Emmanuel Yepiz Lisa William English 1 B 7 November 2014 The Crucible Compare and Contrast Essay In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Judge Danforth and Reverend Hale play leading characters of power in Salem. The Crucible possesses many examples of interesting character development, especially Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth. During the time of trails in 1692, Danforth and Hale on occasions came head to head on matter of witchcraft. Both authorities have distinct roles in society with different experience, but both work toward the same goal of helping restore peace to the chaotic times that Salem is going trough. Hale is an educated man who uses his books as a source of help. While Danforth is a judge who follows the low and believes that …show more content…
As stated by Judge Danforth, "You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road between." (1.103.56-59). This quote clearly shows the type of character that Judge Danforth portrayed all throughout the book. Danforth was addressing Proctor about how strong he feels that every member of society should obey the laws of the land. Danforth wants Proctor to know that nobody is above the law, and that if he doesn’t corporate with them, that means that he is rebelling against the court and his power. This is something that Danforth will not tolerate. In act three, Hale and Judge Danforth collide with each other about whether the girls are telling the truth about witchcraft during the trial. Here is an example of Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth’s collision, HALE: But this child claims the girls are not truthful, and if they are not— DANFORHT: That is precisely what I am about to consider, sir. What more may you ask of me? Unless you doubt my …show more content…
On the other hand, Judge Danforth is what we would see in justice and can be consider evil. Danforth is an aggressive man that has power and can be ignorant when taking decisions. Danforth will stick to what the books says while Hale resort to other ways to please and find internal peace. In the beginning of the book, both Danforth and Hale begin with almost identical mindsets. Reverend Hale ends up in an all time low, yet he is able to find who he truly is, while Danforth gets lost and loses his identity. In the end, each of these two characters find who they are, one is noble and moral and the other is cold blooded and