In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the reader watches as a small Massachusetts village tears itself apart during the Salem Witch Trials. Friends and neighbors accuse each of in fear that they are consorting with the Devil. It is no surprise then, that alliances begin to form in Salem. Some people use the trials as an opportunity to exact their revenge or for their own personal gain. However, these alliances are not as stable as they may seem, and some characters shift their allegiances. As the play continues, the reader gains more insight about the characters and their intentions as they decide where their true loyalties lie. While most of the teenage girls accusing people of witchcraft seem to be pretty evil, if not insane. Mary …show more content…
While the judges on the court should be fair, this is not the case for Judge Danforth. He is the highly respected Deputy Governor and is put in charge of the trials. He is extremely loyal to his position and takes the notion of witchcraft quite seriously. In the beginning of Act III, when Giles, Francis, and Proctor try to prove their wives’ innocence, Danforth is willing to listen to their testimonies. He remains relatively unbiased, however this begins to change. At the end of the act, after Mary accuses Proctor, Danforth sentences Proctor to jail, “What are you? You are combined with the anti-Christ, are you not? I have seen your power; you will not deny it!” (Miller 1338). Despite Hale’s warnings that the girls are frauds, Danforth ignores him and sides with Abigail and the other girls. Even when Danforth has the opportunity to set things right and set the innocent free before they are hanged, he refuses. When Hale begs Danforth to pardon the accused, Danforth says, “I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang...Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part: reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now” (Miller 1348). Danforth does not want to accept any pleas because if he does, people might think those who have already been hanged could have been innocent. Danforth does not want to put his reputation at stake, even if it means men will die. He, like Mary Warren, is considering his own position and the preservation of his status. In the end, Danforth puts himself above the court and the law, something he would have been strictly opposed to when the trials
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller the Salem trials come about in a deeply religious and superstitious society of puritans. The majority of the characters in the play become convinced that the removal of the devils spirit and witches from their community is the work of God. However, there are many intense feuds and rivalries in the small town that arise, which leads to the Salem residents taking advantage of the witch trials to express animosity and to plot the perfect revenge on their enemies. Abigail Williams was the original source of the hysteria in Salem. Abigail's hysteria was fueled by her hatred toward Elizabeth Proctor "She hates me, uncle; she must, for I would not be her slave.
When a trial is going on the court needs to have solid evidence before accusing anyone of being guilty or not guilty. The Salem Witch trials was a historical event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, where a group of girls were accused of witchcraft, and later they all testified to the activity of witchcraft, and for this they were not punished for their wrong doings; however, everyone else that was accused and did not testify were punished for telling the truth about not being involved in witchcraft. The ultimate responsibility for the deaths of the innocent Puritans is borne by Danforth because he makes decisions without having solid proof, he believes the other girls over Mary Warren , and he has all the power to decide who gets to die or survive. One reason why Danforth is responsible for the death of the innocent Salemites is because he makes decisions without having solid proof. During the whole trials Danforth does not believe anyone who does not testify to witchcraft because he believes the girls that accused the innocent puritans.
He believes strongly in his ability to judge the character of the informants. This comes into play when others question his judgement of Abigail and the girls from the woods. Danforth has a great deal of authority over the verdict of the accused, he has the power to judge them as not guilty. Danforth being the primary judge means he could have admitted to his foolishness and told the community that the accused people were not witches, and it would have made the townspeople believe that there was no witch problem in Salem at all. Danforth is too concerned with his reputation to admit that his judgement, at first, was clouded.
He is known for the quote, “Do you know who I am, Mr. Nurse,” (49) and, “[do] you doubt my authority?” (55). Danforth represents the the archetypal character type who will rely on his power to gain what he desires, simply through giving others fear that he will use his power to hurt them. He is rather paradoxical given the fact that he is a reverend, but at several times during the play it appears as if he is attempting to use the court as a launchpad for his own career. In fact, when he is faced with the possibility of the masses losing faith in the court system, he and Parris seem to be scared for the court as if it were their life in jeopardy.
Lastly, Judge Danforth is one of the characters responsible for the trails because he convicts many people, and he leads them to their death without fully examining all the evidence that is put in front of him. Ultimately, all three of these characters are responsible for the witch trials due to their individual failings. Abigail
Shawn Jande Ms. Clancy American Literature B3 15 November 2015 The Crucible Analytical Essay Imagine, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit by your neighbors and friends out of jealousy, and desire. This is what many people in the town of Salem had to go through during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. People's motives such as: gaining and maintaining power, and aspirations for what other people had caused them to make irrational, and atrocious decisions. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, desire and power drive characters to create chaos in the community.
When he says this, he is defending his reputation and the court in fear of being exposed because part of him knows this isn’t true. Later you would think after Abigail left he would have changed but no he is just scared for his life. Act 4 states, “Tonight, when I open my door to leave my house—a dagger clattered to the ground. Silence. Danforth absorbs this.
Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth.
Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth are two authoritative figures in The Crucible whose roles in society are to lead the community in the ways and likeness of God so that the people of Salem can, basically, be good Puritans. Despite their similar intentions, there are also blaring differences which distinctly separate the two and their beliefs. To start, both Hale and Danforth work chiefly to serve God and lead his people on Earth to live holy and just lives. When the question of the Devil and witchcraft arise within Salem, both men come to investigate and cleanse the town of evil. While Judge Danforth considers himself “a minister of the Lord” and does “not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience
However Abigail may hold a great deal of authority during the trials, she is not the only character who held authority and used in a bad way. Judge Danforth is another great example of authority leading to hubris in a characters personality. Danforth’s moral are good, however he still tends to make unlawful decisions based off of what the type character he wishes to build. For instance, Reverend Hale requested that Judge Danforth held off on John Proctors hanging because he felt that he was innocent and wanted more time to prove this. Danforth understands Hale’s reasoning, but persist that “there will be no postponement().
Since the beginning of time people have gone through trials in court to either be proven innocent or guilty. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller a massive number of people were being convicted in Salem, Massachusetts because of the witch trials. The law of the land states that everyone is above suspicion until they are demonstrated to be guilty by legitimate evidence; in the play the Crucible if a person was accused of an unlawful act they were summons for being a witch and working for the devil without proper confirmation. Citizens in Salem were imposed to establish their innocent or be put to death, which caused conflicting issues in the village.
While reading the story you view many different examples of betrayal that were done during the times of the witch trial. For instance in Act 1 of The Crucible we read about Abigail telling Reverend Hale that Tituba made
Deputy Governor Danforth was brought to the village of Salem from boston to convict the “witches” that had been afflicting the young girls in the village. From this description, one might believe that Danforth was sent to do good and believed that he himself was doing good. Although this may have been Danforth’s original intent, as the trials continued he began to prize his image and status over the lives of others in the village. This becomes clear especially when speculation is risen around the girls. Once the thought of the girls being frauds crosses his mind, Danforth immediately jumps to the fact that he mustn’t dirty his name or reputation.
When other information was brought up to contradict his original thoughts, he would not consider the testimonies with equal significance. Also, Danforth refused testimonies that were not written statements. When Giles Corey tells Danforth he has never meant to accuse his wife of being a witch, Danforth refuses to accept Giles's evidence unless it is submitted in “proper affidavit”. Danforth does not consider verbal evidence as significantly as written evidence. Another example of this is when Proctor attempts to falsely confess his account with the devil, but he refuses to sign the court's written confession document.
Fullmer 1 Undoubtedly children in The Crucible have a very defining aspect of one of the major themes in the novel, innocence vs guilt. In Salem, everything and anything either belongs to God or the Devil and who is more innocent in the eyes of God than a child? Childlike behavior is associated with innocence and this apparent innocence is what kept many of the children in Salem protected during the witch trials. The symbolism of innocence relating to the children, the voice that children are given in The Crucible compared to the other people who lack the ability to defend themselves because they are considered to be less credible, and why children are represented the way they are and how their representation contrasts other characters in the novel are all important elements to the novel as a whole.