Representation and text themes (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter FC ATAR
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EarthSci34
Good grief.
Well, Module C is focused on representation and text! There are 2 electives, Elective 1 which is Representing People and Politics and Elective 2, which is Representing People and Landscapes.
The Crucible is an interesting play because it is actually an allegory of the socio-political upheaval during the Cold War Era called 'The Red Scare'. In your study of context you will come across McCarthyism and Senator McCarthy. This was a period of time when thousands of Americans were accused of being communist without valid reason/ proof. Most people accused worked in the arts section of society, so writers, actors and the like. It's scary how these accusations actually destroyed lives- people lost their jobs and reputations on baseless accusations. In the end, people realised the absurdity of McCarthy's aggressive anti-communist sentiment and eventually all accusations were dropped (to my knowledge).
Arthur Miller was actually accused of being communist, so he was very exposed to this quite well.
Now, compare that to Salem, Massachusetts during the Witch Trials. Let's see the parallels:
1. Senator McCarthy was losing his power during the time he started accusing people of being Communist= Reverend Paris was not well-respected member of the Salem Community, wanted to show others that he was worthy of respect.
2. A time of heightened paranoia due to communist growth in Europe/Asia = A heightened paranoia due to mysterious sickness was surrounding the girls of the village
3. Accusations were started by McCarthy = Abigail Williams was the first to accuse Tituba of being a witch
4. Widespread fear of communists = Widespread fear of witches
5. People's reputations were destroyed, no one wanted to be associated with accused communists = People accused of being witches were literally killed/ their property stolen/ communal shunning.
The list goes on. However, you should be noticing how Miller uses the Crucible to present POLITICS in general. One sweeping generalisation could be that politics is about maintaining power in society through deceit (Manipulation of truth). Of course, a relevant scene to be analysed is when Abigail was accusing many women of being witches in Act 1 while "(enraptured in a pearly white light)" or something like that, which conveys to the responder the lengths some people will go to maintain their influence in a social context. Makes more sense of you reference the scene better, but you get the gist.
This is one of the many ways you could analyse the text! Best of luck
The Crucible is an interesting play because it is actually an allegory of the socio-political upheaval during the Cold War Era called 'The Red Scare'. In your study of context you will come across McCarthyism and Senator McCarthy. This was a period of time when thousands of Americans were accused of being communist without valid reason/ proof. Most people accused worked in the arts section of society, so writers, actors and the like. It's scary how these accusations actually destroyed lives- people lost their jobs and reputations on baseless accusations. In the end, people realised the absurdity of McCarthy's aggressive anti-communist sentiment and eventually all accusations were dropped (to my knowledge).
Arthur Miller was actually accused of being communist, so he was very exposed to this quite well.
Now, compare that to Salem, Massachusetts during the Witch Trials. Let's see the parallels:
1. Senator McCarthy was losing his power during the time he started accusing people of being Communist= Reverend Paris was not well-respected member of the Salem Community, wanted to show others that he was worthy of respect.
2. A time of heightened paranoia due to communist growth in Europe/Asia = A heightened paranoia due to mysterious sickness was surrounding the girls of the village
3. Accusations were started by McCarthy = Abigail Williams was the first to accuse Tituba of being a witch
4. Widespread fear of communists = Widespread fear of witches
5. People's reputations were destroyed, no one wanted to be associated with accused communists = People accused of being witches were literally killed/ their property stolen/ communal shunning.
The list goes on. However, you should be noticing how Miller uses the Crucible to present POLITICS in general. One sweeping generalisation could be that politics is about maintaining power in society through deceit (Manipulation of truth). Of course, a relevant scene to be analysed is when Abigail was accusing many women of being witches in Act 1 while "(enraptured in a pearly white light)" or something like that, which conveys to the responder the lengths some people will go to maintain their influence in a social context. Makes more sense of you reference the scene better, but you get the gist.
This is one of the many ways you could analyse the text! Best of luck