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The Crucible And The Mccarthy - Online Term Paper

The Crucible And The Mccarthy

Era
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 but is analogous to the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. In both situations, widespread hysteria occurs, stemming from existing fears of the people of that particular era. The Salem witchhunt trials parallel the McCarthy era in three major aspects: unfounded accusations, hostile interrogation of numerous innocent people and the ruination and death of various people’s lives.
The unfounded accusations that Joseph McCarthy and the girls in The Crucible make are what fuels the widespread hysteria in both situations. McCarthy is quoted as declaring in a speech, "I have here in my hand a list of 205 that ...

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instead of being riduculed for their unfounded accusations.
The hostile interrogation of numerous innocent people occurs during both time periods. During the McCarthy trials, the inquisitors attempt to use slippery tactics to implicate the accused and others. Often, shouting matches would occur on the floor of the Senate when the people are adamant about their innocence. Throughout the Salem witch trials, Judge Danforth and Hathorne would constantly badger the accused to confess. In Act III, Hathorne claims, "How do you know, then, that you are not a witch?" (Pg. 1221) After Martha Corey denies herself being a witch, Hathorne persists by saying, "Why do you hurt these children?" The hostile interrogation of both periods failed to bring forth concrete evidence for a genuine communist or witch.

The ruination and deaths of various people of the McCarthy trials and the Salem witchhunt are appalling. Multitudinous amounts of people are affected by these trials. Over 2,000 people ...

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The Crucible And The Mccarthy. (2004, November 19). Retrieved January 8, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Crucible-And-The-Mccarthy/17739

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/19/2004 02:55:10 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 495
Pages: 2

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