LEARN MORE...

Home
Documents
May 2021
29
The crucibl1

The crucibl1

Content type

User Generated

Uploaded By

xvra

Pages

Showing Page:

1/8

Surname 1

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

“The Crucible”

Section I: Introduction (about 1/2 page)

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, reflects a real event in Salem, Massachusetts that

affected the society mentally, physically, and spiritually in American history. A group of girls

developed strange seizures and hallucinations. The puritans in Salem explained that their

conditions were linked to witchcraft, which inclined the girls to the evil spell. What started as a

meager accusation soon spread across the town and states in America. Nearly everybody accused

each other of witchcraft; in just a year, at least 200 people in Massachusetts were implicated in

the work of the evil. Miller bases The Crucible on McCarthyism and its similarity to the Salem

Witch Trials that were primarily driven by panic and fear. The puritans were afraid and horrified

of witchcraft, precisely because it entailed evil spells they could not understand.

Section II: Biographical (about 1/2 page)

Miller wrote The Crucible to illuminate on the frenzy, mistrust, misinformation, and

wicked convictions during McCarthy trials. He, among other communists, was active in America

soon after the Second World War. During this period, the Soviet Union had exerted significant

influence all over the world, consequently imposing fear on the U.S government. The alleged

activities of communists on the American home soil saw Joseph McCarthy took advantage of

this Red Scare to initiate wrongful trials and convictions. The House of Representatives

Showing Page:

2/8

Surname 2

summoned the communists to divulge information on all the people who liaised with the

communists in the area. The government had already concluded that communists were risky to

national security. Miller was in trouble with McCarthyism, which informs a key reason he

related it to Salem Witch Trials. He was required to assent to anticommunist’s declaration, which

he refused to oblige. His action painted him as a communist convert. Miller disliked McCarthy

investigation conducted in the 1950s; therefore, he wrote The Crucible to show his response to

the overwrought political climate. He was accustomed to the political paranoia after WWII, and

when he finally came across the accounts of Witch Trials in Salem, he crafted The Crucible to

express the themes in McCarthy trials.

Section lll: Historical persecution of witches (about 1 page)

Witch-hunt persecution dates back to the 7

and 9

century when first laws to punish

witches were made (Doniger 346). Before this period, witchcraft was believed to be some magic

linked to healing, and alchemy, therefore it was an essential knowledge in the society, often

named as white witchcraft. However, black magic was connected with wickedness and

worshipping of the devil and was associated with illness and death. When the church rose to

political power in the 13th century, witchcraft and worshipping of the demons became

synonymous. However, witch-hunt became a severe issue in the 15th century, when more people

under Pope Innocent VIII were believed to be practicing witchcraft. Therefore, the witches

hammer (Malleus Maleficarum) made for witch-finders was used to haunt and interrogate people

suspected to be witches. Often, witch-finders tortured the suspects into confession (Campbell 59-

60).

Showing Page:

3/8

End of Preview - Want to read all 8 pages?

Access Now

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date “The Crucible” Section I: Introduction (about 1/2 page) The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, reflects a real event in Salem, Massachusetts that affected the society mentally, physically, and spiritually in American history. A group of girls developed strange seizures and hallucinations. The puritans in Salem explained that their conditions were linked to witchcraft, which inclined the girls to the evil spell. What started as a meager accusation soon spread across the town and states in America. Nearly everybody accused each other of witchcraft; in just a year, at least 200 people in Massachusetts were implicated in the work of the evil. Miller bases The Crucible on McCarthyism and its similarity to the Salem Witch Trials that were primarily driven by panic and fear. The puritans were afraid and horrified of witchcraft, precisely because it entailed evil spells they could not understand. Section II: Biographical (about 1/2 page) Miller wrote The Crucible to illuminate on the frenzy, mistrust, misinformation, and wicked convictions during McCarthy trials. He, among other communists, was active in America soon after the Second World War. During this period, the Soviet Union had exerted significant influence all over the world, consequently imposing fear on the U.S government. The alleged activities of communists on the American home soil saw Joseph McCarthy took advantage of this Red Scare to initiate wrongful trials and c ...
Purchase document to see full attachment