The Crucible

After spending the last few weeks studying The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, I have really been left with a lasting impression. Even though it is set in the late 1600,s and forms an allegory for McCarthyism, I can easily see parallels to things that still happen in our time. Mass hysteria and false imprisonment over the Ebola outbreak; the current cries of racism in all police incidents; and in the 1980,s, the false prosecution of many people for child molestation. You can even see elements of The Crucible in all of the false confessions coerced out of people who were eventually cleared by DNA advances. All of these things show me that The Crucible is still a relevant piece of literature that I enjoyed learning about.

According to the website dictionary.com, an allegory is defined as “A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. A symbolic narrative” (dictionary.com). The definition of the word does not adequately explain the significance of the meaning of the word to the work of The Crucible. Arthur Miller used this play as a statement on current events that were happening in his time that he was not happy with. He was upset with a figurative witch hunt that was taking place in the United States, accusing people of being communist. After a prominent government employee was convicted of spying for the communist party, hysteria took over the United States and the hunt was on. Senator Joseph McCarthy led this hunt for communist and brought those accused before a congressional panel, even though there was no real evidence of wrongdoing on their part. Many people were accused by people out of jealousy and to throw suspicion off themselves. “In the 1950,s, thousands of Americans who toiled in the government, served in the army, worked in the movie industry, or came from various walks of life…” were questioned about being a communist before that panel (U.S.History.com). Arthur Miller himself was caught up in this hysteria and held to his morals and refused to accuse his friends as communists. These were the events that Arthur Miller used The Crucible as an allegory.

Hysteria is a major factor in both the play and in the events that were happening in Arthur Miller’s time. In The Crucible, the townsfolk wanted an explanation for the bad things that were happening in their town. Since they were a religion driven society, they believed that evil must be the cause of anything bad. By bringing in an “expert” on witchcraft, they put their faith in him to fix their town. Even though he was trying to be fair and act only on proof, the people of Salem got caught up in accusing others. This began because people acted out of jealousy and fear. They also wanted to to appear righteous themselves. This snowballed until anyone and everyone is There was no being proven guilty or innocent. It was just assumed they were guilty because