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The Crucible is a drama that tries to draw parallels between the 1692 witch hunts and the status of America in 1953. Its focus is on McCarthyism as well as the Red Scare of the time, which evaluated suspected communists hidden motives and destruction of American principles. The findings of his committee wrecked the accuseds lives and professions. Many of the accused people gave the identities of colleagues and countrymen in order to rescue themselves and be on the right side of society. Fear and distrust put loyalty to the test, splintering friendships. Even though The Crucible is an effective metaphor, there are both similarities and differences between these two situations.
During the Salem Witch Trials, several people of the village were charged and found guilty of affiliating with the Antichrist and wizardry during these events based on poor testimony and suspect evidence. People were suspected of being communists without any proof, much as they were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible (Miller, 1976). Cases like these occasionally happen under the significant influence of a phenomenon called mass hysteria. It can occur only in specific conditions, which are not only defined by criminal activities by people. There is a primary condition that can cause mass hysteria. This condition is based on a threat that many people in society believe in. It was possible in the past due to a somewhat monolete informational pool. The primary sources of information during those days were television and rumors. On the contrary, nowadays, there are many independent media sources which make society immune to such conditions. Therefore, the probability of mass hysteria occurring in modern society is low.
The main similarity between these two situations is the public paranoia. The society of the seventeenth century was obsessed with the idea of people assisting the devil in his plans and practicing witchery. The American society of the twentieth century had a bizarre idea of communism developing in the country and there being a possibility of it destroying the base principles of America. In these terms, the fear of the people based on believing that something terrible is about to happen connects these two hunts.
The main difference between these situations is that whereas the Red Scare had some reasoning based on the somewhat possible issues, the Salem Witch Trials are absurd in terms of their justification. Communists and their ideas were present in America in the twentieth century, and they were contrary to the capitalistic ideals of the American government and the prevalent part of society. Discussing how justified were the actions of the government is proof of its controversy, whereas the Salem Witch Trials are undoubtful in terms of their injustice towards the accused people.
In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The main similarity is that in both cases, there was a public paranoia that overwhelmed the society and led to unreasonable decisions and actions. Nevertheless, there is a major difference consisting of the absurdity of the witch hunt as there was no potential crime committed by the accused people, whereas the guilt of people that were accused because of the Red Scare is controversial. I think that I would be able to resist pressure in both situations, yet it is necessary to consider that the effect of mob mentality could possibly change it.
Reference
Miller, A. (1976). The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. Penguin Books.
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