Theme Of Hatred and Fear in The Crucible Essay Example

Your differences, views, or race shouldn’t place a target on your back. In “The Crucible”, people who acted outside of the normal for Puritans or chose to think on their own were seen as different in their society. Most of these people were accused of witchcraft and trafficking with the devil. During the time of McCarthyism, Joseph McCarthy accused several people as secret members of the American Communist Party. The accused were mostly federal employees who McCarthy swore were planning to overthrow the government. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there was mass panic spread through the West coast and Japanese-Americans were then targeted. Just months after the attack, President Roosevelt issued an order that resulted with Japanese-Americans being detained. “The Crucible”, McCarthyism, and Japanese-American Internment Camps demonstrate that accusing people will spread fear and hatred among a society. 

Fear and hatred of witches grew stronger as more people began to be accused, and the town started to panic that their peers may be working alongside the devil. In Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible”, Mary Warren spoke up that “[she] feel[s] a misty coldness climbin’ up [her] back'' while in the courtroom, and then “the skin on [her] skull [began] to creep.” She also explains that after feeling a clamping sensation on her neck, she could not “breathe air” (Miller 54, 55). Mary Warren is talking about her day in the proceedings, and she explains what happened to her when Goody Osbourne was speaking. This event causes mass panic in the courtroom, with people accusing Goody Osbourne of cursing the girls and sending out her spirit. While at dinner, Abigail fell to the floor without warning with a loud scream, Parris “goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly” in which he pulled out a needle. He starts “demandin’ of her how she came to be so stabbed,” and Abigail started to “testify it were [Proctor’s] wife’s familiar spirit [who] pushed it in” (71). Cheever explained what happened to Abigail after he found a poppet in Proctor’s house, and why it was so significant to the arrest warrant he held that had Elizabeth’s name on it. Mary tells them that Abigail was there with her when she was sewing while in court, and that she saw her stick the needle in it for safekeeping. Abigail used what she saw Mary do in court as a way to place blame on Elizabeth, essentially accusing her of witchcraft because of her hatred towards Goody Proctor.

A demagogue is someone who uses people’s fear in order to gain power for yourself as a personal gain to try and seek acceptance or support, but during McCarthyism it was used as a way for him to feel powerful and in control. Joseph McCarthy chose to use people’s fear as a way to gain power and to keep accusing people of being communists. In the article Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism, and The Witch Hunt, he “enthusiastically agreed and took advantage of the nation’s wave of fanatic terror against communism” (“Senator Joseph McCarthy” 1). McCarthy having power over the nation allowed him to continue making these accusations. In the “The Crucible,” many more people started to be accused of witchcraft which created widespread panic within Salem, similar to how it did when McCarthyism was at large. On February 9, 1950, McCarthy exclaimed that he “had a list of 205 people in the State Department who were known members of the American Communist Party” which made Amercians fear that “seditious communists [were] living within the United States” (1). These actions soon lead to investigations of the government officials who were listed as suspected communists. Whereas in “The Crucible” a testament is brought in with a list of 91 people who say that Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Martha Corey are not witches, and they shared their positive opinion about these women. The 91 people who signed the testament were asked to be brought in for questioning, which is essentially an investigation. 

Targeting others simply based on where they were from or who they were related is an example of binary thinking, in which they assumed that Japanese-Americans had something to do with the attack just because of who they were. In the article, Japanese-American Internment During World War II by The History Channel, the attack on Pearl Harbor “launched a rash of fear about national security,” and this panic was “especially on the West Coast” (The History Channel 1). In the beginning of “The Crucible” two girls, Betty and Ruth, seemingly fell ill as if it was overnight. Fear that the devil was in Salem quickly spread amongst the townspeople. This is similar to the mass panic that was happening in the West during McCarthyism about possible communists that may be living in the United States. In February of 1942, President Roosevelt “issued Executive Order 9066,” an order that authorized the detainment of any American citizens that had Japanese ancestry or people who immigrated from Japan. This order “resulted in the internment of” tens of thousands of Japanese Americans (The History Channel 1). Following the attack, thousands of people were forcibly detained essentially as a way to keep the country safe and protected. These people were targeted simply based on their ancestry or where they’re from. Similarly, in “The Crucible” anyone who was viewed as different by society was targeted or were seen with other people who were accused of witchcraft. 

In a society, fear and hatred can spread like wildfire when accusations are being made against people who are seen as different. Fear, hatred, binary thinking, and a demagogue will all affect a society or town negatively. The witch hunts almost made it seem like you couldn’t have your own thoughts or personality, and if you did then you would be accused of doing the devil’s work because having individuality wasn’t a Puritan standard. Binary thinking makes you lean one way or another, there is no other option to think about. This affected how the government treated the Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor, they were immediately seen as the bad guys and they were detained because of the target that was placed on their backs. Having a demagogue who was corrupt and only wanted power is not a good way to gain acceptance or support from the nation. So instead, McCarthy started to accuse people of being communists as a way to show Americans that he will rid the United States of communists. The accusations only created fear amongst the American people, All of these events caused mass fear among people, which we only eat away at people. These events all show how people attack others who are different then them or don’t fit the average stereotype of how they expect a person to be. But this also built the foundation for the world we live in today. Individuality has been embraced and everyone is seen as their own unique person, and everyone is able to have their own thoughts and opinions. We also have a checks and balances system in our government to make sure no one gets too much power, like Joseph McCarthy did. Even though we still have problems in our country, we have learned so much from the past and have been able to allow much more freedom among the people.