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Adriana Silva
Ms. LeBeau
3A
April 22, 2014
Hidden
There's always a time when people will have to turn away and ignore or stop and listen.
everyone can follow the same path as the rest or be different and make their own. Many people
like to follow the flow and do what other like. Others chose to follow their instinct or heart and
take decisions into their own hands. It is hard not to follow beliefs or cultures, but some ideas are
worth it. Following the dream or goals of the future are nice to have. In the 1950s the Senator
Joseph McCarthy started to spread rumors about people being communist. This kind of rumors
were later known as McCarthyism. Many people started to get frightened that they had to check
every step they would take. McCarthyism, The Crucible and the LGBTQ community constitute
paranoia.
In the Crucible, the setting was established in a town named Salem in Massachusetts.
During that time, there was many suspicion of witchcraft between the neighbors. the main
character Proctor was a wise and respected man of the town. Due to the sins he had committed
with a woman named Abigail, he was seen a different way. Most of the time where people were
being sentenced to death or declared innocent was taken place in the court. As the story started of
by having the main characters named and a girl with no reaction or movement in the bed, had
brought thoughts since the very start who was to blame for. Many aspects were pointed towards
Abigail because of the way she ordered the girls to stay silent and to follow any orders she said.
It was clear that she was hiding something away from everyone, but nothing was able to be
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revealed because she was good at keeping it as a secret. One of the judges named Danforth said
This is a sharp time, now, a precise timewe live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil
mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by Gods grace, the shining sun is up, and
them that fear not light will surely praise it (Miller 94). He describes how the world came to be
filled with fear and doubt. As in the courts, when the one being tried would name a person, then
that person would of been questioned by an authority. When Proctor was blamed on witchcraft,
he had to sign a paper that explained all of his confessiones and that paper would be placed on
the front door of the church. As Proctor disagrees to sign the confession he explains because it
is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies!
Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may i live without my
name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! (Miller 143). As Proctor resisted on not to
sign, he was not given other choice than to be hanged. He didnt want to give up the last thing
he had left. another character to be justified either she did or did not do witchcraft was Elizabeth,
Proctors wife, because she was suspicious of having a doll and having her pregnancy used as an
escape of prison. The book was filled with many people blaming one another not knowing who
was right or wrong.
During the McCarthyism age, many people were being blamed of being communist
without much evidence or even without even being involved with Communism. The start of
McCarthyism started of with a man named Joseph McCarthy. as he wanted to find a way to gain
power, he used communism to his advantage. As explained in the website Discover the
Networks, McCarthyism became an imprecation used to silence those who wanted to discuss
the Communist penetration, including espionage, of American life (McCarthyism). As Truman
became a national figure he was continuously repeating his accusations about those who
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parlayed post war fears about the Communist menace into a power undreamt of by his fellow
legislators; power that ultimately challenged institutions such as the U.S. Army and cowed the
Eisenhower presidency itself (McCarthyism). As listened by many, he was reminding those of
communism having everyone with fear of who would be next to be blamed. Many people fighted
for their rights because many communist were just innocent people chosen out due to their small
differences. People would use terms such as The Great Fear to characterize all anti-
communism as a dark and destructive crusade that released the paranoia and nativism always
threatening to burst through the surface of American life (McCarthyism). As anything explained
by respected leaders or ideas showed in the TV viewed in the daily life is known to be believed.
Although it may not be true or doesn't make sense, people are destined to believe what they are
told.
As the years past, not everyone learns from their mistakes. As many have been judged
due to their ethnicities and culture, there is still many discrimination. For example, the LGBTQ
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community has been judge from a long time. As they
appear to be different and not be like an ordinary man or woman, they are made fun of
constantly. Just because they like or want to be different, many people laugh at them and tease
their kind. From youth to an adult, they are seen with eyes of horror and rejection. As people
were raised to believe that a man and woman should be married and those who dont follow
tradition are not human. As the church does not accept those who love their same sex should not
be welcomed. As the LGBTQ community started to speak up for what was right, they started to
gain rights. The legislative attempts to enact anti-bias laws protecting gay men and lesbians
have occurred at the federal, state and local level (Gays). They have tried to have laws were
straight and gay people can be treated equally as like marriage. In some states, it is legal for
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people of the opposite sex to get married. although some rights are being given to gays, there is
still discrimination. As they have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in all
civilian federal workplaces, as well as an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation and other
forms of discrimination by federally conducted education programs; and granting asylum for gay
men and lesbians facing persecution in other countries (Gays). As people get older and the
youth grow up, many things will be changed and believed.
As showed in The Crucible, McCarthyism and modern discrimination, there will always
be doubts and fear that bring paranoia to humanity. Humanity will always bring suspicion to the
world where a group will be picked on. as we keep forgetting events from the past, everything in
the future will continue the same. no one will be responsible to notice that judging a group of
people for the wrong reasons breaks rights of those being justifiable. people would not be able to
live in peace and tranquility without trust in each other. As technology becomes part of the
culture and life of the new society, it is more attainable to get information from many different
countries. we can be aware of anything happening globally. By having access to technology,
many rumors can be spread through the web faster than ever. Everyone can be judged and
discriminated at the touch of a button. These actions can be made through anger, fear or a way to
gain power. as made by anger, the person committing the discrimination has been hurt or has just
been harmed by an event like Abigail in the Crucible. She wanted to be with Proctor, so she
blamed Elizabeth of witchcraft. Power comes to be superior than others like McCarthyism when
Joseph wanted to become more than a senator and invented the idea of a list of people blamed of
communism. Fear come from those who see something out of the ordinary like those who
discriminate the gays for being different and something no one is use to. As people get
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knowledge of how to be responsible of their actions, the world in the future will one day be a
better place.
































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Work Cited
"McCarthyism, Red Scare, and Domestic Subversion - Discover the Networks." McCarthyism,
Red Scare, and Domestic Subversion - Discover the Networks.
DiscoverTheNetworks.org, 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Heyrman, Christine. "Puritanism and Predestination, Divining America, Teacher Serve, National
Humanities Center." Puritanism and Predestination, Divining America, Teacher Serve,
National Humanities Center. National Humanities Center, 2008. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
"Gays and Lesbians." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights/The Leadership Conference Education Fund,
2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. Print.