Set way back in the Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible tells the story of young, accused witches and their plot to clear their names. Court trials are held often in order to find who is guilty of witchcraft, and Deputy Governor Danforth is the man that oversees these trials and determines who shall be hanged. This story is one of unfairness and ruining lives, somewhat reflecting that of times such as the Cold War and Great Depression. Many people are hung for activities that they did not undertake, and it is quickly revealed that these people of high power, such as Danforth, will do anything to stay in their highest power. As a massive leader to the people of Salem, the power has given Danforth the ability to do what he pleases at all times, often leading him to selfish results. During the time that John is trying to prove his wife innocent, Danforth says that John wants to overthrow the court. He knows that this is not what John is doing, but he does not want anybody in the town thinking that he is not correct. To keep John from making him look worse to the citizens, he says that a person is either “with this court or he must be counted against it” (Miller 511). Doing his best not to allow Proctor to get what he desires, Danforth vilifies him and makes most of everybody else believe John is on the wrong side of the court. Salem seemed to be a place where the truth is not necessarily observed in a good light. Danforth was a believer of this, and because of the events
The concept of court proceedings was created to ensure that justice was fulfilled by the determination of an unbiased group of people looking strictly at the evidence presented during court. Despite the reasoning behind the usage of court proceedings, Danforth skipped over the fundamental steps of these proceedings and went straight to conviction. His desire to condemn the lives of others led to the death of many people, as well as the upheaval of the town itself. His rulings of guilty on those who were not given a fair trial demonstrate how little he cared for the law, how little he cared for his position as a moral compass to the community during these trials. Danforth is undoubtedly guilty of obstruction of justice and murder in the Salem
His genuinely concern for Salem and his desire to save the town is what makes him a respected judge. Most government leaders want to help their communities or countries which was what Danforth and McCarthy set out to do. Danforth was an effective government leader, as he states he has been a judge for 23 years, he wouldn't have been a judge for so long if people had thought he was inadequate. Just like McCarthy wanted to rid America of communism, Judge Danforth wanted to rid Salem of the devil. Danforth truly believes that he is guided by God and for that reason he cannot falsely accuse someone. This will lead him to never question himself. In The Crucible Act III Danforth says, “I judge nothing… I have seen marvels in this court. I have seen people choked before my eyes by spirits; I have seen them stuck by pins and slashed by daggers. I have until this moment not the slightest reason to suspect that the children may be deceiving me.” This quote is showing that Danforth really thought the girls were being truthful, he thought what he was seeing was real and therefore he wasn't trying to wrongfully convict anyone. Danforth had come to Salem to help the community and had no other objective just as McCarthy had when he started trying to clear America of
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
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.
Secondly, Judge Danforth’s irrationality and ignorance brings about poor decisions on his part. One of the instances where Danforth reveals his following attitude is when he denies to even look at a deposition presented by John Proctor as described by his words “ No, no, I accept no depositions” (Miller 88). John Proctor hands him a deposition signed by Mary warren, stating that
He is a leader of the court and decides who is guilty, and who is innocent. The people of Salem believe that these two men came to protect Salem from witches. With high credibility from the public, Danforth and Hathorne’s decisions are trusted by the people of Salem. When Danforth realizes the mistakes he made with the people he sent to be hung, he continues to sentence people to be hung to keep his reputation. Danforth claims, “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.” (129). This shows that Danforth would allow more people to die, just to keep his high position, which highlights the power that Danforth possesses. He is able to sentence anyone who he believes to be a witch to death. The people of Salem did not want to question the decision of Danforth, since they did not want to get on his bad side. This show the influence that Danforth has on the people’s
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
¨Near to four hundred are in the jails… and upon my signature… and seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature¨ (87). Granted that Danforth holds high authority of the court, his stubborn personality is actually what gives him such sway in the town of Salem. This quote shows that he knows how powerful he is in the situation and won't hesitate to flex and use that power to his advantage. Danforth is conveyed as ruthless as he claims that ¨When I speak God´s law, I
In the novel, The Crucible by Arthur Miller leads the reader on a journey back to 1692 to reexplore the Salem witchcraft trials. Miller creates an atmosphere and mood in the play with the historical background and Puritan culture. People are being arrested, convicted, and are dying as trust is fading away in the Salem community. The citizens who live in Salem deal with extremely restrictive laws. Evil is characterized by believing illusional ideals that leads people to death which lead Danforth to be selfish, prideful, values his reputation, and tries to do his best for Salem yet crumbles the society.
In Act Three of the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, a Salem trial is presented of the people who are involved in witchcraft. Throughout the trial, almost everyone uses a countless number of fallacious statements that make the trial go chaos. Including Danforth, who is the governor of the case, was unable to stop the hysteria by failing to inspect evidence seriously and to act excessively. Danforth’s ignorance and unreasonable actions show that he is an irresponsible judge and that he messed up the witchcraft case. Danforth makes several appeals to false authority that makes him have the skill to deal with witchcraft and religion.
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.
The play The Crucible, was written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is a story he wrote after his own experience being accused of communism. This affected a lot of well-known people in the United States during this time, and was considered a witch hunt similar to the Salem witch hunts. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about a man, John Proctor, who has an affair with Abigail Williams. She catches feelings for him and tries to cast a spell on John Proctor’s wife to kill her; this gets out of hand when Abigail’s uncle catches her and some other girls dancing during the spell in the woods. Suddenly, the whole town is living in fear of who is practicing witchcraft, who could be a witch, and innocent people are killed if they don’t confess to being witches. Overall, mass fear and panic, and false accusations are seen over and over throughout the play.
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.
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
The Crucible book written by Arthur Miller based on a real life story that happened in 1692 to 1693 In Salem Massachusetts was based on lies and injustice, genre is play, The author's purpose is to inform the audience about what happened during the witch trials . The Salem Village was full Puritans and they was very strict based on church rules. People that missed church regularly will be justified as a witch or malignant and will be put to shame on a stockade. People that break the rules of the strict religious town will hang or live if such person decides to confess, If they confess the accused person will still be imprisoned and not killed. Also if you was accused of practicing witchcraft you will be accused by the people and go