Wrote The Crucible Essay, Research Paper
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings.
Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response
to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have
its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American
Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem
witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it deals
with.
Throughout The Crucible, Miller is concerned with conscience and guilt. Through the
character Abigail Williams, he shows how people are willing to abandon their firmly-established
values in order to conform with the majority and protect themselves. Those who refuse to part
with their conscience, such as the character of John Proctor, are chastised for it. For this reason,
the Salem witch trials raise a question of the administration of justice. During this time in the late
1600’s, people were peroccupied by a fear of the devil, due to their severe Puritan belief system.
Nineteen innocent people are hanged on the signature of Deputy Governor Danforth, who has the
authority to try, convict, and execute anyone he deems appropriate. However, we as readers
sense little to no real malice in Danworth. Rather, ignorance and fear plague him. The mass
hysteria brought about by the witchcraft scare in The Crucible leads to the upheaval in people’s
differentiation between right and wrong, fogging their sense of true justice.
When Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the early 1950’s, the United States was
experiencing a modern “witch hunt” of its own. Senator Joseph McCarthy, provoked by the Cold
War, became fearfully convinced that Communists, or “Reds,” were polluting American
government. He intended to hunt them out, force them to confess, and make them name their
associates, almost as the Salem judges had done. In fact, the character of Danforth is based on
McCarthy himself. There is a great parallel between the witch trials and the “Red Scare.” Both
created a frenzy among the public, involved people going against each other to prove their
innocence, and sought to hunt out those who rebelled against the dominant values of the time.
Arthur Miller’s own involvement in the McCarthy “witch hunt” is very significant in the
writing of The Crucible. He himself appeared before the House Committee on Un-American
Activities in 1956, accused of being a Communist. He admitted to having attended a Communist
meeting years earlier to learn about their views. He was asked to name the others at the meeting
but refused, stating, “I am trying to and I will protect my sense of myself.” Miller’s reaction to his
cross-examination is similar to that of John Proctor, who represents Miller’s belief that
righteousness is maintained if one’s moral sense is kept. In Miller’s case, he was convicted of
contempt, but the conviction was later appealed and reversed. It is evident that he wrote about
McCarthyism indirectly to protect himself at the time.
The witch hunt in Salem in 1692 and McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the United States
in the 1950’s are remarkably similar situations. The issues dealt with by Miller in documenting
one of these clearly describes almost exactly the issues of the other. Miller masterfully uses the
unfamiliar setting of the Salem witch hunt to comment on his own time. It is obvious in all the
events represented through the writing of The Crucible that there is a common loss of judgement
due to unjustified hysteria. The fact that we see this pattern repeat itself throughout history by
reading this play points out that Miller recognizes this as a major concern of society.
Though Arthur Miller creates parallels between controversies that occurred in very
different times, it is the great universal significance of The Crucible that makes it successful.
Miller’s concern with the shedding of guilt, the loss of morality, lack of genuine justice and the
way he deals with these as a theme in the play have a stronger relevance that is striking. He also
uses this theme to create a remarkable drama, but more importantly, they are issues that are
applicable and crucial to him. Accordingly, The Crucible is far more than a story of the past.
Rather, it is an allegory of our times.
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