McCarthy Hearings vs. The Crucible
In the table above, I have highlighted areas where the script of the Crucible and the McCarthy hearings were incredibly similar - especially the green highlighted area. For example, the way that Mr. Welch and John Proctor defend themselves is almost identical - in both cases they are running out of options and are almost lashing out in desperation and frustration. Any witness to the McCarthy hearings as well as readers of the Crucible would’ve been in awe simply due to the aggressive and desperate nature of the arguments. The structure and style of the arguments were, at times, childish, and the relationships between characters barely existed - most characters were extremely selfish. For example, McCarthy insults Mr. Welch saying “But when I heard the completely phony Mr. Welch,”. Anyone watching the McCarthy hearings, myself included, would really begin to understand the horror of it as the arguments just went back and forth randomly with insults and accusations flying. Both scripts show an incredible amount of stubbornness - Paris in the Crucible is downright irritating to listen to with his illogically formed arguments, and McCarthy is incredibly rude and, for lack of a better word, annoying with his untrue accusations. “McCarthy also relates to Abigail in The Crucible, because they both made false accusations against innocent people. McCarthy accused people of being communists, whereas Abigail accused people of being witches. Philosopher George Santayana best states McCarthy's fatal error - "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."”(The McCarthy Hearings and Their Relation to the Salem Witch Trials). It truly amazes me how similar these texts are…
