Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, in these trials women were accused of being witches; they were sentenced to death, tortured, and their reputation would be forever tarnished. During this revival of religion era faith was central to the government of Salem. Miller makes references to how the events leading up to the trails were unjust, bias and resulted in harsh punishment. The McCarthy hearings were trials in which Senator Joe McCarthy accused government employees of being Communists. (Sowers, Campbell, and Key) He exaggerated and exploited the evidence and ruined many reputations.
The Salem Witch Trials were a result of mass hysteria fueled by the accusations of Abigail Williams and her friends. During the Salem Witch Trials those suspected of witchcraft were jailed and given a trial. During the trial the accused was dogged for a confession and even names of other wishes. The incentive was if they confessed, God would forgive them and they could live, but of course no one was really a witch so most plead innocent and were hung anyways, simply because of a suspicion. The whole event of the Salem Witch Trials is viewed as unjust because after the accusations spread, many townspeople simply accused their neighbors of being a witch to gain revenge, money, land, or something similar.
Both events emanated from false accusations, gained momentum from the influence of public leaders, and ceased after the accusations proved to be inaccurate. The witch-hunts created two of America’s most infamous periods as they instilled fear into the public and wrongfully punished innocent people. Both affairs would not have originated were it not for the spread of harsh and unjust accusations. Unsubstantiated rumors led to the outbreak of accusations within the two witch-hunts. In the Salem Witch Trials, Sarah Good, Sarah Osbourne and Tituba were the first three women to be accused of witchcraft for allegedly afflicting Betty Paris and Abigail Williams, two young girls, with a demonic disease.
A local doctor diagnosed the girls as being possessed by the devil. This led to a massive witch hunt. Hundreds were falsely accused. And so, the witch trials began. How It All Began Susannah Sheldon, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Mary Warren became very sick but no one knew why.
While these two events were decades apart they had many similarities. They both began from false accusations, both spread unnecessary panic, and both used fear to gain power. The Salem Witch Hunts were a cause of mass hysteria that came from accusations made by Abigail Williams, Betty Paris, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba. These girls were caught dancing in the woods and accused of being witches due to some of their peculiar behavior which included screaming, bending into awkward positions, and making strange sounds. To keep themselves out of trouble the girls said other women in the community were practicing witchcraft.
The Witch scare was simply fueled by allegations of unholy acts. John Proctor from the novel “ The Crucible” quotes,” I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem—vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law.” Accusations were fueled by vengeance by people of all kinds during the Witch scare. Here we see that even crazy little children could provide testimonies filled with vengeance, which were used to convict the accused victims. The testimonies of the Witch scare were from all ages, which were sometimes acted out.
So when the proceedings of the witch trials come to town the Putnam s take that as a way to take Rebecca down. They accuse her of killing their babies be conjuring up her spirit and killing them before they come out of the womb. Unfortunately for Rebecca she fall victim to the mass hysteria in Salem, and is thrown I jail because of it. So being the good Christian she is when Judge Danforth asks her to confess she does not. Rebecca Nurse one of the kind and innocent people in the Crucible fall from power do to the happening of the Salem Witch
The Crucible The theme jealousy can destroy lives is shown through the actions of Abigail Williams affects Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor and herself. “This can’t work anymore, I love someone else.” Hearing these words can affect many people’s lives, causing them to hurt others around them.” “The Crucible” was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller. The play is about the witch trials that took place in Salem Massachusetts; where many innocent people were accused of witchcraft. Abigail’s actions sent Elizabeth to jail, but also cause John his freedom and life. At the end of act four Proctor refuses to give his name to the court, he clearly stated that he had already gave himself in and told them that he was a man of the devil and that they couldn’t take his name, because that’s the only thing he had left.
They made life miserable for those accused and did not stop, even when they had had their “fun”. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, draws obvious parallels between the 1950’s Red Scare and the witch-hunts that took place in Salem of 1692. Miller connects the hysteria brought about through accusations thrown around by both Senator McCarthy and Abigail Williams by emphasizing how much power their groups hold over everyone. During the times of the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare, fear ruled those unfortunate enough to be involved in nearly any conflict. Be it fear of witchcraft or communism,the fact is that it swept throughout the early and post-industrial United States.
Massachusetts was the location of the Salem Witchcraft hysteria from 1692 to 1693, stemming from uncompromising moral codes and religious beliefs. However, despite problems experienced in farming due to the harsh climate and rugged terrain; Salem also faced political and economic upheavals within the community, during this time. The hysteria commenced when an Indian slave named Tituba was accused of witchcraft by 3 young girls (Roach, 2002). Eventually, under an intense flailing, Tituba was forced to confess of witchcraft to a court official. Tituba's confession ignited a series of witchcraft manhunts leading to women and men being hanged, one man crushed to death by heavy rocks, and 150 more men were held in prison awaiting trail .