Existing comment:
Arthur Miller, The Crucible (1953)
A thinly veiled critique of the second Red Scare and the government effort to root out communist sympathizers, The Crucible is set in 1692−93, when mass hysteria led to the Salem witch trials, in which twenty people were executed under suspicion of practicing witchcraft. During the early to mid-1950s, the House Un-American Activities Committee staged investigations of suspected communists, many of whom were actors, directors, and writers in the performing arts. Arthur Miller himself was held in contempt of Congress for refusing to identify colleagues as suspected communists. The Crucible demonstrates how paranoia can lead to dangerous consequences in any period. |