Danforth's Discourse

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.

This inability to question Danforth fuels the hysteria within Salem. The quote “And do you know that nearly four hundred are in jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature” shows his belief in his authority and he uses the quote to create a fear to question him. If people felt they were able to challenge him, it could have ended the trials sooner and possibly saved lives.

As head of the court, Danforth holds immense power. When he was first introduced into the play, one of his most memorable lines was, “You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 98). This quote means that agreeing with the court means that you’re in agreement with God. And when you are not in line with the ideas of the court, you are against God’s ideas and might be excommunicated from the community. And he reinforces it throughout the play when those accused of witchcraft are to be hanged.

In The Crucible Danforth could’ve said something but he didn’t he picked his job over over himself. What was the purpose of that ? what did he gain but the bad reputation he’s gonna get afterwords? Nothing that’s what because he’s a selfish man who only thought about himself. In The Dying Girl story she had neighbors that heard he screams and yet they only thought about themselves and how they didn’t want to get questioned or go to court, these are both different because one wanted to save his reputation and others just didn’t want to get involved

Parris and Hale hear about the village having an uprising because of the trials and ask Danforth to save Rebecca Nurse. If the village sees Rebecca Nurse freed than the villagers will not revolt. Danforth responds to the reverends, “Twelve are already executed the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die in the morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.”(Miller 119; Act 4). Danforth is afraid of the villagers doubting him as a governor because he was unable to see truth of the convicted. He claims that it is wrong to save those accused because other have died for the same crime. Danforth would lose his reputation to tell truth from fiction and lose his

His reply is accompanied with a vindictive nature towards anyone who opposes the actions of the court or by extension, him. Therefore, his arrogance and pride restrains him from listening to others point of view. Lastly, despite hearing about the mass opposition and rebellion at the Andover witchcraft trials, Judge Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings and orders Reverend Parris that “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more… Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part.” (Miller 129). Danforth arrogantly waves off the request of postponement made by Hale and Parris. He thinks that the act of postponement of the hangings will raise the issue of his credibility as a judge. Danforth’s pride of his status as a judge denies him from giving it a thought that his actions can lead to the death of innocent lives. When pride and arrogance interferes with ones wisdom the repercussions are often destructive. Judge Danforth proves this through the medium of his actions which lead to the destruction of trustworthiness in the community and brought tragedy to Salem.

Throughout the entirety of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the abuse and struggle for power is noticeable, and plays a major influence on the characters of the play, with many of them abusing it to further their own goals and keep up their appearances, and even leading one of them to the grave. Straight from the beginning of Act 1, there is an apparent struggle for power, with Reverend Parris and Giles Corey arguing about whether or not Parris should get money to pay for firewood, with Parris arguing that he should and Giles stubbornly arguing that he should not, as he has already crossed the boundaries of Giles' contract by giving the deed to the house. Right away this shows Giles trying to stay in power by holding onto his contract, but also his stubborn

Deputy Governor Danforth speaks with imperious authority. To demonstrate his power, he demands, “Now sit you down and take counsel with yourself, or you will be set in the jail until you decide to answer all questions…this is a court of law… I’ll have no effrontery here!” illustrating a clear picture of Danforth allowing no nefarious behavior, and issuing a threat to jail those that do misbehave (98). When Danforth’s position of authority is challenged, similar to Abigail, he proposes a situation to Giles, “Near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature… and seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature,” designating to Giles that Danforth has declared that he personally signed away almost four hundred people to jail and seventy-two to death by hanging just by lifting his finger to sign a piece of paper

There were a few people that had a great influence on the early settlements in the New World. Two such men were William Bradford and John Smith. Their similarities and differences are evident in the way these men impacted the two colonies. John Smith and William Bradford were both writers, Christians, and early leaders; however, William Bradford preformed his duties with much stronger morals, spirituality, and humility.

Armed with the law, he later questions everyone’s innocence that dared challenge his authority. Responsible for the wrongful hanging of thirteen people, ultimately led to Judge Danforth's downfall.

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

To add on to the last point, not only did Danforth not let people defend themselves, he also used misleading questions with little or no evidence. For example, In act III Danforth asks Giles Corey, “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what shall set

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

As the trial of witchcraft occurs, the town consulted with three judges and the one who was the most concern for his reputation was judge Danforth. He references many sentencings arrangements which he is biased toward in order to save his credibility from being destroyed. His extensive pride in his judgment and discernment is what makes him a corrupt judge to save his own reputation. Therefore, to preserve his reputation as a judge, he believes that “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering” (119). He perceives his image very valuable to himself as he disallows Parris’ concerns to disrupt his belief in the genuineness of the decisions. Furthermore, a more symbolic sense is that Danforth represents his reputation as he affirms John Proctor that when “We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment" ( 81)

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