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What are some social issues in The Crucible?

There are a great many social issues in this play, and because the play is a metaphorical expression of McCarthyism, the social issues can be interpreted through the lens of two eras: the 1950s, and the late seventeenth century. Social issues such as sexism, religious fanaticism, corruption in the church, feudalism, and problems with the legal and justice system, which was newly created for the early colonists, all were part of the situation in Salem Village that led to the execution of a number of innocent people for witchcraft. Perhaps one of the most significant social issues was that of class division, which caused tension between the wealthy merchant class and the poor farmers whose devotion to Puritan beliefs made the accumulation of wealth a source of conflict.


Part of Miller's purpose in using this historical context to explore the current political situation was to show that McCarthy's tactics and the paranoia and manipulation surrounding the hearings were not only similar to the Salem Witch Trials, but also to portray the timeless quality that such dark chapters of human history possess. In other words, the social issues in the play are issues that were pertinent in 1692, but that take on another level of significance when one considers the events of the early 1950s in the United States. 

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