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Christine Engelbrecht

Mrs. Punches

English 2883 American Literature Since 1865

Essay 3

29 April 2008

HUAC and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692

A dark day indeed, the Witch Trials of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 have been

regarded as “one of the most terrifying chapters in American history,” resulting in dozens of

unjustified deaths (Martin 2052). Even more startling are the similarities between the Witch

Trials and the House of Un-American Activities Committee’s involvement in the Second Red

Scare; a modern event also referred to as “McCarthyism” that cost many people their jobs,

reputations, possibly even their lives. One of the many professionals snared in the flourishing

communist paranoia was renowned play write Arthur Miller, a man of strong character and

principle. Inspired by the past and provoked by the present, Arthur Miller wrote the play “The

Crucible,” an allegory paralleling 1950s McCarthyism and drawing many similarities between

accused Miller and the ill-fated protagonist, John Proctor. Drawing from personal experience

with the HUAC, Miller fashioned Proctor’s character to mirror his own feelings and beliefs on

McCarthyism. Receiving countless awards and seeing over fifty years in production in theaters

worldwide, “The Crucible” opened America’s eyes to the cruelties we are capable of, simply by

pointing a finger.

After graduating from The University of Michigan, Miller found himself a big success

writing novels and plays for radio and Broadway, his most famous play to date being “The Death

of a Salesman” in 1949 (Arthur Miller (1915-2005)). By the 1950s, Miller was the recipient of

many awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Theater

Club Award, the Donaldson Award, the Antoinette Perry Award, and multiple Hopwood Awards
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(Martin 2051). It seemed as though Miller had everything, a blossoming career, a beautiful

family, and a steadfast reputation. The only threat to his bright future in entertainment was his

left wing political views, prompting him to attend “four or five writer's meetings sponsored by

the Communist Party in 1947” (Arthur Miller (1915-2005)). Although Miller sympathized with

left wing views, he never became a member of the communist party, but remained a well

respected member of the entertainment industry (1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt).

Comparable to Miller, the character John Proctor was “respected and even feared in Salem,” seen

as a confident man of hard work and dedication (Miller 2063). A successful farmer with an

honorable family, the only known stain on Proctor’s reputation was his lack of church attendance

on Sundays and a certain absence of Christian character in his household, insinuating

involvement in pagan practices (2086). Although Salem was a Christian town prizing devout

partisans, Proctor’s character and reputation in the past spared his family from any unholy

suspicions. Seen as a presence who made a “fool (feel) his foolishness instantly,” Proctor appears

as a man of intelligence and decent conduct, garnering himself weight and respect in the

community (2063).

Trouble arose “In 1947 the House of Un-American Activities Committee began an

investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry,” intending to condemn convicted

persons associated with the American Communist Party (Simkin, “Un-American Activities

Committee”). The conviction of persons associated with left wing politics resulted in jail time,

fines, and exclusion from work in the entertainment industry (Simkin, “Un-American Activities

Committee”). Known as the Hollywood Ten, people who plead the 5th Amendment in order to

avoid answering questions that would implicate their fellow peers of communist activity received

lasting punishment, but much left wing respect (Simkin, “Un-American Activities Committee”).

However, not all accused were willing to give up their careers and readily go to jail in the name

decency and respect. Once questioned by the HUAC, Elia Kazan, a well known Broadway and
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silver screen director and producer, foreboding the end of his career chose to name “eight people

who had been fellow members of the American Communist Party in the 1930s” (Simkin, “Elia

Kazan”). Condemning his fellow peers allowed Kazan the reward of continued work in

Hollywood, but at the cost of much controversy. At the time of Kazan’s testimony, he and Miller

were described as “brothers" and "the same fellow" (Elia Kazan). However, Kazan’s choice to

implicate other left wing peers to avoid suffering the consequences of his own communist party

involvement did not sit well with Miller. Describing his position on the issue as “I could not use

the name of another person and bring trouble on him,” Miller renounced Kazan, refusing his

friendship or business for a decade (1958: Arthur Miller cleared of contempt). In a similar

incident, speculation of witchcraft in Salem and several unsupported accusations lead to the

arrival of Judge Danforth and Judge Hawthorne, “weighty magistrates of the General Court”

from Boston (Miller 2079). With the intention of purging Salem of all “witchery,” Judge

Danforth investigates all persons accused by the inflicted witnesses (2101). Conviction of

witchcraft or unholy practices by the court results in hanging, unless the convicted person

implicates other neighbors who are guilty of the same charges, after which the sentence is

converted to jail time. Those accusing Salem citizens of pagan practices are young girls

conjuring false spectral evidence, guilty of devil trafficking themselves. A witness of the spectral

evidence responsible for many accusations, Mary Warren is also a servant in the Proctor

household. Mary Warren chooses to accuse others to escape conviction rather than be honest and

accept the consequences, even accusing Proctor himself (2112). Proctor renounces her as a liar.

He proclaims “God is dead,” meaning that God no longer presides in Salem’s court room,

allowing such deception to prevail (2113). Like Miller’s relationship with Kazan, it is assumed

that Mary Warren resigned from her position in the Proctor household after Mary Warren failed

to be honest, ending any contact with the Proctors.

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In response to the growing communist paranoia and HUAC activities, Miller’s created

“The Crucible,” a strong political statement about McCarthyism (Arthur Miller (1915-2005)).

Singled out for his left wing political views and opposition to the HUAC, in 1957 Miller was

ordered to appear before the court and testify to his involvement with the American Communist

Party. While Miller admitted to being “sufficiently close to Communist Party activities,” he

denied being an official American Communist Party member (1957: Arthur Miller guilty of

contempt). Once found guilty, he was asked to name other writers who attended meetings with

him held by the ACP, Miller refused saying “his conscience would not permit him to give the

names of others and bring possible trouble to them” (1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt). As

punishment for not cooperating with the HUAC, Miller was fined, sentenced to one year in jail,

and blacklisted in Hollywood (1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt). Praised as a hero of the

McCarthy era, Miller refused to compromise his morals by implicating others, and thus, was a

martyr for his beliefs. Miller’s wife at the time, Marilyn Monroe, stood with Miller and

supported him during the hearings, even after threats of damage to her career (1961: End of the

road for Monroe and Miller). It is thought that her support greatly “contributed to the overturning

of his conviction the following year” (1961: End of the road for Monroe and Miller).

Complimenting Miller’s situation, John Proctor was tried by the court in Salem for witchcraft.

Proctor admitted and defended the family’s lack of church attendance, but refused to tell the

courts that he had any involvement with the devil. The courts turned down his pleas of

innocence, giving him the option of either hanging for not confessing or rotting in jail as a

proclaimed witch (Miller 2124). Deciding to confess in order to live and be with his family, he

still refrained from accusing others and incriminating his neighbors (2123). Once John realized

that the whole town would know his cowardice and think him a witch for confessing he changed

his mind, wanting a clear name in life and death (2124). Rather than rot in jail as a liar and a

hypocrite, Proctor chose to hang with the others who would not compromise their morals and
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beliefs (2125). Before and during Proctor’s death, his wife, Elizabeth, stood by his side and

supported his decision, greatly affecting the character’s outcome (2122, 2125). Once Proctor had

been escorted away to his death, rather than plead with him to confess and live, she remarked

“He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” (2125). While Miller lived and

Proctor died, they both did the right thing and what was necessary to retain their morals and

reputations.

Centuries between these two historical events and still they harbor many similarities. The

HUAC was disbanded in 1975, long after the Second Red Scare, though the damage they had

done to lives, careers, and friendships remained long after (Simkin, “Un-American Activities

Committee”). Twenty years after the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 the government awarded

compensation to all victims and the families of the dead, although “factionalism was still alive,

for some beneficiaries were actually not victims at all, but informers” (Miller 2125). Miller wrote

“The Crucible” as a statement against persecution and HUAC. The protagonist in the play

mirrors Miller’s interactions with the HUAC in character and conviction. John Proctor and

Arthur Miller, in similar situations, accepted their charges as good men with strong beliefs and

morals.
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Works Cited

"Arthur Miller (1915-2005)." Books and Writers. 2003. Kuusankosken kaupunginkirjasto . 25

Apr 2008 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/amiller.htm>.

"1958: Arthur Miller Cleared of Contempt." BBC 7 August(2008) 25 April 2008

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm

>.

"1957: Arthur Miller Guilty of Contempt." BBC 31 May(2008) 25 April 2008

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.stm

>.

"Elia Kazan." PBS: American Masters (2008) 25 April 2008

<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/kazan_e.html>.

"1961: End of the road for Monroe and Miller." BBC 24 January(2008) 25 April 2008

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/24/newsid_4588000/4588212.st

m>.

Martin, Robert A.. "Arthur Miller b. 1915." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 'Ed'.

Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Miller, Arthur. "The Crucible." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 'Ed'. Paul Lauter.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Simkin, John. "Elia Kazan." Spartacus Educational. 1997. 24 Apr 2008

<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkazan.htm>.

Simkin, John. "Un-American Activities Committee." Spartacus Educational. 1997. 24 Apr 2008

<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhuac.htm>.