Xenophobia In The Crucible

In The Crucible, Reverend Parris’s character clearly displays, through actions and characteristics alike, that Miller is using him as an allegorical counterpart to the American government during the time period in which the play was written. At this time, xenophobia and fear of communism were rampant within the United States, and towards the beginning of this era of panic, the government attempted to use this hysteria to distract from internal problems that they were dealing with, like lack of finances and tension with other nations. They quickly realized, however, that the vehement accusation of others had gotten out of hand rapidly, and it would be difficult to reconcile their people and save the lives of those innocents who would be accused
4, ¶ 1) would care all that much about his child’s health, so it is easy to suspect that he has some covert reason to be acting as though he cared about his child. This suspicion is confirmed when he states to Abigail, rather than saying trafficking with spirits is dangerous to their spiritual health, that “if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it, (p. 10, ¶ 8). In this offhand statement, he reveals his intents to be solely self-preservative, as was the United states government. When Parris reappears later in the court scene, his outlook on witchcraft appears to have changed, as before he attempted to deny it to his neighbors, but once it escalated to such a level, he took the side that most benefited him and attempted to condemn the accused witches, presumably to get the ordeal over with. Parris could have been intended by Miller to be a warning or an outcry to the government, as his actions took the story in a direction that led to almost the downfall of their society. Many people were hanged, and those who were not grew distant from each