The parallels between Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, and his article Why I wrote the Crucible, can easily support Miller's reasons for writing this classic work . Miller's purpose in writing both the play and the article was to emphasize the similarities between the witch hunts of 1692 and the Red Scare of the 1950s. Miller simply wanted to convey the message of fear over reason, express himself in a new language of old English, warn of mass hysteria, and, most importantly, compare his life in the 1950s with the irrational trial of 1692. Miller's reasons are numerous and although they are all stated openly in his article, they are also clearly stated and understood in the play. An important theme in both the article and the play is fear of reason. Miller wrote his play to demonstrate instances where fear overcomes reason. In the article he states that, "...its [the Crucible's] paranoid center is still producing the same darkly attractive decline it did in the 1950s" (Miller 5). This warning concerns the dangers of fear over reason and the consequences that arise from it. In the novel, the fear of reason is shown when Tituba confesses to witchcraft rather than be hanged. Tituba says, “No, no, don't hang Tituba! I tell him I have no desire to work for him, sir” (Miller 44). She confesses a lie and gives in to the fear of being killed, and all reason escapes her. Miller's article also gives evidence of the fear over reason that drives Miller to write his play, "...it may simply be the fascination with the explosion of paranoia that pervades the play - the blind panic that, in our era, often seems to sit on the edge". dark edges of consciousness” (Miller 5). Throughout the work, Miller suggests the theme of fear versus reason, and this is reiterated in the art... in the middle of the paper... ely, to bring others only a perplexed smile" (Miller 1) . 1950s witch hunts seemed unnatural and silly, but nowadays the Red Scare and communist hunting seem silly and pointless. A parallel to the play is when Miller states in his article, “The more I read the Salem panic, the more it brings to mind corresponding images of common experiences in the 1950s" (Miller 4). The article also states that “it is natural to turn one's back for fear of being identified with the condemned. As I learned from non-Jewish refugees, however, there was often a desperate pity mixed with, 'Well, they must have done something.'” (Miller 4) This scary period in American history when neighbors turned on neighbors was documented in the book. When Rebecca Nurse is accused and Elizabeth says it's scandalous, Hale responds, "Women, it's possible" (Miller 64).