The allegory of the entire play is the girls representing
those who would call out names during the 1950s of people who were spies for or
associates of or friendly with the Communist Russians. So, in Act 1, we see this start
to unfold. You could consider the Putnams Senator Joe McCarthy. The Putnams seemed to
encourage the girls to make the accusations, whereas McCarthy was the one who encouraged
others to follow his lead in the House Committee on Un-American Activities. This process
of accusing people to be put to trial would be similar to the hearings that this House
Committee held in order to identify and accuse people of their communist ties during the
Red Scare.
Both scenarioes are often referred to as
witch-hunts and we have had several since and will continue to have them in the
future.
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