Stalin greatly feared older members of the party too as they knew the truth of Stalin’s rise to power and what Lenin’s testament contained which would have ruined Stalin’s career. Under Yagoda’s influence of suggesting communists questioned Stalin, his paranoia further developed and caused the emergence of the great terror. Undoubtedly Stalin felt he had to perform the mass purges because of his paranoia that he would be removed from power. As Stalin was in control this must be the main cause of the great terror as his desire to remain in power was the drive for allowing the great terror to happen. The Congress of victors was a short term cause of the great terror and only added to the main cause of Stalin’s paranoia.
Some relations with the play itself will also be made. To begin with, “The Crucible” is settled in Salem, a town inhabited by Puritans. Practitioners of this religion were very devout and superstitious people who believed that every behavior opposed to the Bible, even the tiniest thing, was a sign of the Devil and witchcraft. After the Second World War ended in 1945, the countries divided into two huge and powerful blocs according to their economic system: Capitalism and Communism, which faced each other, always on the brink of war. The play was written during this period called the “Cold War” in the United States of America, the leader of the Capitalist bloc.
After World War II drew to a conclusion, the long Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began. In the 1950s, tensions ran high between America and its one-time ally, and fear of the Communists was widespread. Joseph McCarthy, a little known senator from Wisconsin, exploited the fears of the masses in an attempt to gain popularity and a good reputation. He declared that not only did Americans face the Communist threat overseas. McCarthy spearheaded an effort to rid the country of Communism in a mass movement called the Red Scare.
In the Holocaust memoir, Night, by Elie Wiesel, he demonstrates how individuals who suffered the Holocaust were forced to make decisions that were greatly influenced by the interplay between fear and foresight. This is shown throughout Wiesel’s horrifying journey of the Holocaust in which fear and foresight intensified the consequences of one’s choices. The denial caused by fear of the unknown impeded the people of Sighet from leaving their town. Fear and foresight also force Eliezer try to keep his gold crown, and to leave on the indefinite death march. When individuals are attempting to make decisions in the face of a life altering situation, the lack of foresight may instill emotions of fear.
Instead the politicians, “ ...build another bomber than to educate our children.” (pg. 124 Moore). It is clear that the politicians are trying to find excuses for their own mistakes. The lack of attention on schools has led to a decline in the students performance, so then the politicians turn to things like Jackass to put the blame on. Moore believes that they could be using budgets more wisely, opposed to wasting it on pointless bombers.
In Miller’s case, his status as a celebrity did not confer immunity from suspicion. Quite the reverse actually. Miller’s repugnance and revulsion at the practices of the House of un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), chaired by the ubiquitous McCarthy, motivated him to pen the novel “The Crucible” as an allegory of that sad epoch. In “The Crucible” Miller skilfully wove together the 17th Century Puritan religious fervour and superstitions with that of America’s hysterical and paranoid suspicion of Communism as the modern day Devil Incarnate in the 1950’s. The forums of suspicion and hatred in which trials were staged left the accused with little recourse to natural justice or legal redress.
The Salem Witch Trials brought fear of being a witch in Puritan community whereas McCarthyism brought fear of being communist in US politics and society. It is difficult to believe that so much pain and fear can be spread by one person. However, that is the case with both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. While Abigail Williams used the strict Puritan values as her reign of terror, Senator Joseph McCarthy chose the growing fear of communism. In both situations, it has been stated that the possible motive behind both “Witch Hunts” was the personal gain of their originators.
When China fell to the communists in 1949, fear surged through Australia that communism would eventually reach its shores, losing basic rights and freedom. The fear of Yellow Peril from the north marginalised Asians from society and caused much distrust amongst any ‘yellow’ members of
(Witch Hunts) Witches were thought to be consults of the devil who gave up their bodies and led others away from the church for the devil in exchange for otherworldly power. In addition to this women were marked as being sexually voracious, the origin of this mindset being the Garden of Eden. (Witchcraft and Midwifery) It was also believed that because women were weaker than men and had fewer rights, they were more likely to succumb to the devil in order to obtain their wishes. (Witch Hunts) In this respect they were “...by nature instruments of Satan -- they [were] by nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation.” (Steven Katz, Gendercide Watch: European Witch-Hunts) Because of the influential role religion held in European communities, these associations women held were powerful instruments in their accusations. Still tying into religious influences, the very physical appearance of a woman could lead to the belief that she is a witch.
Part of McCarthyism was paranoia and finding scapegoats and blaming innocent people, without viable evidence, for something they didn’t do. In ‘The Crucible’ people were assumed guilty of witchcraft and compacting with the devil. If someone said they were. McCarthyism was the exact same except instead of accusing people of witchcraft they accused them of being a communist. The accused had two options; either they “admit” to being a witch/communist and name others, or maintain their innocence and be hanged/blacklisted.