ipl-logo

Responsibility In The Crucible

1088 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on character analysis of all the characters of the crucible

There is always more to a human being than their looks or social status. Looks can be deceiving as a person with great credibility may not be at all what society expects them to be. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail, John Proctor, and Judge Danforth prove to readers that even people with great credibility can be sinful and manipulative. They prove this when John Proctor has an affair, Abigail sends innocent people to jail, and Judge Danforth continues to send innocent people to hang knowing he is wrong in doing so. First, John Proctor. John is known as a highly respected local farmer. He is loved by many in Salem especially Abigail who takes her love for John to new extremes. Abigail tells John “I know you clutched my back behind …show more content…

Danforth is a highly respected judge and is known as a smart and wise man. Danforth tells Giles Corey, a farmer in Salem, who doubts his decision in sending people to jail “And do you know that 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?” (87). This reveals the amount of power and credibility Danforth has. He has no shame in sending his people to jail. He puts himself on a pedestal and praises his actions unaware of the consequences. He thinks his opinion is more important than everyone else. He is stubborn and egocentric. He will not listen to anyone who tries to reason with him, like Giles, because he knows he has more power than anyone …show more content…

Danforth replies “Postponement now speaks floundering on my part; reprieve the pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now […] I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes.” (129). Danforth’s reply shows that he would rather send innocent people to hang rather than admit his wrongful doings. He decides to keep it secret to protect shattering his name. He does not want people to overthrow the court because of Danforth’s wrongdoing. He knows if he postpones the hangings people will start to suspect the truth about witchcraft. He decides to allow the hangings. Danforth would rather see innocent people die than lose his credibility which proves Danforth is a selfish human being. Even though he has a high social status, he is a coward and a

Show More
Related
508 Words | 3 Pages

Judge Danforth was the person who decided what happened to the ¨guilty¨ people, which led to 24 killed, 19 hanged, 1 pressed, and 4 who died in prison. "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" ( Page 183). Danforth talks about how with his signature he killed many people and put many people in prison. He shows how he is responsible for many deaths in not just Salem but, other places too. Judge Danforth used his powers as a Judge to his advantage, he was the most corrupt in this story.

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

Elizabeth's refusal to judge John Proctor comes from a pure religious sentiment that was untainted by a thirst for power. Elizabeth, through the book, mentions that the only person capable of judging John Proctor is himself, a believe that comes from the idea that John is responsible for upholding the integrity of his puritan pride and name in front of God and himself. In other words, Elizabeth understands that John must forgive himself for his own sin, as her forgiveness has no meaning regarding John's guilt in his own eyes or in the eyes of God. In the other hand, Danforth, the actual judge in Salem was manipulated by his constant preoccupation for his reputation and his ability to maintain power over Salem. Danforth's decisions could be

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

Integrity is an essential piece of heroism, this can especially be seen in the novel "The Crucible" as the two ideals of integrity and heroism collide. Many different conclusions could be made from reading this novel when it comes to both integrity and heroism. While there are characters like John Proctor whom exhibits heroism through integrity, selflessness, and bravery, there are other characters whom sacrifice their own integrity in order to preserve their own imagine. These characters are portrayed as dynamic villains like Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams and others like Salem's own Sheriff whom is less dynamic and a greater linear character. Each individual's integrity would change constantly throughout the story due to a constant stacking of lies, all of which is rooted to one's struggle to keep a good image by forfeiting her own integrity.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.

Read More
1948 Words | 8 Pages

Why is Giles Cory expelled from court? Why won’t Danforth hear his evidence? Why is Cory arrested? Giles Cory was expelled from court because he would not list people who signed the document about Putnam wanting to take land. Danforth won’t listen to him for this reason.

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.

Read More
598 Words | 3 Pages

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 the accusations made by Abigail and the girls are false. In this regard Judge Danforth replies to John Proctor by repetitively says “No” thereby emphasizing his adamant view on this subject.

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

Despite their deeply religious values, the members of the Puritan Society in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible are equally as sinful as the rest of the world. The Puritans, known for turning to God when given any matter at hand, lay blame on the Devil, regardless of their contradictory values. By blaming on him for their wrongdoings, the Devil earns power through the Puritans restoring to involve him whenever any one thing goes wrong. Power is defined by one’s reputation, status, wealth, gender, and age; although the natural deciding factor of one’s power in the Puritan society is land, the Devil himself holds ultimate power. Despite the fact that he does not appear as a human figure, he controls the thoughts and actions of the Puritan society, serving as the ultimate threat.

Read More
1218 Words | 5 Pages

Goodness and nobility is determined by an individual’s morality and their willingness to follow a virtuous path in their life. It is also determined by the ability of an individual to acknowledge their shortcomings and become more self-aware. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a good man as he showcases righteous morals and principles. This is shown, as he ends his affair with Abigail, protects his wife and his friends’ wives, and dies to preserve his integrity and honour. First, John Proctor shows his goodness, by refusing the physical advances of Abigail, who wishes to continue their love affair.

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

Who's to Blame For the Salem Witch Trails? In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor are responsible for the witch trials. Not only is Abigail one of the characters responsible for the witch trails, but she is the one who instigated the witchcraft fervor within Salem. John is one of the characters responsible for the trails because he has an affair with Abigail.

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

Danforth tries to turn the evidence that Giles gives against him. Parris tries to deny Mary Warren when he says "Your Excellency, this is a trick to blind the court!"(Miller 518). What he is trying to do is to turn Mary's confession to not seeing spirits against her. Parris doesn't want to look bad and tries to save himself. The people have no power to defend themselves to be innocent.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

He believes strongly in his ability to judge the character of the informants. This comes into play when others question his judgement of Abigail and the girls from the woods. Danforth has a great deal of authority over the verdict of the accused, he has the power to judge them as not guilty. Danforth being the primary judge means he could have admitted to his foolishness and told the community that the accused people were not witches, and it would have made the townspeople believe that there was no witch problem in Salem at all. Danforth is too concerned with his reputation to admit that his judgement, at first, was clouded.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Danforth: Judge, Jury, and Executioner Judge Danforth’s position in the crucible is the Judge assigned to the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. Instead of treating this immense responsibility with the respect and restraint that is needed, Danforth abused his power by betraying the people of Salem and the Law. He did not listen to the people of Salem defending themselves before inevitably being sent to death; and he cared more about his reputation and the law than he did about peoples’ lives. Danforth was a ruthless power over the people of Salem he demanded respect for himself and the court; and nothing was more important than that.

Read More
1011 Words | 5 Pages

Power and influence in society have a huge impact on the way things happen and affects perception. A prime example is the power that presidents and prime ministers have. Given this power they can effectively influence and persuade others. Power and influence is often associated with gender, conflict and roles and relationships. The importance of the power and influence can be thoroughly examined using texts that demonstrate ideas presented as truths.

Read More
984 Words | 4 Pages

The novel displays many decisions made by the people, in which, they are aware that one must be with the court or they are against it. Members of the community know they cannot sneak by interrogations without fully believing in the court or else they will be hanged for witchcraft. Putnam states, "there is a murdering witch among us, bound to keep herself in the dark" (Miller 16), but perhaps the real murderers are right in front of the people the whole time, calling themselves a

Read More

More about Responsibility In The Crucible

Related Topics

Open Document