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The Despicability Of Danforth In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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Dan-right dispicable Puritans in the 17th century maintained a constant state of penance and self-discipline. This perpetual bowing to a supreme authority and repression of emotions left some feeling powerless. Thus, in 1692 when accusations of witchcraft were made in Salem, Massachusetts, some grew power hungry accusing and persecuting innocent people. One such persecutor was Deputy Governor Danforth. While believing he was serving God and eradicating evil from his town, he presided over a court that took twenty-one innocent lives and condemned several more. Danforth’s reckless abuse of authority and biased proceedings make him the most despicable character in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. As a judge presiding over the court in Salem, Danforth’s …show more content…

Danforth, I gave them all my word no harm would come to them for signing this. DANFORTH: Then I am sure they may have nothing to fear. Mr. Cheever, have warrants drawn for all of these - arrest for examination.” (Miller III.88) By refusing to even hear evidence contrary to his ruling, he destroys the integrity of his court, it can no longer function as a system of justice. He again blatantly refuses to hear a different perspective as he is offered a written deposition from a key witness admitting to false testimony. PROCTOR: She never saw no spirits, sir… She has signed a deposition, sir …show more content…

He feared public mistrust over his key witness fleeing the town, then when asked if they should put the executions on hold, he considers his own image instead of the credibility of his sentences. “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.”(Miller IV.129) He fails to serve the true purpose of a judge; to provide an objective view based on a variety of evidence to administer justice. His need to be right and to be corroborated by the people beneath him becomes most evident when faced with those refusing to confess to crimes they did not commit. He so firmly believes that the people cannot be pure that he literally tortures and kills them if they do not affirm his claims. “You will confess yourself or you will hang! Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me! (Miller III.117) His use of fear tactics in an already inflamed situation speak volumes about his true character. He makes threats and asserts his own importance in the same two sentences. He is so concerned with upholding God’s law and his own standing as an authority that he ignores the reality of his wrongful accusations. This mindset is classified as level two stage four thinking according to Kohlberg's seven stages of moral development. He acts to follow God’s persecution of witches, to protect public respect

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Throughout the crucible we meet many static characters, many of which are found in the court. Their beliefs cannot be changed, nor their views on witchcraft. Judge Danforth is a prime example of that; He will stop at nothing to prosecute the guilty. Not once is he swayed that their is not a witch in salem.

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This goes for Judge Danforth, too. He worries more about his reputation as a judge that he is willing to hang innocent people in the community. For example, when John Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail and how she hopes to take Elizabeth’s place, Danforth purposely chooses not to believe Proctor. He, even, says, “She [Elizabeth] spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied,” (Miller 114) without holding further investigation of the confession! Danforth believes Abigail and the girls because he does not want to publically admit he was deceived by them, for it will harm his reputation.

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The Salem witch trials began in 1962 when a group of girls were accused of being possessed by a devil (History.com). Many women were accused of being witches. They were eventually tried in court to see if they were innocent or not. Governor Danforth is at fault because he dominates the witchcraft trials with poor decision making, favoritism towards people and believes no one should fear God or the court’s ruling. One reason is guilt is Danforth believes Abigail and the girls are incapable of lying during the trials.

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Danforth was not doing his job as a responsible judge, looking at evidence as a judge should, and acting with fairness and justice. Because he was not being a pure and just judge he allowed many people to be jailed and hung for no substantial reason. When Hale spoke of judging a man on evidence, Danforth said “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... not the slightest reason to suspect that the children may be deceiving me” (95).

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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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The situation that’s taken place is the questioning of Martha Corey, who is the wife of Giles Corey. Martha is being questioned about being a witch which she denies. Giles Corey later enters the courtroom saying he has evidence for the court, but his evidence is denied by the court, and he is escorted out by Cheever. Judge Danforth thinks of himself as a very even-handed person , but he is, in fact, a stubborn Judge. Danforth is guided by God in the play; therefore, he believes that nobody will be judged unjustly, but at this result he fails to analysis evidence justifiably.

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Deputy Governor Danforth was brought to the village of Salem from boston to convict the “witches” that had been afflicting the young girls in the village. From this description, one might believe that Danforth was sent to do good and believed that he himself was doing good. Although this may have been Danforth’s original intent, as the trials continued he began to prize his image and status over the lives of others in the village. This becomes clear especially when speculation is risen around the girls. Once the thought of the girls being frauds crosses his mind, Danforth immediately jumps to the fact that he mustn’t dirty his name or reputation.

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Perhaps murder was the only way to see the truth in Salem, or perhaps it didn’t prove anything until it was too late. Perhaps the townsfolk were too unintelligent to see the truth, or perhaps they let their pride and reputations get in the way of the truth. People let themselves get controlled by their reputation, which explains Danforth and Abigail perfectly. Judge Danforth and Abigail Williams have an extremely high statues in their town, Salum, in The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. However, they achieve, distribute, and maintain it in similarly ways, but yet still seem so different.

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This suggests that the proceedings are not fair and are based on one perspective. 5. Why does Proctor confess lechery? Why does he think Danforth and Hathorne will believe his confession? Why don’t they believe him?

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Reputation is like a china plate. It is beautiful when well taken care of, but can be easily damaged beyond repair. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, reputation can cause the morally guilty to persecute the innocent. Pride and the refusal to accept shame leads to an obstruction of justice by those with authority. No one likes to admit that they are wrong, especially when their reputation is on the line.

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The play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the implications of a society in complete chaos over an irrational fear of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Fear plays an immense role in the way people make their decisions, such as when the characters of Danforth and Mary Warren resort to hypocrisy when no other options remain. Danforth and Mary Warren both embody hypocrisy, as seen when Mary says she cannot lie anymore and then lies when she becomes scared for her life, and Danforth when saying lying will send a person to Hell, but then forcing people to choose between lying and death. Mary Warren exemplifies hypocrisy extraordinarily well in the scene when she and Proctor travel to the courthouse so she can confess that the girls have pretended everything and they never actually saw spirits.

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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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