Final answer:
Arthur Miller risked being targeted by McCarthy's anti-Communist accusations by writing The Crucible, a play that criticized McCarthyism through the historical allegory of the Salem Witch Trials. Despite the risks, his indirect criticism contributed to the scrutiny of McCarthy's methods, and although Miller faced harassment and Congressional inquiry, he avoided the fate of others who opposed McCarthyism more directly.
Step-by-step explanation:
The risks that Arthur Miller took in writing The Crucible are closely connected to the historical context of the 1950s, particularly the Red Scare and the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Miller's play was a veiled criticism of McCarthyism, the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. In The Crucible, Miller parallels the Salem Witch Trials with the tactics of McCarthy and the anti-Communist hysteria of his time. By doing so, he risked becoming a target of McCarthy's accusations himself, as the era was marked by a climate in which dissent could be construed as disloyalty, and critics of McCarthy could easily find themselves under scrutiny or accused.
Despite the risks, Miller's work contributed to the eventual cultural and political questioning of McCarthy's methods. His indirect method of criticism through historical allegory allowed him to avoid the more severe repercussions that others, such as The Hollywood Ten, faced when they challenged the anti-Communist hysteria more openly. Miller was indeed called before Congress and was harassed, but these consequences were perhaps less severe than what might have occurred had he not cloaked his criticism in a historical analogy.