Fear in Salem, Massachusetts and The Crucible Essay

What do you fear in our twenty-first century society? Terrorism, inequality, losing your home, or injustice? Salem, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century feared injustices among the government. Individuals hid and lied to keep safe from being condemned as witches. This era of history is known as the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible explores the Salem Witch Trials while following the lives of several individuals. The fear and mistrust among the seventeenth century Salem society can be directly related to today’s twenty-first century society. Americans have lost hope and belief in their government creating individuals who are scared to stand up for what is right. Glancing into our twenty-first century world comparisons†¦show more content†¦These individuals may or may not have been witches, yet the jury many times chose to hang any accused individuals with or without reasonable cause. Today, much like during the Witch Trials, people are sen t to prison for crimes they didn’t commit. Of course, many guilty people are sent to prison and rightfully so, but sometimes good lawyers are able to convince the jury unjustly sending innocent individuals to a life in prison. Though, Americans are not scared of being sent to jail for witchery, they are scared of being in the wrong place at the wrong time due to the fear of governmental polices. Due to fear of being wrongly accused during the Salem Witch Trials erratic and chaotic behaviors stemmed across the town. People feared being called witches so they hid, lied, cheated, and wrongfully blamed their friends and family. Chaos grew across the town and more and more people were hung. In comparison, during 9/11 in the United States citizens across the nations hid, cried, and hurt due to the destruction occurring on the home front. Though our towns and nations faced different types of chaos, chaos and odd behavior still occurred. Often as others begin acting out, others follo w. In Salem people hid and accused others to hide their own behaviors. When terrorism struck New York City our entire nation grew into uproar. Our citizens feared for their life, therefore people acted crazilyShow MoreRelatedThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay1646 Words   |  7 Pagesthat came from the 1950s was Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. During a time when the U.S. was worried of communism taking over, Miller released The Crucible, which helped to capture the hysteria that was occurring. The play presents itself as a metaphor for the House of Un-American Activities Committee that was created during the Cold War when communism was spreading, but Miller never actually referenced it in the play. 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