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In what ways is The Crucible a reflection of the world in which it was produced?

In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee began making accusations, mostly of people in the entertainment industry, that individuals were Communists or had Communist ties or sympathies.  McCarthy said that there were some "200 card-carrying Communists" that had infiltrated the United States and that they posed a serious threat to national security.  Arthur Miller, the writer of The Crucible, penned the play in response to these issues (in which he actually did become involved -- he was even questioned by the HUAC eventually).  He noticed the similarities between Salem during the Witch Trials in the 1690s and the United States during the Red Scare in the 1950s: fear and paranoia led to hysteria, people were accused with very little evidence, and they were expected to name the names of other guilty persons.  The character of Abigail Williams, then, is based, in part, on Joseph McCarthy (as well as the real Abigail Williams), and her coterie of lying friends is linked to his cronies who went along with him for fear of being accused themselves (just as her friends are). 

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