Crucible Salem Episode Essay, Research Paper

The Crucible The Salem witch-trials, are an historic event that occurred during

the Puritan era. It was the witch-trials that decided the fate of so many of the

accused. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible uses the Salem episode as a

parallel to an event in the 1950s known as the "Red Scare". He

associates many incidents of the "Red Scare" with that of the Salem

witch-trials. Such incidents as: witch-hunts, hysteria, and cupidity which all

entwines with both the " Red Scare" and The Crucible. One may ask,

"What’s a witch hunt?" It could be described as "the searching

out and deliberate harassment of those with unpopular views". In The

Crucible a group of girls start a witch-hunt as a cover up for their own

misdoing. It results with the idea that naming names will pardon one from

execution. The author tries to build up the reader and audience’s feelings on

"shifting blame", and points out that even though the accused was

pardoned, the community will always have suspicions of them. An outbreak of

peculiar insanity called mass hysteria also infected Salem. The Crucible

demonstrates how fear can be spread through a community with such ease. It’s a

fear that someone may possess them or accuse them of being a possessor. This

fear caused the hysteria throughout Salem. Community grudges and cupidity also

took a role in The Crucible. For instance Abigail is jealous of Elizabeth

Proctor, so Abigail accuses her of witchcraft in order to get rid of her. Other

instances occur when neighbors accuse each other of witchcraft over the

opportunity to gain more land. This causes the community to slowly disintegrate.

Arthur Miller tells the story through John Proctor’s point of view. This makes

the audience sympathetic to the incidences that happen to him throughout the

play. He is a victim of the witch-hunt, hysteria and cupidity that meanders

throughout Salem. The reader or audience may not know that Arthur Miller was a

victim of the "Red Scare" but his underlying point is that witch-hunt

occurrences, hysteria, and cupidity are very possible and are still possible to

this day and it can be very disintegrating to a community.