How not to write an English Coursework that makes up 1/12 of your final grade. Or maybe how to. I don't know yet. I'll find out on Tuesday. Enjoy.


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"Knowledge of Salem and of McCarthyism may be interesting, but they make little difference to the value and significance of this engrossing drama." Do you agree with this assertion?


Salem was a village in what is now the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. In 1692-1693 it bore witness to a terrifying demonstration of mob-rule. 141 people were arrested on suspicion of witchcraft and 20 were executed.
    The events detailed in The Crucible are not entirely faithful to what actually happened. Miller took some creative liberties when interpreting the historical documents in order to better make his various points.
    To wit. There were far more girls involved in the actual 'crying out' than in the play. These were fused together in order to fit the confines of the stage and to focus the audience's attention.
    Whilst records show that "Mary Warren tried to exclude John Proctor from accusations of witchcraft while she was denouncing his wife" her "role among the accusers was smaller than that of Abigail Williams". So that Miller could use this hint of sexual interest-something he felt would be far more understandable and satisfying to a modern audience than "amorphous adolescent hysteria"- Miller raised Abigail Williams' age from 12 to 17, making her the one with whom John Proctor had an affair.
    In reality there were many judges of equal stature involved in the Salem witch trials, Miller chose to symbolize them all in the characters of Hathorne and Danforth.
    Then there are the personalities of the characters. According to Miller, "little is known about most of them... They may therefore be taken as creations of my own, drawn to the best of my ability in conformity with their known behavior".
    Finally, there is that matter of what actually happened. Why did the girls see what they saw? Did they actually see it? Were they lying, maybe to wreak revenge on a society that judged them so harshly (the area was inhabited almost entirely by puritanical Christians)? Was it a lie that simply got out of hand? Did personal feuds between villagers have anything to do with it? Or was it ergotism, a food poisoning in the bread that could have led to hallucinations?
    Well... yes, we just don't know. What we do know is that all the people involved "believed totally that witchcraft posed a serious threat to the health and spiritual well-being of the colony." Once the accusations started to fly, it was a convenient club to wield against those who had disagreed with you in the past.
    Now for McCarthyism. Between 1950 and 1954, senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy led an all-out attack on what he perceived to be "a government... full of Communists."
    Preying on the already prevalent fear of Communism among the American Public, he built up so much hysteria around the subject that he could get away with whatever he wanted. At least in the short-term.
    Following World War II there was an intense feeling of fear and loathing in the USA. They'd won The War... but now there was an even greater threat to face. One completely opposed to their way of life. One that could walk among them undetected...
    The parallels begin. The American Public were totally convinced of Communism's evil, just as the inhabitants of Salem Village, over 250 years before, were convinced that witches existed and were coming for them... And if they weren't convinced at the start of the 1950s, McCarthy made sure they were within a very short time.
    You're a Communist? Bam! Instant disgrace, no career, beware things that go bump in the night. You sympathise with them? Bam! No job for you, son. You once saw a Commie whilst crossing the street, seven years ago, but you're not quite sure, it might have been a Jew...? Well, we'll let it slide this time, Bubba. But don't let it happen again.
    That the statistics McCarthy offered as proof of this supposed Communist invasion changed each time he gave a speech mattered not. That he never once successfully convicted a Communist was merely an example of their treachery and the extent to which they had infiltrated the government...
    And that's where it all fell down. McCarthy got too sure of himself. He'd been doing whatever the hell he wanted for over three years and he felt confident. He'd said the government was full of Commies? Time to go after the big boys, Bubba.
    So he took on the United States Army, randomly accusing officers of being Communists. And President Eisenhower and the Army came down on him with all the force they could muster. Whilst he'd been disgracing and destroying the lives of random dope-fiends, actors, directors et cetera, they'd been okay with it. But come after us? Come after The Boss? Well, that was going too far.
    McCarthy's policy of assuming all suspects "guilty until proven innocent" was in direct opposition to that employed by the American judicial system. Added to this the fact his record-keeping was sloppy to say the least, and the public's general dislike of the man (voted "worst senator" in a poll of the press), the State's defence was won with this heart-felt statement, following yet another of McCarthy's harangues, by Joseph N. Welch:

    "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you no sense of decency?"

    So. The hearings ended. McCarthy was disgraced. And the hatred of Communism he had inspired in Americans was only to last for several generations more...
    But at least it stopped when a sane man said, "Stop!" The Salem Witch Trials were not to end so amicably.
    Why so? John Proctor's agonising over what to say can be identified as the most significant cause. If he had come forward as soon as the girls started accusing people, told what he knew, told of his affair with Abigail Williams (and now I'm talking of the play) and his suspicions of her and Mary Warren... if he'd talked of these things as soon as possible then maybe less people would have died. Certainly he would have been taken more seriously.
    However, because he buried his head in the sand, because he kept hoping things would get better, because he kept hoping things would sort themselves out... well, everything got worse. His friends were arrested and executed, no one believed a word he had to say, and he was dismissed as a troublemaker, "come to overthrow the court, Your Honour!"
    Much as Arthur Miller himself was "prosecuted and convicted for contempt of Congress... fined five hundred dollars and given a suspended prison sentence of one month." What was his crime? Refusing to give names of friends who had, like him, "attended a few informal Communist Party meetings many years earlier".
    Both Miller and Proctor refused to give away their friends. They were perfectly willing to sacrifice themselves. But this wasn't good enough for the respective authorities. Both authorities wanted conspirators named, even when they had the lists. They wanted to exert their power, to break the individual. And both Miller and Proctor stood strong. The former was acquitted on appeal, the latter executed by hanging... and all that was in it was 250 years.
    Well... yes, that's all well and good. Very interesting. But does it make any difference "to the value and significance of this engrossing drama"?
    What value does The Crucible hold in and of itself, as a play devoid of social context?
    It is the struggle of one sane man against a society gone mad. It is a study of "the nature and effect of guilt". A contemplation on "the right of society to judge the actions of its members."
    John Proctor is a good man who has made one mistake, that of having "known" Abigail Williams whilst being married to another woman. That he is good is demonstrated by his agonizing over the affair. But his upbringing does not allow him to forgive himself. In his eyes he has committed a sin, one for which he may never be forgiven. This leads to a lot of inner turmoil that realizes itself in his hostility towards his wife and others.
    So Proctor appears insane whilst his actions are merely the logical conclusion of living a lifetime of puritanical Christian values.
    The society in which he lives however is the exact opposite. On the surface it is a well-structured, orderly, moral structure. But, on closer examination flaws appear. For example, when Proctor is trying to convince Danforth of his affair with Abigail, Danforth asks for Elizabeth's testimony. When it is obvious that she is lying in order to try and protect her husband Danforth pays no heed. Hale, now a voice of reason (alas too late) implores Danforth, "Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell: I beg you, stop now before another is condemned!" But Danforth sticks to what he knows. "She spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied!"
    The irony is cruel. Yes, he has lied. But about other things at other times. In this he is telling the absolute truth. Something he is so ashamed of it has taken him eight months to confess... and no one believes him.
    It is assumed that society has the right to judge its members. But when the judicial system is corrupt what is an innocent man to do?
    So. Integrity. A theme Miller had tackled many times in his previous plays. What makes it special this time around?
    The stakes are that little bit higher. Proctor's situation that little bit more hopeless. He is faced with the dilemma of having to "choose between the 'negative good' of truth and morality, and the 'positive good' of human life under any dispensation." And he either 'loses' or 'wins' depending on your outlook. He wins morally, finally demonstrating to himself that he's not all bad, but loses in the obvious sense; he gets hanged.
    "Knowledge of Salem and of McCarthyism may be interesting". That they are. And what kind of impact does it have on the play as an "engrossing drama" if you have extensive knowledge? Or none at all?
    What makes it such an "engrossing drama"?
    There's sex, violence, horror, suspense... The relationship between Proctor and Abigail satisfies those lewd ones among us who like the idea of a young girl being 'broken in' by a man old enough to be her father. And the fact that she's portrayed as a "pagan bacchante", as a manipulative obsessive, eases any guilt we might feel over that. Hangings aplenty are referred to and we get to witness Giles being crushed to death. What will Proctor's fate be? Will he stay true to his principles? Or will he finally give in and play along with this sick charade? And horror... over what can happen if fear and loathing become too intense and strike away sanity and reason.
    Does knowledge of Salem and McCarthyism make any difference?
    Yes.
    Knowledge of Salem makes it all the more real. We know this happened. We know that 20 people were really killed just because some little girls said they were witches. It was real.
    Knowledge of McCarthyism makes it all the more scary. You can't dismiss it as 'just some crazy thing that used to happen back then.' It didn't just happen 300 years ago. It happened 50 years ago. And the only thing that stops it happening again is... well, what stops it from happening again? What makes us so much better?
    All something like that needs is for the people involved to be scared. Scared so much they don't care or notice or know how to stop it if everything goes to hell and we're being executed for having yellow skin or not knowing English or disagreeing with The Boss...
    Knowing about Salem and McCarthyism makes this play come alive. Without the knowledge it is just a very well written, very well staged story. With the knowledge it becomes something more. It becomes a warning.
    Beware. The Time of The Swine is upon us. The son of an (un)convicted felon, who cannot even put two words together, is in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Behind his piggy little eyes lies the mind of a man who has watched his father, family and political beliefs laughed at for the last eight, if not twelve, years.
    It's a good time to be afraid.





Caleb Newcastle
February 2001










Bibliography


- 'The Crucible' by Miller, Arthur
- A review of The Crucible in 'The Commonweal, Vol. LVII, No. 20, February 20, 1953, p498' by Hayes, Richard
- 'McCarthy, Joseph Raymond' Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation
- 'Salem Witches' from Encyclopedia Britannica
- 'The Fight For America: Senator Joseph McCarthy' by Friedman, Jesse
- 'Generation of Swine', by Thompson, Hunter S. - for details regarding the involvement of George Bush Senior in the illegal sale of weapons to Iran by the USA.
- And various notes, made by me, from sources I cannot find anymore.


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So I had great fun writing that, as I hope was apparent from my enthusiasm. Whether or not that enthusiasm will translate into good grades... well, I'll keep you posted.

Blink182 are being listened to again. Hoo-hah.

-Me