In the 1950’s, while Arthur Miller was writing one of his most famous works, The Crucible, mass hysteria struck the United States like a wildfire. Senator Joseph McCarthy, notoriously known for the McCarthyism era of the 1950’s, was conducting a campaign to root out the Communists in America. It is obvious that this this event influenced the entire plot of Miller’s play, leading most of his audience to believe that he was not “blind to the world” when he wrote it. In Arthur Miller’s memoir Timebends, he explains that “At first [he] rejected the idea of a play on the subject. [His] own rationality was too strong, [he] thought, to really allow [himself] to capture this wildly irrational outbreak.” (Miller, 1987, pg. 220). Originally, Miller didn’t think that he could do the Salem witch trials justice if he were to write a play on the topic. Over time, a lightbulb went off in his head, which he explains in the statement “A living connection between Salem and Washington was made in my mind.” (Miller, 1987, pg. 220). This quote is hard evidence from Miller himself that proves true that he was not blind to the world when he wrote the play. He makes the connection between McCarthy and the accusers in Salem, realizing that he could create a story based off of the current state of America’s corrupt society, and, more specifically, a character who could represent the creator of the Communist hysteria. Abigail Williams is the main antagonist in The Crucible, and is described as being a beautiful, cunning, and manipulative seventeen year old girl. She manipulates her friends to accuse many of the innocent people in Salem of practicing witchcraft. Abby riles up the entire village’s fear and hatred of witches to gain power, just like her 20th century counterpart, Senator Joseph McCarthy, riled up America’s fear and hatred of Communists. McCarthy publicly accused hundreds of Americans, mostly entertainers, of being a part