Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
many in the community because of his great wealth. The people believed
that these people were telling the truth because of their higher positions
and many of the accused had to confess to save their lives because they
were unable to properly defend themselves. In the HUAC trials, the
members of the HUAC grilled the accused of their past experiences with
the communist party and the accused, aware that their word would be
used against them to ruin their careers, either cited the Fifth Amendment
or co-operated with the investigators as an incentive for leniency. This is
similar to the convicted witches in The Crucible falsely confessing to
witchcraft and accusing others so they would not hang. Although the
threats against them were different, people in both The Crucible and the
Congressional hearings were pressured to talk against their wish. Miller
criticizes how word taken under pressure is not always truthful, and to use
that as evidence is not just.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to criticise the actions of the HUAC and
protest the unjust way the hearings were executed. He expresses his
disgust at the way the alleged communists were treated and the response
of the American citizens who made the accusations against these people
despite knowing the consequences the accused would face. The events of
the play are reflections of the way the HUAC conducted their hearings,
albeit more melodramatic, and Millers characters represent real people
during the Red Menace. Miller criticises how people are able to put their
own greed before other people, thinking they are just.
Bibliography
History.com Staff. (2009). HUAC. Available: http://www.history.com/topics/coldwar/huac. Last accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Communism - House Un-American Activities Committee. Available:
http://law.jrank.org/pages/5459/Communism-HOUSE-UN-AMERICAN-ACTIVITIESCOMMITTEE.html. Last accessed 23 Mar 2015.
History.com Staff. (2009). Hollywood Ten. Available:
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/hollywood-ten. Last accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Fabiform. (2004). Arthur Miller. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller.
Last accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Ted Wilkes. (2005). Hollywood Blacklist. Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist. Last accessed 23 Mar 2015.