The Crucible as Allegory Allegory An extended narrative

The Crucible as Allegory

Allegory: ØAn extended narrative that carries a second meaning along with the surface story. The continuity of the second meaning involves an analogous structure of ideas or events (frequently historical or political); this extended metaphor distinguishes allegory from mere allusion or symbolic ambiguity. ØLandscapes and characters in allegory are usually incarnations of abstract ideas. ØAllegory is not only a literary mode but, by extension, a method of critical analysis as well. Thus, critics sometimes interpret works allegorically where they perceive coherent analogies between characters and abstract ideas. ØIt is often said that allegory “both conceals and reveals. ” In political allegory, the author may disguise his criticism or satire for fear of reprisal, but perception of the analogy between the narrative and contemporary events reveals the intended meaning.

Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novella. q The main action of Animal Farm stands for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of the Soviet Union. q Animalism is really communism. q Manor Farm is allegorical of Russia, and the farmer Mr. Jones is the Russian Czar.

To better understand the comparison that Arthur Miller makes between The Salem Witch Hunt of 1692 and The “witch hunt” for communist in the United States during the Cold War in the 1940 s 1950 s read the following information regarding the following key terms: §“Mc. Carthyism” §“Communism” The cartoons provided were actual political cartoons that were published in the Washington Post in the 1940 s 50 s to oppose Joseph Mc. Carthy’s tactics to combat “Un American” behavior.

§ The Cold War revived the anti communist hysteria that had gripped the United States after World War I. § In 1947 Congress revived the House Committee on Un American Activities (HUAC), opposed by Herb Block since its inception in the 1930 s and declared by President Truman to be itself the most un American activity. § Herb Block comments: "The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, helped provide the committee with material from its aptly named ‘raw files'. Some producers, directors and screen writers refused to testify or to play the ‘name game' in which the committee demanded the names of associates, who could then be called on to name others thus providing an ever-expanding list of suspects to be summoned. "

§ In the aftermath of World War II, Americans reacted with dismay as relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated, the Russians imposed communist control over much of Eastern Europe, and China was on the verge of going communist. § People worried that communists might try to subvert schools, labor unions, and other institutions. § Government agencies and private groups began to look for evidence of subversive activity. In this climate of fear and suspicion, the House Committee on Un American Activities, which Herb Block had opposed since its inception in the 1930 s, became active. § And in 1950, a young senator from Wisconsin, Joseph Mc. Carthy, seeking political gain, began a well publicized campaign using smear tactics, bullying and innuendo to identify and purge communists and "fellow travelers" in government. § Herb Block recognized the danger to civil liberties posed by such activities and warned of them in his work. He coined the phrase "Mc. Carthyism" in his cartoon for March 29, 1950, naming the era just weeks after Senator Mc. Carthy's spectacular pronouncement that he had in his hand a list of communists in the State Department. § His accusations became headline news, vaulting him into the national political spotlight. For four years Mc. Carthy attacked communism, while in his cartoons Herb Block relentlessly attacked his heavy handed tactics. § In June 1954, Mc. Carthy was censured and in December condemned by the Senate.

During the postwar anti communist campaign hundreds of elementary and high school teachers were investigated and lost their jobs, sometimes as a result of being named by proliferating "anti subversive" groups and individuals. Some individuals compiled and circulated their own blacklists, which were accepted by frightened employers and casting directors who feared being blacklisted themselves if they sought facts and fair play. The motives of some self serving or vindictive accusers were summed up by Herb Block in a phrase: "If you can't crush the commies, you can nail a neighbor. "

ØIn February 1950, Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy captured headlines by his claims that he held in his hand, a list of names of some 205 communists in the State Department which he did not reveal. ØMany members of Congress, influenced by his success, began to support his heavy handed and abusive tactics for political purposes. ØHere conservative Republican senators, Kenneth S. Wherry, Robert A. Taft, and Styles Bridges and Republican National Chairman Guy Gabrielson push a reluctant GOP elephant to mount the unsavory platform. ØThis was the first use of the word "Mc. Carthyism. "

Ø Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy's continued string of reckless charges of communism in government created such a sensation that the Senate appointed a special committee under Millard E. Tydings to investigate his "evidence. “ Ø Mc. Carthy managed to turn the hearings into a circus, each new charge obscuring the fact that earlier accusations weren't backed up. Ø Despite a final report by the committee discrediting Mc. Carthy's tactics and evidence, he emerged with more general support than ever. And "anti subversive" hearings by other committees of Congress, particularly the Senate Internal Security Committee headed by Senator Pat Mc. Carran (D Nevada), continued treating rumors and unsupported charges as "evidence. "

As Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy's campaign against State Department and Justice Department officials continued, President Harry Truman spoke against "scaremongers and hatemongers" who "are trying to create fear and suspicion among us by the use of slander, unproved accusations, and just plain lies. "

§ In 1954, Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy went too far when he took on the United States Army, accusing it of promoting communists. § The Senate held special hearings, known as the Army Mc. Carthy hearings, which were among the first to be televised nationally. § In the course of testimony Mc. Carthy submitted evidence that was identified as fraudulent. § As both public and politicians watched the bullying antics of the Senator, they became increasingly disenchanted. § Before the year was out Mc. Carthy, whose charges had first hit the headlines in February 1950, was censured by his colleagues for "conduct unbecoming a senator. "

§ Even with Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy on the wane, the general hysteria continued in many forms by assorted super patriots. § In the summer of 1954, a branch of the American Legion denounced the Girl Scouts, calling the "one world" ideas advocated in their publications "un American. "

ü From the stock market crash in 1929 through the new millennium beginning in the year 2000, editorial cartoonist Herb Block has chronicled the nation's political history, caricaturing twelve American presidents from Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton. ü He has received three Pulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning (1942, 1954, and 1979) and a fourth with Washington Post colleagues for public service during the Watergate investigation (1973). ü He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1994 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2000, the Library of Congress named him a "Living Legend" in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the nation. ü Numerous honorary degrees from institutions nationwide, most recently a 1999 Doctor of Arts from Harvard University, suggest academia has forgiven him for leaving college early to pursue a career as an editorial cartoonist. And well it should, for no cartoonist or commentator in America has done more to educate and inform the public during the past seven decades than Herb Block.

§ http: //www. loc. gov/exhibits/herblocks history/fire. html

§ a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc. ) and there is no privately owned property § a theory advocating elimination of private property § a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state owned means of production § Simply put, communism is the idea that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. Communism is designed to allow the poor to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to that of the middle class landowners. In order for everyone to achieve equality, wealth is redistributed so that the members of the upper class are brought down to the same financial and social level as the middle class. Communism also requires that all means of production be controlled by the state. In other words, no one can own his or her own business or produce his or her own goods because the state owns everything. § According to the philosopher Frederick Engels' "Principles of Communism, " the plan for ultimate financial and social equality is built on the principle that the system should spread around the world until all countries are on board [source: Engels]. This central goal has caused capitalist nations to keep their guards up, fearing that communist economic practices might spread to their countries.

The political theory of socialism, which gave rise to communism, had been around for hundreds of years by the time a German philosopher named Karl Marx put pen to paper. Marx, also known as the father of communism, spent most of his life in exile in Great Britain and France. He wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, which later served as the inspiration for the formation of the Communist Party. Communism is also known as "Marxism. “ Marx believed that a truly utopian society must be classless and stateless. (It should be noted that Marx died well before any of his theories were put to the test. ) Marx's main idea was simple: Free the lower class from poverty and give the poor a fighting chance. How he believed it should be accomplished, however, was another story. In order to liberate the lower class, Marx believed that the government would have to control all means of production so that no one could outdo anyone else by making more money. Unfortunately, that proves to this day to be more difficult than he might have realized.

§ Phase 1: A revolution must take place in order to overthrow the existing government. Marx emphasized the nee d for total destruction of the existing system in order to move on to Phase 2. § Phase 2: A dictator or elite leader (or leaders) must gain absolute control over the proletariat. During this phase, the new government exerts absolute control over the common citizen's personal choices including his or her education, religion, employment and marriage even. Collectivization of property and wealth must also take place. § Phase 3: Achievement of utopia. This phase has never been attained because it requires that all non communists be destroyed in order for the Communist Party to achieve supreme equality. In a Marxist utopia, everyone would happily share property and wealth, free from the restrictions that class based systems require. The government would control all means of production so that the one class system would remain constant, with no possibility of any middle class citizens rising back to the top.

Central banking system 2. Government controlled education 3. Government controlled labor 4. Government ownership of transportation and communication vehicles 5. Government ownership of agricultural means and factories 6. Total abolition of private property 7. Property rights confiscation 8. Heavy income tax on everyone 9. Elimination of rights of inheritance 10. Regional planning 1.

In the communist society that Marx described, the government has supreme authority through its total control of land means of production. Because the government distributes land property among the people, communism sets a standard of equality both economically and socially among its followers. The system seems to work in theory, but how did communism work in practice?

§ Socialism: A system that advocates the state's ownership of land, industry and capital. Communism is a § § § § § branch of socialism. Capitalism: Economic system in which individuals or corporations own land means of production Bourgeois: The middle class/upper class, or the owners of land means of production Proletariat: The working class Kulak: Wealthy peasants Bolsheviks/Bolshevists: Russian word for "majority. " Also, the political party that spawned the Bolshevik Revolution, effectively introducing communism in Russia Mensheviks: By definition, "minority, " although this Russian party had many more supporters than the Bolsheviks when Lenin returned to Russia in 1917. Reds: Communist/Bolshevik supporters. Also, "red" is a derogatory term to describe communists. Whites: Those opposed to the Bolshevik regime's takeover Gulags: Russian slave labor camps Utopia: A perfect place, in reference to social, moral and political issues.

§ If Stalin had his way, communism would have become much more widespread, especially in the West. In the 1930 s, he enacted a plan to overtake this region with furious industrial development. His hope was that Russia would become such a military powerhouse that it would stand up to the other powerful nations, especially the United States. His efforts fell short, and as we've learned, the Soviet Union slowly fell apart due to these economic disadvantages. § However, communism does have a presence in the United States today. The Communist Party USA supports political candidates in local elections. In fact, the group has even supported a presidential candidate as recently as 1984. The group advocates the end of the working class's exploitation and oppression. Ultimately, the party hopes to implement a socialist society where all people will benefit from the wealth present in the United States.

§ China, since 1949 § Cuba, since 1959 § Vietnam, since 1976 § North Korea, since 1948 § Laos, since 1975 Home to more than 20 percent of the world's population (1. 3 billion people), China is one of the world's most prominent communist governments. Mao Zedong, China's dictator, launched and raised the communist government in China, employing many of Stalin's tactics.

§ http: //people. howstuffworks. com/communism 5. htm