible is a completely a political allegory. It uses the Salem witch trials to speak of the dangers of false accusations. In the book, Abigail was accused of being a witch because she was fired for unknown reasons and she was spotted dancing in the woods with Betty. Those two instances do not signify being a witch. Even in more modern times we still have had instances of false accusations leading us into danger. At the time of the publishing, there was McCarthyism where people where being accused of communism. Even in more recent times we have done it. After 911, we went back to our ways of accusing people of terrorism. Political allegory was prevalent in the book because it has been a reoccurring thing throughout time.
I like how you related the political warning that The Crucible conveys to modern post-911 paranoia. The may countries such as our own are handling the danger that terrorist attacks present is startlingly similar to McCarthyism in the 50's and 40's, what with the TSA and militarization of police forces.
The fact that we can see echoes of the story in our own time gives the play that much more meaning. We can see that history definitely repeats itself, especially when it comes to fearing people who are different. That fear has been repeated throughout history and is a sad tradition that we still see today.
"The Crucible" is undoubtably a political allegory created by Arthur Miller to represent the foolish persecutions being made during the 1950s. Both the persecutions made in the play and those that occured in America during the era of McCarthyism had little to no proof of the crime and each person who was accused would have no chance at regaining the life they had before. Miller's parallel between the witch trials and communism in America was not missed by the American public. When the show opened on Broadway in 1953, veiwers were so afraid of being accused of supporting communist beliefs that they were afraid to admit whether or not they enjoyed the show. Despite the general publics fear, the play still won an Oscar and the next year became an American Classic. Honestly, I believe that Auther Miller's entire reason for creating "The Crucible" was to show the nation the idiocy in their actions and the negative effect created when the uniformed make irrational decisions.
I like how you brought up the play. I did not know any of that stuff about the play. I agree with your point in Miller exploiting the rediculousness of the accusations that were taking place. Especially the actors and actresses being accused at the time.
"The Crucible" brought to the forefront the way that fear can control people. The actions in the play can be compared to the Final Solution by Adolf Hitler in the way he committed mass genocide. False accusation was prevalent during the Final Solution when people were accused of hiding Jews or helping the Allied forces. If accused, that person faced near fatal consequences. In "The Crucible" when a new person was put on trial, their fate lay in the hands of schoolgirls that would sentence them based on whether or not they were liked. In both situations, the accused almost never were able to speak for themselves and even if they had that chance, the probability of being believed was not high.
This is a good example of what "The Crucible" can be related to. In "The Crucible" accusations are thrown at innocent people just like the Final Solution. Its pretty drastic to compare Abigail with Hitler but the way they accused innocent people of obscured things is a great comparison. In both of these situations definitely shows that fear can easily control people as you said.
I did a little research of the 1950’s and found that the Salem Witch Trials in the play (1600s) is a huge allegory pertaining to McCarthyism. In the 1950’s during McCarthyism people were accused of being communist. You would be ridiculed if you were thought of being a communist. There were thousands of unjustified arrests. This goes to show how similar "The Crucible" is. In "The Crucible", many people who were unjustly accused of being apart of witchcraft and many people were killed. This goes to show how people react and buy in to lies. They all fall under the impression of terror and hysteria.
The Crucible was published in the 50's, right around the time of McCarthyism. In the play, the slightest wrong move, such as Elizabeth owning a doll, could send one to the noose. Similarly, in the 50's, a single misinterpreted word or action could land one in prison. Miller uses the hysteria, the hasty accusations, and the fear of anything that isn't considered normal present during the Salem witch trials to represent those same attitudes present in the 50's towards communism.
ReplyDeleteI agree in the fact that the Salem Witch Trials are very much like the era of McCarthyism. However, the situations can also be related to the Final Solution with Adolf Hitler's mass genocide of the Jewish faith and other communities. If, in Europe, a person was even suspected of hiding a Jew, they were immediately arrested and tortured, or even killed. The complete and total objection to any differences was just as ruthless as McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials.
DeleteI agree that the Salem witch trials were very similar to the Final Solution and McCarthyism. Both situations dealt with the fact that people were being unfairly treated.The accused people had no chance of getting away from the situation without some sort of punishment even if they were completely innocent. All of these situations divided the community and turned neighbors against neighbors. The play could definitely be a political allegory.
DeleteEven though this play as published over 50 years ago, the political allegory used in it could apply to modern politics. We may not condemn people to death or send them to prison if they say something against the socially accepted beliefs, but don't we judge them harshly, just as the women in Salem were judged? The American people are very critical of the government (and others in general), just as John Proctor, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse are critical of the court. Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris represent those politicians who are more focused on their personal or partisan desires rather than the desires of their constituents. Today's political situation is not quite as corrupt or intense as it was in Salem during the witch trials, but the characters in the play are timeless examples of a dysfunctional government.
ReplyDeleteI would agree. Our society has become very critical over the years. Now a part of that is because, as a country, we have the freedom to do so. The play was no different. There were plenty of people who judged the court and the people on trial during the witch hunt. Their form of government was essentially dysfunctional, they did not fix the core cause of the problem. They just hung a lot of people and kept the ones who admitted to witchery. I think there are, not many, but parts of our government that have turned dysfunctional (or I guess not necessarily what our country needs).
DeleteThe Crucible is a completely a political allegory. It uses the Salem witch trials to speak of the dangers of false accusations. In the book, Abigail was accused of being a witch because she was fired for unknown reasons and she was spotted dancing in the woods with Betty. Those two instances do not signify being a witch. Even in more modern times we still have had instances of false accusations leading us into danger. At the time of the publishing, there was McCarthyism where people where being accused of communism. Even in more recent times we have done it. After 911, we went back to our ways of accusing people of terrorism. Political allegory was prevalent in the book because it has been a reoccurring thing throughout time.
ReplyDeleteI like how you related the political warning that The Crucible conveys to modern post-911 paranoia. The may countries such as our own are handling the danger that terrorist attacks present is startlingly similar to McCarthyism in the 50's and 40's, what with the TSA and militarization of police forces.
DeleteThe fact that we can see echoes of the story in our own time gives the play that much more meaning. We can see that history definitely repeats itself, especially when it comes to fearing people who are different. That fear has been repeated throughout history and is a sad tradition that we still see today.
Delete"The Crucible" is undoubtably a political allegory created by Arthur Miller to represent the foolish persecutions being made during the 1950s. Both the persecutions made in the play and those that occured in America during the era of McCarthyism had little to no proof of the crime and each person who was accused would have no chance at regaining the life they had before. Miller's parallel between the witch trials and communism in America was not missed by the American public. When the show opened on Broadway in 1953, veiwers were so afraid of being accused of supporting communist beliefs that they were afraid to admit whether or not they enjoyed the show. Despite the general publics fear, the play still won an Oscar and the next year became an American Classic. Honestly, I believe that Auther Miller's entire reason for creating "The Crucible" was to show the nation the idiocy in their actions and the negative effect created when the uniformed make irrational decisions.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up the play. I did not know any of that stuff about the play. I agree with your point in Miller exploiting the rediculousness of the accusations that were taking place. Especially the actors and actresses being accused at the time.
Delete"The Crucible" brought to the forefront the way that fear can control people. The actions in the play can be compared to the Final Solution by Adolf Hitler in the way he committed mass genocide. False accusation was prevalent during the Final Solution when people were accused of hiding Jews or helping the Allied forces. If accused, that person faced near fatal consequences. In "The Crucible" when a new person was put on trial, their fate lay in the hands of schoolgirls that would sentence them based on whether or not they were liked. In both situations, the accused almost never were able to speak for themselves and even if they had that chance, the probability of being believed was not high.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good example of what "The Crucible" can be related to. In "The Crucible" accusations are thrown at innocent people just like the Final Solution. Its pretty drastic to compare Abigail with Hitler but the way they accused innocent people of obscured things is a great comparison. In both of these situations definitely shows that fear can easily control people as you said.
DeleteI did a little research of the 1950’s and found that the Salem Witch Trials in the play (1600s) is a huge allegory pertaining to McCarthyism. In the 1950’s during McCarthyism people were accused of being communist. You would be ridiculed if you were thought of being a communist. There were thousands of unjustified arrests. This goes to show how similar "The Crucible" is. In "The Crucible", many people who were unjustly accused of being apart of witchcraft and many people were killed. This goes to show how people react and buy in to lies. They all fall under the impression of terror and hysteria.
ReplyDelete