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Crucible


            
             " There is no shortage of contemporary Salem's ready to cry witchcraft." The parallels between the McCarthy trials in the 1950's and the Salem witch trials seem to be endless. The plot is very much the same, since they both deal with accused victims forced to "name names" or face prison terms or even execution. The Hollywood Un-American Committee was created to find the communists that were hiding in California. They believed that they would send out their messages of communism through their television shows and movies. The characters in Arthur Miller's, "The Crucible", are very similar to the characters in "Guilty By Suspicion". Both have the main character as a wealthy, highly respected man in the town, with an innocent wife and children. Both the McCarthy trials and the Salem witch trials are black marks in the history of the United States.
             During the "Blacklist Era", many of Hollywood's greatest directors, actors, screenwriters, etc., were accused of being communists. Their lives were shattered. They were forced to live like that for twenty years. No one wanted to hire them for the fear of being accused of a communist too. In 1692, the accused were given the decision to either be executed, or accuse other innocent people of being a witch. It was the exact same way during the McCarthy trials. A witch-hunt had broken loose in Hollywood and if anyone tried to stop them, they would be accused of a communist sympathizer. Unlike the McCarthy trials, Salem's villagers had gotten together petitions that declared that someone who was accused was innocent.
             David Merrill was a highly respected movie director at the time of these trials. He was divorced from his wife, and he had one son. He was accused of being a communist, brought into the committee and was questioned. He refused to condemn his innocent friends and therefore faced a prison term. John Proctor was also highly respected in his village.


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