Characterization Of The Crucible

He is depicted as stubborn, as shown in his response when Giles Corey provides evidence that proves his wife’s innocence. Danforth responds by saying “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe…? This is the highest court…in this province, do you know it?” His refusal to hear evidence that is likely to contradict his guilty verdict indicates that ultimately, Danforth considers himself the final judge of what is right and wrong, reflecting the corruption inherent in Salem’s authority. The authors thus provide valuable insight into the signs and motivations of a corrupt government.

Throughout the entire case Danforth used many fallacies, specifically false dichotomy and straw man. When Danforth addressed Mary Warren demanding, “You will confess or you will hang!”(117)

Many people in today’s society follow along with the majority because they don’t want to state their opinion. When people do this they are embarrassed to stand out of the “crowd” and would rather just go with the flow then state their opinion. In the play The Crucibles I think there are 2 characters that show this trait very well. I think that Abigail Williams and Thomas Danforth show that they follow the majority because they don’t want to be embarrassed and want to be the same as everybody else in the play. First I’m going to show you how it is shown in Abigail Williams.

Danforth the judge tried to make all people confess because it is the less people he has to see die. Proctor's wife Elizabeth tries to convince, at first she wanted him to confess since she had already been convicted and therefore he could take care of the children and still have possession of the land. Goodie Proctor still knows there is goodness in her husband John and changes her mind, not wanting him to confess. Elisabeth persuades John Proctor to not confessing with complying with the Devil.

When Francis Nurse provides signatures proving that the girls’ accusations are fraud, instead of looking into the possibility of it being credible proof, Danforth quickly has the signers accused saying “Mr. Cheever, have warrants drawn for all of these- arrest for examination” (Act 3, Page 87). This shows how little he cares about the people of Salem and how much he cares about his career and the number of people he condemns. He even refuses to postpone hanging and spare the lives of John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and others because he fears it will show a weakness in the court. “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot par-don these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.”

He becomes blind with power, and he does not want to see the truth. He condemns innocence people to their deaths without concrete evidence that the allegations are true. Danforth believes what he is doing is right. He does not consider the unjust nature of people being accused without solid evidence, “You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when 12 are already hanged for the same crime. It’s not just” (68). Miller is trying to depict that power can blind those of wrongdoing. Danforth does not for a second think that he has overlooked evidence. He does however silence anyone trying to prove him wrong saying they should not “undermine the court”(69). Danforth also begins to use scare tactics towards the end of the play. He tells Giles Corey to “sit down and take counsel with [himself], or [he] will be set in jail until [he] decides to answer all questions...this is a court of law...I’ll have no effrontery here!” (121). Miller is depicting the chaos that goes along with false allegations, and how people can lose themselves in the

When Danforth, the judge of the Salem Witch Trials, asks Proctor to recite the names of whom he “saw with the Devil,” John says, “I speak my own sins: I cannot judge another.” (IV. 141). By saying this, he causes more trouble for himself rather than causing trouble for other people.

Danforth is the presiding judge during the witch trials. He is viewed, by the town, and by himself, as a holy man of God. Because he has more power during witch trials, he allows witchcraft rumors to continue. Throughout the play, there are many times when Danforth is put in a situation to stop madness, but he never does. In Act IV Danforth says, “You have most certainly seen some person with the Devil. Mister Proctor, a score of people have already testified they saw this woman with the devil”. Danforth is using the girls' testimonies as solid evidence. By doing so, he is allowing witchcraft rumors to spread, putting him in a greater position of

99% of women and 91% of men in Chicago were honest when it came to putting a dollar down for a cup of lemonade based on the honor system (Honest Tea). Honesty allows for a strengthening of character along with relationships of all kinds. Being unbiased can result in keeping friendships, since neutrality has been chosen instead of certain sides of a disagreement. Another important trait is selflessness.

Judge Danforth shows this by refusing to reverse his judgment that all the accused were guilty of witchcraft. Danforth is the head judge of the court and a narrow minded, strict interpreter of the law. At the beginning of the play, he believes the girls are telling the truth about the witches because in his eyes, the girls could not be lying about such a remarkable event. Danforth viewed the young girls as victims. However, when Hale confronts Danforth about the unlikeliness of all the accused being involved in witchcraft, Danforth changes his point of view.

Yet he consistently executed innocent people. He cannot claim ignorance of their innocence either. This obvious when for the first time in the play a character confesses without motivation when Danforth asks, “Then you tell me that you sat in my court, callously lying when you knew that people would hang by your evidence?” and Mary squeaks, “I did, sir.” Yet, this is not good enough for Danforth so he continually suggests that Mary is lying until she agrees that she is. Danforth is certainly guilty of murder but can he really be called the most culpable man in Salem? No, while his actions were despicable, he was just protecting himself and his livelihood. On the day before he hangs Proctor, Danforth says, “Twelve are already executed.” Much more would have been executed had they not confessed. For Danforth, to go back on so many his judgments would have cost him his reputation and possibly his

During the play, he often acts the same while present in a court case. Now as a judge each case is different, different people, different acts have been made, but Judge Danforth showed no change in fact he treated every case the same. Judge Danforth said, “You misunderstood me, sir, I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just” (Miller 1222). When he says this it contradicts what he says and what his actions say. Everyone was convicted of being a witch but they were convicted of doing something different, but Judge Danforth treats them all the same as awful human beings when he really should treat it all different instead of the same. David Sundstrand

Explanation 2: Danforth allows himself to be so easily persuaded and tricked by Abigail and the other children. He lets his guard down when listening to Abigail because he believes her to be trustworthy: “Danforth, weakening: ‘Child, I do not mistrust you-’ ” (Miller 108). Part of this trust comes from Abigail having tricked the town into believing that she has been saved and it is her duty to point out the Devil’s people, but as a judge, it is Danforth’s duty to be impartial in the

The novel, The Crucible was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller, which was based on the Salem Witch Trials existing in the late 1600s. In the play, Abigail and several other young women accuse innocent citizens of Salem for the action of witchcraft. During the trials, many individuals were unfairly persecuted; such as John Proctor. This event in history may be associated with the Red Scare, in which individuals were tried for their questionable influences of communism in the United States. When Miller compares the character of John Proctor to himself, the reader is able to relate the similar experiences that both men faced. The Crucible demonstrates the struggle against corruption involving the court, which lead to the death of many innocent individuals in Salem. The Crucible generates an allegory for Arthur Miller’s struggles with McCarthyism because of his similar experience relating to John Proctor’s battle against the Salem Witch Trials, and the relation between the actions of the court in both situations. Arthur Miller uses several writing methods in order to convey The Crucible as an allegory for his struggles with McCarthyism. Miller demonstrates how the Crucible represents an allegory for his conflict with McCarthyism by relating his experiences with the plot of the novel. Miller relates the novel to his struggles by stating, “Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.” (Are You Now… 34) Miller is explaining how the court

In this quote, John Proctor calls out the court for being anarchic because Danforth has not thought to question the source of where the evidence is coming from. One of the most important lessons