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Allegory in ‘The Crucible’. Definition of Allegory. A story that can e seen to have two different meanings and parallel meanings, rather like a fable or parable. ‘The Crucible’ can e read as an allegory of the anti-Communist investigations in the United States in the 1950s.
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Definition of Allegory • A story that can e seen to have two different meanings and parallel meanings, rather like a fable or parable
‘The Crucible’ can e read as an allegory of the anti-Communist investigations in the United States in the 1950s. • 1950s America went through period of intense fear of the spread of the anti-capitalist economic system called communism. • The government organised an investigation to identify communists and drive them out of positions of influence. This is often referred to as the 'communist witch hunt'.
Arthur Miller and anti-Communist Investigations • Miller's writer and theatre friends, people who might be thought to influence public opinion, were brought before House Committee on Un-American Activities. • When Miller’s friend was investigated by the Committee, tension between the power of the state and freedom of the individual became the major theme of his next play, The Crucible. • Miller himself appeared before the committee in 1956.
The Crucible portrays witch hunting as something deep within the origins of the American character. Miller shows it arising out of a wide variety of motives, including unfounded fear, jealousy and revenge, an ugly and unflattering image of America which was far from the way that Americans liked to see themselves.
