Dennise Gamez Grimmett English 11 Honors 19 April 2023 Argumentative Essay: The Crucible “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it,”- John Proctor. Arthur Miller is an American playwright and author whose most famous work was The Crucible, a slightly fictional play written about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s. Miller decided to write this play as an allegory to the Red Scare, a time when fear of communism was rising, most notably in the United States. His own personal experience with the House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC, accusing him of being a communist and condemning him when he refused to testify and accuse others of communism, was greatly part of his decision for writing The Crucible. …show more content…
Unquestionably, Danforth with his power in Salem village thanks to his position as Deputy Governor and judge throughout the trials, could have done more to attempt the end of the hysteria plaguing Salem. There are a series of actions he could have done, but there is one which comes to mind the most. First and foremost, the most obvious action Danforth could have taken to end the hysteria was making the decision of postponing the executions of those charged. If Danforth would have swallowed his pride and listened to the advice of Reverend Parris and postponed the executions for some time, everyone else would have questioned the legitimacy of the executions and taken more initiative to prevent others from hanging. Danforth was incredibly prideful and only cared about losing his power in Salem village. Instead of doing what was morally right, he was adamant and decided to move forward with the executions of the respected John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey. Moreover, he himself proclaimed he’d kill more people if he must in order to keep his power (104, Act 4, The Crucible). …show more content…
Just as those who held a high position in the American government during the Red Scare, preferred to accuse people of communism and ruin their reputation, knowing they were likely innocent, in order to make their position in the government seem legitimate. Danforth’s pride was too high just as the American authorities, to stop the hysteria from continuing, although he had the choice and ability to prevent further destruction he chose not to. However, Danforth did try to take action and prevent further hysteria and death from occurring by wanting Proctor to sign a confession to prevent him from hanging, though ultimately Proctor decided not to sign and go to his death instead (259-294, Act 4, The Crucible). Based upon this action, Danforth’s character proves he could have stopped the hysteria, even if it was down to the very last