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Matt Brodsky

Mrs. Hudak

English III

07 June 2018

Abigail’s Atrocities

The old adage “history repeats itself” tends to stand true as civilization progresses. It can

be a matter of years before events of similar cause occur, and some of these events can alter a

nation’s history forever. The Crucible covers a major event in American history. This event was

the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. During these few

fateful months, several men and women were slaughtered due to unjust accusations of witchcraft.

Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, was experiencing similar accusations first hand;

however, he was accused of being a “communist” during the Red Scare: a notion of mass

hysteria provoked by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible,

the character Abigail Williams evokes parallels with Senator Joseph McCarthy due to her

unjustified accusations, strong desire for power, and diminishing credibility.

When forging accusations, Abigail and Senator McCarthy both utilized unsupported

evidence. This enabled them to influence the decisions the court made. In The Crucible, Abigail

is rather quick in accusing several women of witchcraft: “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw

Goody Osborn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!... I saw Goody Sibber with

the Devil! I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil! I saw Goody Booth with the Devil” (Miller

849). Once Tituba confirms that she came in contact with the Devil, Abigail and Betty Parris

begin to accuse multiple innocent women in Salem village. There is no valid evidence in the

accusations and the girls seem to just be rattling off names. In addition to this, Abigail also
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displays her manipulative nature when trying to defend herself in the presence of Judge

Hathorne. When Mary Warren is providing evidence that Abigail is indeed a fraud, Abigail acts

as if Mary has become a witch: “Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot,

I cannot stop my mouth; it’s God’s work I do” (Miller 875). While this is occurring, Mary

Warren is not using the power of shapeshifting. There is no bird in the rafters and Abigail wants

to remove the attention from her, therefore, this is invalid evidence. This displays Abigail’s

manipulative abilities and how she is able to quickly turn the tables on an ally (Mary Warren).

Senator Joseph McCarthy also utilized unsupported evidence when accusing innocent citizens of

being “reds.” McCarthy’s entrance to the spotlight was not a truly valid one: “In February 1950,

appearing at the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, McCarthy

gave a speech that propelled him into the national spotlight. Waving a piece of paper in the air,

he declared that he had a list of 205 known members of the Communist Party who were

“working and shaping policy” in the State Department” (History.com). In addition to this,

McCarthy was not the most fit person to be a senator: “he aggressively interrogated witnesses in

what many came to perceive as a blatant violation of their civil rights. Despite a lack of any

proof of subversion, more than 2,000 government employees lost their jobs as a result of

McCarthy’s investigations” (History.com) A few years after this event, he still attempted to find

Communists. he committed many violations of civil rights throughout this process and caused

many innocent people to lose their jobs.Senator McCarthy blatantly lied about having a list of the

Communists in the State Department. Abigail and Senator McCarthy both launched themselves

to the front lines of the issue by fabricating lies, which unfortunately gave them power.

Abigail and Senator McCarthy both had an immense desire for power and underlying

hope that the movements would make them godly. Abigail wanted to keep the public from not
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having an knowledge about her questionable past: “My name is good in the village! I will not

have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (Miller 834). Abigail is citing

her innocence to Reverend Parris. However; after reading the play, the reader can determine this

statement is false because Abigail had an affair with John Proctor. She wanted to hide this fact

for as long as possible. When Elizabeth and John Proctor are discussing about the state of the

court in Salem, Elizabeth says: “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks

the crowd will part like the sea for Israel” (Miller 851). Elizabeth Proctor claims Abigail has

become godly in Salem. This quote contains a reference to the Old Testament, where Moses

parted the Red Sea to lead the Israelites back to their homeland. She is making this comparison

to Abigail becoming a god in Salem and the court. Senator McCarthy had come from not so

humble beginnings: “At the time, McCarthy was a first-term senator from Wisconsin who had

won election in 1946 after a campaign in which he criticized his opponent’s failure to enlist

during World War II while emphasizing his own wartime heroics” (History.com). McCarthy

used a smear campaign to win his way into becoming a Wisconsin senator. Like all villains, their

downfall comes due to a tragic flaw:“McCarthy’s downfall finally began in October of 1953,

when he started to investigate ‘communist infiltration into the military.’ This was the final straw

for then president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who realized that McCarthy’s movement needed to be

stopped” (Oh, Latham). McCarthy’s tragic flaw in this case was greed. He was a rather power

hungry individual. Abigail and Senator McCarthy’s desires for power aided them in the moment,

but also contributed to their corresponding demises.

As with all liars or those who make irrational claims, Abigail and Senator McCarthy both

lost credibility to any statement they made. Reverend Hale is the first to pick up on Abigail’s

lying ways when he denounces the proceedings and as a result, he quits the court (Miller 876).
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Reverend Hale clearly sees that Abigail is a fraud and he hopes that quitting the court will cause

the officials to take a hint that nothing Abigail says is valid. As a result, Abigail feels that fleeing

Salem is a priority: “This be the third night. You see, sir, she told me she would stay a night with

Mercy Lewis. And next day, when she does not return, I send to Mr. Lewis to inquire. Mercy

told him she would sleep in my house for a night... My daughter tells me how she heard them

speaking of ships last week, and tonight I discover my - my strongbox is broke into. Thirty-one

pound is gone. I am penniless” (Miller 879). This quote is rather significant in the play. Abigail

and Mercy Lewis had robbed Reverend Parris when they fled Salem to catch a ship to another

destination. Abigail left due to her decreasing credibility and believed seeking asylum would be

a better choice than to be hung as a result of lying. On the other hand, Senator McCarthy did not

flee the United States. Instead, he had caused his demise due to the way he acted: “Through the

televised investigations into the United States Army and the reporters’ attack, the nation grew to

realize that McCarthy was ‘evil and unmatched in malice.’ He lost his position of chairmanship

on the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate and in December of 1954, a censure

motion, which is a formal reprimand from a powerful body, was issued condemning his conduct

with the vote count at 67 to 22. The media subsequently became disinterested in his communist

allegations and McCarthy was virtually stripped of his power” (Butler and Wolff). McCarthy lost

all credibility once he started to accuse the military of harboring communists. He lost all of his

power along with this. Loss of all credibility drove Abigail out of Salem village and drove

Senator McCarthy to alcoholism, which lead to his death.

Abigail Williams and Senator Joseph McCarthy draw several parallels between them.

Both of them used unjust evidence when accusing the victims. Along with this, they both had

immense egos and desires for god-like abilities. Lastly, Abigail and McCarthy’s loss of
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credibility lead to their last resorts. Arthur Miller definitely chose Abigail to play the role of

Senator Joseph McCarthy. This can be assumed due to reading an interview by Arthur Miller, in

which he says that the character he relates most with is John Proctor, the protagonist in the play

who is affected by Abigail’s unsupported claims of witchcraft. In real life, Arthur Miller was

blacklisted by Senator McCarthy because Miller was supposably a communist. Reading or

watching Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it can be observed on how cruel society can be. It also

displays how the mob mentality gets to the citizens of a town, state or country. The Salem Witch

Trials and the Red Scare are evidence of history repeating itself and events like this should never

occur again.

Works Cited

Butler, Anne M, and Wendy Wolff. “The Censure Case of Joseph McCarthy of

Wisconsin(1954).” United States Senate, United States Senate Archives,

www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/censure_cases/133Joseph_McCarthy.htm

“Joseph McCarthy.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,

www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy.
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Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible.” Elements of Literature, edited by Richard Sime, Fifth ed., Holt,

Reinhart, and Winston, 2003, pp. 829–887. Literature of the United States with Literature

of the Americas.

Oh, Joyce, and Amanda Latham. “SENATOR JOSEPH MCCARTHY, MCCARTHYISM, AND

THE WITCH HUNT.” The Cold War Museum,

www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/senatorjosephmccarthy.asp