Corrupt Government Lies In 1984 And The Crucible

As much as we citizens want to deny it, government corruption exists everywhere, whether it be a small group of greedy politicians or the system entirely. Is it shouted at the top of the mountains? Of course not, because it defeats the whole purpose of being corrupt, which is to quietly sweep away one’s imperfections and present themselves as honourable people. An appalling level of corruption and political power is described in the book 1984 written by George Orwell. Ingsoc, a political party, runs a totalitarian society, and with no resistance from their citizens, the government deceives them by changing the past and announcing fake news. Ultimately, they limit the thoughts and emotions of their citizens. Although 1984 tells a fictional

The outer party is forced to take part in an “activity” of screaming and shouting at the face that stands for everything the party admonishes. The Two Minute Hate illustrates the extent of control. The totalitarian government manifest the ideas of hatred of Goldstein; to an extent of picking up the “Newspeak dictionary and flinging it at the telescreen.” Forcing them to take part of the Two Minute Hate will make them believe more and more in Big Brother; by oppressing their minds and thoughts.

In George Orwell’s dystopian society of “1984” exhibit’s a totalitarianism government that extracts away the peoples freedom, eradicates the privacy, and individuality of the people, and in Arthur Miller’s novel “The Crucible” is play about a witch-hunt set in a theocratic society, in which the church and the state are one. Because of the theocratic way of the society, moral laws and state laws are one and the same. These novels share many similar themes related to social and political issues. The three major themes of both books are the psychological administration of external verification to a person’s perception or memory of the truth, the result of deadly consequences attached to the betrayal of trust, and the manipulating arrangement

Judge Danforth is also responsible for the Salem witch trials because his rulings to kill people came with no concrete evidence against them, only unreliable witnesses. Judge Danforth has a very cutthroat way for his rulings. One is either guilty or innocent, no opportunity for a second trial or a review of the case. He openly lets the court know this by saying "If you are not with the court, you are against it"(72). This almost proves that Judge Danforth is ignorant to hard evidence, only wanting people to admit that they are with or against him. Neither option is a just opinion, adding to the hysteria, lie so you can live and others die or tell your truth and die while others live. The people of Salem do not want to make this decision, thus leading to more innocent deaths of the people of Salem. If there had been a different judge in the Salem with trials they would have been over without a death and Abigail's deception would have been brought to light. Judge Danforth decides that many people are guilty, when in reality he should have said he was guilty.

Firstly, throughout the play Judge Danforth acts with pride and arrogance. At the commencement of act III Judge Danforth voices his view on the ongoing phase of the witchcraft trials by stating that “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?” (Miller 85). Here Danforth

Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by

Often individuals over dramatize their opinion to convey their attitude. Similarly, Danforth often acts extreme in his attempts to rid witchcraft from Salem when he says, “If retaliation is your fear, know this- I [Danforth] should hang ten thousand that dares to rise against the law” (Miller 129). Danforth displays demagoguery while he explains to Reverend Hale why the executions must happen on schedule because he appeals to Hale’s passionate fear of witchcraft. Danforth’s response to Hale works in the scene to further build the audience’s perception of Danforth as irritable and urgent, yet precise, and support his determination as Deputy Governor. However, Danforth’s determination often misguides his rationality. Furthermore, Danforth supports the thematic topic of law in The Crucible and helps the reader understand the severity of justice Miller conveys throughout the play. Danforth’s role develops the play by illustrating the stubbornness of authority in Salem during the witch trials.

An equitable judge should possess judicial temperament, courage, and integrity to make sure the delivery of an accountable justice process for the people. On the contrary, Danforth is a selfish and arrogant man who only cares about his own interests. His flawed personalities and hypocritical attitudes make him sightless and irrational throughout the witchcraft, which directly causes the calamity in the town. Danforth feels embarrassment and doesn’t know what to do when Proctor brings Mary Warren’s deposition which shows his previous judgment is wrong. He is baffled and find a reason to defend himself, “ There lurks nowhere in your heart, nor hidden in your spirit, Any desire to undermine this court? Are you in all respects a Gospel

witch trials in Salem. Surprisingly, you praised Judge Danforth for his “impartiality and tact” during this tragic set of trials. You could not be farther from the truth. Judge Danforth abused his judicial power, throughout the trials, to the fullest of his abilities. His abuses range from berating and coercing witness into saying what he wants them go, to blatantly ignoring testimony that refuted the

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

Life teaches one very valuable lesson: with power comes the abuse of power, which results in hysteria and fear. Fear comes in many forms; fear for loved ones, fear for health, fear of losing reputation and fear of reprisal. Throughout history, a powerful few have abused their power. An example of this dilemma occurred in the 1950’s when Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing innocent people of being communist sympathizers. Contemporary author, Arthur Miller, visited this concept of corrupt power and disapproval of McCarthyism in his classic, The Crucible. Good Night and Good Luck, a movie which was about the hysteria McCarthy caused to innocent lives, and The Crucible have one major thing in common: the corruption of power. This thematic idea reveals that the corruption of power can not only affect and impair mainstream society, but also the people which live within it.

Propaganda was a big contributor to the chaos and destruction among citizens of 1984. “Two Minutes of Hate” is one of the methods used in the novel. It is a program that broadcasts on television screens where Goldstein, the main rebellious man against the Party, is seen as a despicable figure of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is a resistance group against Big Brother. The program claims that “all subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, and deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching.” (Orwell). This translates to all of these acts are not in the standards of the dystopian society in Oceania. Some citizens believe that Big Brother is good and bad at the same time. Which bring us to another type of propaganda; Double-think.

The building block of society is the form in which society builds their government. There are so many crucial factors that the reader or the viewer can see in the play The Crucible where they can see that the government is corrupted and built off of social standing rather than justice and equality. Because of the way that the Puritans had their government set up it determines the

Deputy Governor Danforth is a selfish, arrogant, and corrupt man who only cares about his own goods. His flawed personalities and hypocritical attitudes make him blind and irrational throughout the entire witchcraft, which directly causes the calamity of the town. Danforth feels embarrassing and doesn’t know what to do when Proctor brings Mary Warren’s deposition that shows his previous judgments are wrong. He is baffled and find a reason to defend himself, “ there lurks nowhere in your heart, nor hidden in your spirit, any desire to undermine this court? Are you in all respects a Gospel Christian? Not come to Church?”(94). Instead of taking a closer look at the details and the evidence of the case, he chooses to question Proctor’s credibility, and he believes people who confound his theory are challenging his authority and he will never let that happen. Furthermore, Danforth is somewhat terrified and worried

Imagine living in a world with a dictator. You have numerous rules set in place where you can’t do certain things that may be normal to us in “common life”. You’re tired of these rules, and start going against them, this is 1984. In the story 1984 by George Orwell the theme is, power corrupts. Winston hated Big Brother (the ruler of Oceania). He wanted everything about him to be gone, including his followers, his rules, and the Inner Party in general. Winston was brought to Room 101 (a room used to torture whoever using his or her greatest fear), and was forced to change his mind about Big Brother, and ended up loving him.