In the 1950s, the Red Scare of Communist infiltration hit America, pitting friends against each other and sparking Communist accusations on the right and left. If accused, you could confess to communism and accuse others, or face the accusation yourself. This concept is quite similar to the Salem witch trials, where accused witches were put in the same situation. Written during the Red Scare, Arthur Miller produced a play called The Crucible, which uses the Salem witch trials as an allegory for communist hysteria. In this play, witchcraft rumors arose from the boredom of some teenage girls and blossomed into unprecedented hysteria. Accusations spread, and since confession was the only way to avoid hanging, confessions spread as well. When only a small group of stubborn resisters remained, main character John Proctor had to make a difficult decision whether to confess or hang, and ends up hanging himself along with a few others to help save the integrity of their community. In his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller demonstrates that while some may view self-sacrifice as an unnecessary loss due to pride, the decision to sacrifice one's life for the good of one's community and the elimination of conformist attitudes is very noble. The enormity of this decision can instill a sense of guilt and responsibility in another, as happens to the protagonist John Proctor, and can cause one to alter one's opinions and actions. waste of human life due to pride. As Proctor's hanging date approaches, he is encouraged by Parris, Danforth, and even Reverend Hale to confess to witchcraft, which would thus validate the hanging of the rema... middle of paper... and as simply one waste, however if it is done to help free your community from conformism and hysteria, it is a noble act. Through the enormity of this act, others can be influenced and both their consciences and their actions can be influenced. Even in the era of McCarthyism, otherwise known as the Red Scare, it was necessary to get involved to limit the scope of hysteria and help it calm down. Even if it meant risking their jobs and reputations, the resistance of these people, including Arthur Miller himself, was a necessary step to calm the hysteria. No matter what kind of sacrifice you make, whether it's your reputation, your livelihood, your life, or something a little less drastic, putting your community before yourself is a noble, people-free action to carry forward this philosophy, hysteria would never come. until the end.