Preview

Response To The Crucible

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Response To The Crucible
The Crucible was written by Arthur MIller in the 1950’s when communist hunts were on going. Arthur Miller was a political advocate against the inequalities of race in America, and was very supportive to the labor unions. Because of this he was a target Senator Joseph McCarthy and others who wanted to rid the country of communists. Miller was called to court and he refused to say anyone's name then he was fined and sent to jail for 30 days with no evidence, only on suspicion. The same thing happened in the 1690’s during the Salem witch trials but to a greater degree as people were wiped and/or killed because someone had accused them of witchcraft. Anyone who was accused of witchcraft would be wiped, then if they didn’t admit that they were

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is based upon the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in the year 1692. The text also serves as an allegorical warning about much more recent events, in particular the McCarthy Trials of 1953. The McCarthy Trials were exploring communism. ‘The Crucible’ was written to highlight the similarities between McCarthyism and communism in the 1950’s in the United States of America and the witch hunts of Europe in the 17th century. The play is literally written about the witch trials but it is figuratively about the society Miller lived in, in 1953. Thousands of Americans were accused of being communists like in ‘The Crucible’; hundreds of the town’s people were accused of being witches. Three major ideologies that are still relevant in society today are evident in the play, intolerance, mass hysteria and reputation.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Arthur wrote The Crucible in 1953, at the time when the Second World War had just ended but still there was a clash of capitalists and communists. What would you do if the witch hunts happened in this modern era? Arthur Miller wrote this book because of the incidents that occurred during the 1950’s. Senator Joseph McCarthy had a suspicion of communism in the United States. So he started a witch hunt to find the communists in the United States and he targeted celebrities of Hollywood such as Lucille Ball, Helen Keller, Langston Hughes, Charlie Chaplin, were all put on trial for being in cahoots with the enemy. This also parallels into Arthur Miller’s Crucible where people were put on trial based on spectral evidence such as the Red Scare when…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘The Crucible’ is a novel which was written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It takes place during the times of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. This was a time of much hypocrisy in the people of the town of Salem. Many people believed anything they heard or saw. 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. Miller wrote this play as a response to the political environment in which he lived. The story relates to the McCarthy trials. During the 1950's Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many American leaders of being communists. This lead to many accusations that people were communists. Some people believed him because they had fear of communism. McCarthy was, in effect, conducting "witch hunts". The Red Scare was a witch hunt where the US government was searching for "dangerous communists." Accusations came from left and right, much the same as the characters did for "real witches" in The Crucible. This meant that people were forced to either confess to the crime of witchery or shove the blame towards a different person. 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. With the red scare, the accused were given a chance to give up names of other suspected communists to lessen their sentence as well. In both situations, there were people who confessed even though they had no relation to the crime at all. The majority, however, valued their morals and refused to give into political pressure by lying. This is shown as abuse of power. The puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th century. The entire plot of the novel is moulded by the repressive Puritan society. Like many puritan women, Elizabeth Proctor is dutiful and loves her husband dearly. Yet, Elizabeth is hurt by the fact…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout Joseph McCarthy’s accusations of communism there was talk of some of his victims possibly being innocent. One of these victims that was allegedly innocent was Arthur Miller. Miller, because he was wronged by the law, decided to write a similar story to the events of the McCarthy trials in order to make McCarthy’s ideals seem flawed. Miller believed that if he could write a story to prove the accusations incorrect he would be able to re-establish his respectable reputation. This story is known as “The Crucible”, a story about the Salem Witch Trials and how the townspeople were falsely accused of witchcraft, but couldn’t do anything to plead there innocence. Miller managed to show through “The Crucible”, how ridiculous McCarthy’s accusations were and how it was very…

    • 2360 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible is undoubtedly one of the most interesting plays that has been written, and it is not that way only because of its creative story tale, but also because of the ideas that were conveyed through some of the characters. Arthur Miller wrote the play during the communist era and used the campaign of McCarthyism as the base of the story. In this period of Miller’s life, he was brought to court and had to confess to being a communist. While being held on trial, he confessed about himself but refused to reveal anyone else who participated in communism. Miller’s unwillingness to comply angered the judges and he ended up being charged of contempt.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    'The Crucible' was written by Arthur Miller in America in the early 1950's. It is a historical play based on events in American history surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of the seventeenth century. It takes place in a small Puritan village in the colony of Massachusetts in 1692. The witchcraft trials, grew out of the particular moral system of the Puritans, which promoted interference in others' affairs as well as a repressive code of conduct that frowned on any diversion from norms of behavior. Nineteen men and women were hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, while another man, Giles Corey, was stoned to death for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of other persons faced accusations of witchcraft and dozens more languished in jail without trials. By the early autumn of 1692, the cries of witchcraft began to ebb and doubts began to develop concerning the validity of the charges. Soon, the educated elite of the colony began efforts to end the witch-hunting hysteria that had enveloped Salem.…

    • 1676 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people in Salem had no manners or respect for others. The impact of poor behavior is exhibited throughout “The Crucible”.…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "The Crucible", written by Arthur Miller, religious freedom and justice of the law are the main controversial aspects that are not enforced in this play. The Crucible is a play in which Arthur Miller writes about the tendentious, hysterical event of the Salem witch trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692. Miller writes "The Crucible" to show how inequitable and unjust the law can be in a time of fear and tension of the masses. In the play, inferior and subordinate people were accusing innocent citizens of witchcraft for revenge or land. The hysteria and fear in this time of the Salem witch trials influenced the law to become less dependable and accurate when Salem did not adhere to the basic American fundamentals of religious freedom and "innocent until proven guilty." Arthur Miller creates this play to show that we still as modern America are hurt by…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as a narrative to McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Even though The Crucible is based on the Salem witch trials, they have differences such as, the relationship between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, and the towns’ relationship with the Putnam’s.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the time when “The Crucible” was written, the United States and Russia were going through the Red Scare which was a major influence when Miller was writing this play. Miller’s tactic in writing this play was to remind people of how the hysteria of the witch hunts could be dangerously similar to the communist hunts going on in the United States at the time. Using the history from the Salem Witch Trials, he wrote a story that was sure to educate people about the potential disaster that could come from the carelessness of accusing others.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Crucible (1953), author, Arthur Miller brings to life many decisions that drag a respectable man to the noose. This play, based on the history of the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in Salem Massachusetts in 1692, though not completely true, does follow the basic line of events. This line of events begins with curious young girls who are caught dancing in the forest by the Puritan reverend of the community, Reverend Parris. An effort to contain the events by Reverend Parris, Parris’s niece, Abigail, and others backfired and resulted in the bringing in of Puritan priests trained in the topic of witchcraft, which quickly led to a mass hysteria of witches in the community. Once accused of being a witch, a citizen had two basic choices,…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to historical evidence, about 200 people were accused of witchcraft during the events of the Salem Witch Trials. In relation to that, many thousands of people were accused of being communists during the 1950s. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was no coincidence to the Second Red Scare that also happened in the same time period. He compares the Salem Witch Trials to the Red Scare for their similar causes including fear and (second point) resulting horrendous consequences that were to be faced by the victims who were accused.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why the “Crucible”?

    • 578 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1951 in direct response to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communism scare. Miller wanted the American people to convey the pain caused by false accusations and relate it to the Salem witch hunts. Sen. McCarthy accused a huge number of high profile Americans of being communists. In doing so, he ruined those people's careers. In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, innocent people were convicted and put on trial for witchcraft. The two time periods have a lot in common, both situations cause unnecessary panic, and that’s why Arthur Miller choose to write about the Salem Witch trials. But how did he get the name Crucible?…

    • 578 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, just when the Second World War had ended. But still there was a battle between the capitalists and the communists. Arthur Miller wrote this book because of the incidents that occurred during the 1950’s. Senator Joseph McCarthy had a feeling of communism in the United States. So he starts a witch hunt to find the communists in the United States and he targeted celebrities of Hollywood such as Helen Keller, Langston Hughes and Charlie Chaplin put them all on trial for been associated with the Communist Party. This also parallels into Arthur Miller’s Crucible where people were put on trial based on supernatural evidence such as the Red Scare when McCarthy accused people with little to no real evidence.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Accused Innocent

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible directly in response to the communist Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s. The trials were held for the many men and women who were accused of performing witchcraft; those who did not confess to witchery were hung while those who did confess faced only jail time. Almost 300 years later, three teenage boys, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin, were accused for murdering three eight-year old boys as part of a satanic sacrifice in 1993 (Source E). Although the Salem Witch Trials took place many years before the West Memphis Three case, both events involved the singling out and punishment of innocent Americans accused of dealing with the devil.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays