Characters Of Villains In 'The Devil And Daniel Webster'

In “The Devil and Tom Walker” they use literary archetypes that represents universal patterns of human behavior or commonly-held beliefs. This story takes place in 1727 in Boston Massachusetts. There are three main characters who are very similar but a little different. Tom Walker is small, greedy, overly confident, and miserly. Tom Walker’s wife Mrs. Walker is selfish, verbally abusive towards Tom, and she is known as a termagant because she nags and complains all of the time. Last but not least old scratch has many other names that have been given to him by his personality, but he is the devil.

The unjust execution of 19 innocent people. This was the result of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. The play The Crucible depicts this incident as it closely happened in real life. One character in this play, Judge Danforth, was the judge of the trials who believed that these accusations of witchcraft were true, and order the executions of those 19 innocent people. Throughout his presence in the play, he convinces the people of Salem that what he believes in is correct, and that justice should be delivered to those who have sinned with the Devil. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Judge Danforth employs assertive diction, an aggressive tone, and utilization of ethos to

In The Crucible, Judge Danforth is determined to stop the hysteria over the accusations of witchcraft, but he ultimately ends up adding more chaos and tragedy to the situation at hand. To begin, Judge Danforth is a very powerful and influential character when it comes to the Salem Witch Trials. He is the deputy governor of the town, and it his responsibility to determine the fates of the accused. It all begins when the girls are caught dancing and singing in the woods with Tituba. They decide to accuse her (and their) actions of being those of witchcraft to avoid getting in trouble, but after that, any name that comes

Reverend John Hale is the minister who is called in to investigate the witch trials in The Crucible. At first he believes them, but later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials. Deputy Governor Danforth is the judge at the witch trials. He is dedicated to removing all witches. He rules by the law and will not allow exceptions or anyone to try to undermine his court.

As the story comes to an end, the community begins to realize how they are killing innocent people for a reason they cannot prove. The judges in the court kept believing the people were possessed by the Devil. This put fear in the eyes for the citizens, so they thought killing them would be better. However, killing all of these innocent people made the community fall apart.

Throughout history, pride and determination have motivated people to do amazing things. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson proves that pride and determination aided the creation of The World’s Columbian Exposition.

The short stories “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” were written at very different times but can be seen as similar stories. The depictions of the devil, the role of religion, and the resolution of each story were very different.

Through his illustration of Deputy Governor Danforth as a stubborn figure who remains convinced of the accused’s guilt, Miller shows the cause of why following the rules does not always suffice. Although titled “Governor”, Danforth heads the witch trials of Salem. Readers initially witness his nature when the townsfolk refer to him when they explain why the suspected witches confessed to their sins, remarking, “The Deputy Governor promise hangin’ if they’ll not confess”(58). If the women declare

A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.

“The Devil came to me and bid me to serve him”, A woman named confessed to serving the Devil.

Looking into the deposition of Merry Warren and Giles Corey may present new evidence that the Devil may or not be in Salem. Giles Corey states that he knows the person who claims to have a relationship with the Devil, but will not tell the name. Thus, allowing the court and the Puritan to keep their anonymity. Merry Warren stated in her deposition that Abigail William is lying and accusing everyone that crosses her path. She also says that there is no Devil in Salem and it is all fiction.

In Salem, there is very little tolerance, and everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil. This dichotomy functions as the basic underlying logic behind the witch trials. Reverend Hale states in regard to the witch trials, “We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise.” (Miller 31). He says this because he is trying to communicate his religious views and is exerting his opinion on others, whether it is truly accurate or not. As Danforth says in Act III, “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God’s grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it.” (Miller 87). This statement accurately sums up the attitude of the authorities toward the witch trials. In his own right, Danforth is indeed an honorable man, but, like everyone else in Salem, he sees the world in black and white. Since the court is conducting the witch trials, anyone who questions the trials, such as Proctor or Giles

Miller uses the characterization of Danforth to show how some people will use the power of their position to protect their own interest. An example that shows this statement is when Proctor delivers his testimony, he supports the petition of good opinion of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Parris states the ninety-one people who’ve signed the petition should be put for questioning, but Danforth orders to arrest all of those who’ve signed it. He states a strong argument justifying the way the trials have been handled when he says “A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 1298). In addition when Proctor gives his confession, Danforth states to Rebecca “Now, woman, you surely see it profit nothin’ to keep this conspiracy any further. Will you confess yourself with him?” (Miller 1330). Danforth believes the victims are all guilty, and desires to force them to admit they’re guilty. He is also convinced that Proctor knows more of the Devil’s acts than what he has stated.

“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Prey” by Richard Matheson all utilize grotesque or bizarre occurrences and a mysterious nature as their two themes. These authors used these themes for individual purposes that were not the same but all to give a lesson. Washington Irving wrote about how money can’t buy you happiness, Edgar Allan Poe wrote about how you cannot hold on to the past, and Richard Matheson wrote about how you cannot take control of your loved one’s life.

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a tragic story of injustice suffered by an innocent community who are subjected to the hypocritical, prideful judges of their trial. These Judges use their power to eliminate evidence of their mistakes and return their community to puritanical ways. The leaders of Salem are not concerned with seeking the truth and justice, but with maintaining their authority and reputations; this objective leads them to consistently rejecting truth, against all logic and evidence of their senses.