So I just finished reading The Crucible in ELA class, and I was a little confused by the ending. I get that Proctor died (and loved his line about it being “his name”), but it just felt like nobody got genuine justice. The people Abigail accused were still supposedly hung which just makes me feel confused as to what the point of the story was. It just left a lot to be desired. And the fact that it’s an allegory for the Red Scare and McCarthyism kinda detoriated by the end. I’m looking to discuss in the comments about this, so if you have some insight then please share.
by Coconutsack1
1 Comment
Hi! So I used to teach high school and I have taught this text several times. Yes, it is meant to be an allegory for McCarthyism, but it doesn’t HAVE to be about that particular situation, it can be anything where people are being accused of things because they are different and afraid to speak up to defend themselves or each other, any situation in which people are forced to keep themselves safe by hurting someone else or the community around them.
Also, consider that the way a story ends is what solidifies its themes. If Miller wanted to say something about the horrors of the literal (or allegorical) witch hunt, he would not give it a happy ending if he really wanted to get this message across. Tragedy hits harder. So he gave us sympathetic, morally gray characters that the audience would like and root for, and then had the type of behavior he was condemning (the witch hunting) be what dooms them. With John Proctor this shows really well because you really do see him try to do the right thing at the end and not lie, but that can’t save him from an inherently unjust and immoral situation.