|
|
Post by josephst112 on Oct 4, 2012 15:36:45 GMT -5
In Joseph McCarthy's speech he tries to grasp his audience by explaining how the world is not a safe place and that one should not be in a peaceful state. McCarthy explains how only 5 years outside of WWII Americans should be in a peaceful state, but due to Stalin and Soviet Russia they cannot feel that way. The way he scares the people with the Cold War and the idea of being taken over by communist works to his own advantage. McCarthy also mentions how Karl Marx, another communist, described God as a hoax; so no one who is religious can take part in a communist society. This probably angered many religious people and it gave them another reason to make sure America did not become a communistic country. McCarthy concludes his speech by announcing that he had a list of 205 people inside the government who were communist. He promised to help get rid of them and have a "new birth of honesty and decency in government." After he says this he was viewed as a hero because he wanted to take down all of the communist and all of the terrible things that they did. McCarthy did not want America to become communistic, so he scared the people with all of the terrible things that communist did or represented.
|
|
|
|
Post by laurensc116 on Oct 9, 2012 20:10:59 GMT -5
Another interesting factor about this speech was the title, "Enemies from Within." This was meant to examine the way that sometimes people do not only need protection from their external enemies, but also from people such as their neighbors. This shows how the people at this time did not feel safe even in their own nation from communism or being accused of spreading communist ideals, which relates to The Crucible. In the play, the people living within the communities in and around Salem cannot even trust their neighbors because anyone can easily accuse anyone else of witchcraft, and accusation that could easily end someone's life. When people who seem to have no enemies, such as Rebecca Nurse, are accused of witchcraft, it truly makes the people realize that anyone they know could be out to hurt them and that they cannot trust anyone.
|
|
|
|
Post by rebeccapl116 on Oct 9, 2012 20:23:42 GMT -5
His promise for a "new birth of honesty and decency in government" is quite ironic. This speech led to one of the most corrupt times in American government. In order to avoid being accused, people lied; they sold others out. Often the choices were give names or serve time (even face possible execution).
In Salem, the same situation arose. Once word was out that there were witches within the community honesty and decency went out the window. Parris and Abigail immediately took the situation into their own hands, becoming the McCarthy's of their time. Tituba was faced with confession or death. Therefor she lied about seeing other members of the community with the Devil.
There were also some good citizens in both situations (Hale, the other senators working with McCarthy) who truly did believe that they were fighting for a just cause. It is their naivete and blind following of the corrupt leaders that allowed the situations to get so out of control. The ones leading the show were dishonest and corrupt; they took advantage of these people.
|
|
|
|
Post by gabriellest116 on Oct 9, 2012 21:37:50 GMT -5
I agree that Parris and Abigail could both be seen as parallels to McCarthy in The Crucible. Like McCarthy, neither Paris nor Abigail were genuinely looking out for the good of the community. Instead, they were only concerned with looking out for themselves and whatever would help them get ahead. The very existence of witchcraft was already beneficial to both Parris and Abigail, but accusing others of being witches made them both seem more honest, trustworthy, and valuable to the court and the community. Likewise, McCarthy accusing people of being communists made him seem like a patriotic man who was trying to protect his country, rather than simply increase his power and reputation.
|
|
|
|
Post by danielsa116 on Oct 10, 2012 19:04:21 GMT -5
I would have to say that Abigail seems to be more of a McCarthy-ish character than Parris. McCarthy was a little known politician who came out of nowhere and started accusing people of being communists. Abigail was way outside the "consensus" and then all of a sudden started accusing witches and became a central part of Salem just as McCarthy was vaulted into the center of US politics with his theories. Parris, as much as he could be considered like McCarthy was the preacher of the town and his accusations spurred from his daughter's "coma". McCarthy wasn't really spurred on from an event but by anxiety after WW2, just as Abigail recognized the anxiety within the community.
|
|
|
|
Post by clarele112 on Oct 17, 2012 17:20:42 GMT -5
As mentioned in many opinions above, there are a lot of similaries between the people in Salem and the Americans in the 50s. Both were extremely paranoid and accused others for their self-preservation and elevation of their status or conditions. It was also similar in the fact that not all of the people testified against others. Some, such as Rebecca Nurse and the Hollywood 10, adhered to their principles and refused to comply with the tyranny of consensus. However, there seems to be a difference between Salem and America in the 50s in how much the people within the community cared for each other. In Salem, there were significant number of people in the village that signed a testament to prove Rebecca and Goody Proctor were not witches. Even though Francis promised them that they would not be called into the court for signing the testament, there were still risks that signing it would act to their disadvantage . Nevertheless, they signed it which shows that there was a bond among those people. Additionally, when Rebecca Nurse and other women were in the court, villagers put a dagger in front of Parris to speak of their discontent for arresting their respectful neighbors. All these actions of villagers in Salem displays the closeness and sympathy toward each other that existed among the people in Salem. In America in the 50s, as the the sense of "us" was not limited to towns but expanded to the whole nation, I believe people generally lacked affiliation toward others to support the accused.
|
|
