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Similarities Between Judge Danforth And Reverend Hale In The Crucible

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Does The Crucible play connect to McCarthyism based on history repeating itself? It is widely known that Arthur Miller's characters in The Crucible are based on the era of McCarthyism where Senator McCarthy accuses innocent Americans of being communists. Through indirect and direct characterization, Reverend Hale in The Crucible begins to emerge as a pacifist for Salem when Judge Danforth's judgements spiral out of proportion. As Danforth protects his reputation and abuses power, Hale tries to make peace and have a voice of reason in the madness of Salem. Similarly, Senator McCarthy rises to power, protects his reputation, and makes Americans believe he is the only voice that can help fearful citizens in the nation.

In Act 1, Parris's home, Reverend Hale comes to Salem to discover the strange …show more content…

Judge Danforth and Reverend Hale, two prominent characters in the play, collide with one another as good versus evil. Reverend Hale's logical instincts keep him from plummeting into the plight of the power hungry people in Salem. As one of those power hungry people, Judge Danforth differs with Reverend Hale by guarding his in Salem and exploitation of power. In today's age, history of the Salem tragedy and McCarthyism foreshadow problems in society today. For example, muslims who escape to America because their towns are being destroyed by bombs and other weapons are seen as members of ISIS. Not all Muslims are terrorists, and today, people say they are terrorists because they are afraid. Republican Donald Trump further emphasizes that America should be aware of muslims and since he has an authoritative position in the society, people listen to him. No one should have to live in fear of being accused for something they did not do, but we can all hope that one day the world sees us as humans with rights and

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Reverend Hale is the character that changes the most in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible because his feelings on witchcraft turns from full belief to unbelievable doubt, his thoughts on Proctor changes from thinking that he is evil to thinking that he is a good and honest man, and he switches from doing God’s work to doing the Devil’s. Reverend Hale makes a huge change on his claim of witchcraft. In the beginning of the play when Reverend is called to the town of Salem to see if the reason why Betty and Ruth are unconscious is due to witchcraft he brings with him many books. When Reverend Parris sees this he makes a comment that Hale responds to him explaining his expectations. This shows that Reverend Hale is focused on one thing, finding

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The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.

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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.

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Title: How the Red Scare Relates to “The Crucible” Red scare formed in 1919 the climax of the Red scare is when the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United states intensifies During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. It caused the Americans thinking that the communists are a big Threat to them. The United States took actions to prevent the red scare taking over the United States which caused McCarthyism to form. McCarthyism is a practice of false accusations without any proof.

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Judge Danforth’s unwavering egotism culminates in the unfortunate deaths of Salem townsfolk. Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible demonstrates how the actions of one person can affect many others. Judge Danforth cares more about his own reputation than what is right. Often times people try to think of what is right instead of saving their own face, Judge Danforth is an exception to this stereotype. The Salem Witch Trials were a horrible time where many people lost their lives due to an unjust court system.

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533 Words | 3 Pages

Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth are two authoritative figures in The Crucible whose roles in society are to lead the community in the ways and likeness of God so that the people of Salem can, basically, be good Puritans. Despite their similar intentions, there are also blaring differences which distinctly separate the two and their beliefs. To start, both Hale and Danforth work chiefly to serve God and lead his people on Earth to live holy and just lives. When the question of the Devil and witchcraft arise within Salem, both men come to investigate and cleanse the town of evil. While Judge Danforth considers himself “a minister of the Lord” and does “not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience

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Throughout the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character of Reverend Hale transforms considerably from Act I to Act IV. From his initial beliefs of practicing justice and preventing witchcraft to ultimately his loss of faith and his culpability and apprehension towards the events that will eventually occur in regards to the Salem hangings. Hale's transformation changes the play by sprouting distrust in the Judicial system within Salem and surrounding areas. Hales transition from a slightly smug, starry eyed, deeply devoted christian, to an untrusting, unfaithful, pessimistic man affected the play by giving us the readers a sense of empathy for Hale who had been mislead to persecute innocents instead of convicting real evil doers for the benefit of unjust, untrustworthy people such Reverend Parris and Ezekial Cheever for their own personal incentives.

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Reasons Behind The Crucible Arthur Miller’s main purpose in writing The Crucible was to show the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials and to warn against government propaganda. At the time that The Crucible was published, America had a huge fear of communism. Anyone accused of having ties with the communist party was shunned. It much resembled the Salem Witch Trials in how the government, or leader of the time, used fear against the people to gain power. For example, Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Reverend Parris in how they both lead the people into the belief that there were intruders in their mists that had plans to sabotage the community.

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Conflicts take time and questioning to unfold the hidden truth behind a problem. In the course of a lifetime, confidence in a belief continues to grow until a roadblock stops it and changes the way of thinking. Confronting a problem that contradicts a popular belief is presented in Arthur Miller’s character, Reverend Hale, from The Crucible. Reverend Hale has been called to Salem to examine Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty, for precise signs of the devil. As the play draws out, As Hale witnesses the corruption of the Hale’s stance on the problem changes and contrasts his initial thought on the matter.

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Arthur Miller, a prominent twentieth century playwright, is well-known for his play The Crucible. The play opens in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Puritan religion is against dancing and singing because the Puritans believe these are sensuous activities. The Puritans also believe that Satan tempts human beings to carry out his work. Fear and hysteria strike Salem over the belief that the devil is in the town because Parris’s niece, Abigail Williams, was found dancing in the forest with other girls and Parris’s servant; and soon after two young girls fall sick.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

The witches are on the hunt for the innocent souls of Salem with Hale stating, “The Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points” (Miller 1251). Hale is determined to use God’s mighty hand against the “evil witches”. This shows that Hale is faithful to Abigail’s accusations against the common people of Salem. At first, Reverend Hale is eager to prosecute, but as more innocent people are condemned, his compliance turns into distaste. His dissatisfaction eventually turns into rage when Hale shouts, “I denounce these proceedings!”

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1204 Words | 5 Pages

With John in despair over what he believes to be injustice, Hale tries to reason with him later saying, “The jails are packed-our greatest judges sit in Salem now-and hangin promised... we must look to cause proportionate. Think on cause...and let you help me to discover it. There is your only way, when such confusion strikes upon the world...let you counsel among yourselves; think on your village and what may have drawn from heaven such thundering wrath upon you all. I shall pray God open up our eyes.”

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525 Words | 3 Pages

To begin, When reverend hale went to salem he was very confident. Reverend Hale, knew a lot about witches and spirits. Hale took witchcraft very seriously, he believed there was actually something going on in salem. Next, Hale is determined to get to the bottom of what is going on. When hale gets to salem, he is very tired and has very little motivation.

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Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.

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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.

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