The Salem Witch Trials and The Second Red Scare in The Crucible

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953, discusses the effects mass hysteria can have on civilization. He uses the Salem Witch Trials and the Second Red Scare as examples of this. These were both major events bred from communal fear that show the dangers of mass hysteria at its climax.

The Salem Witch Trials happened in Salem, Massachusetts in the winter of 1692. Over a period of four months hundreds were accused of practicing witchcraft. The main people involved in this event were John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Samuel Parris, Tituba, Giles Corey, Cotton Mathers, Increase Mathers, and the Putnam family. This community’s fear stemmed from the sudden “illnesses” of two of the town’s children, Abigail and Betty. There are three main theories as to why these events took place: pretending, strict parenting, and ergot poisoning. Whatever the cause, the results were the deaths of 19 people, including the gruesome pressing of Giles Corey.

The Second Red Scare took place in the 1950s soon after the end of WWII. With the war fresh on the world’s mind, it was very susceptible to manipulation. Seeing this fear as an opportunity to gain power, Senator McCarthy accused the Democratic administration of hiring numerous Communists into government jobs. America began a 20th century “witch hunt” for Communists with McCarthy as the number one accuser and benefactor. Anyone who went against his wishes was accused and jailed. Many people’s lives were being affected by his words. Eventually, this effect caused people to fight back and push McCarthy out of leadership.

Miller’s play may seem like a reinvention of the original Salem Witch Trials, but in reality it has a deeper message. He meant to convey to effects mass hysteria can have on whole communities and governments. He did this through retelling the story of Salem by centering it around a new theory as to the cause of the hysteria. He did change a few details to fit his vision such as making Abigail older and there for more likely to have an affair with Proctor, but the over all effect is the same as the original history. He used the characters and how they changed through the story to shape this effect. Many of them symbolically fell out of power and grace while others took advantage of others’ fears and profited from the events. He wanted to make it clear what devastating consequences your actions may have and illustrate how careful you should be not to let these events repeat themselves.

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