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Character analysis essay the crucible
Character analysis in the crucible
Character analysis essay the crucible
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The Devil has returned putting children under his control is what many people believed in Salem village in 1962. In ¨ The Crucible¨ by Arthur Miller many people panicked from the witch hysteria which caused many to be accused of being witches, Judge Danforth decided what happens to the accused witches and is the most corrupted in Salem because his power of being a judge made him go overboard with his decisions on people. When he starts to realize he continues to avoid people from getting mad at him for putting innocent people in jail and killing them. To begin with Danforth became a megalomaniac a person crazy with their own power. As the Judge he gets to pick the punishment of the person accused making him feel superior to others.
Essentially, who is responsible for the unfortunate events that took place in the novel “The Crucible”? Throughout the book, Mr.Danforth, who serves as the Judge of the courtroom, seems to be held accountable for numerous misfortunes. Danforth’s biased opinions and leniency towards Abigail led him to make sporadic decisions and impulsive judgements when it came to the accusations of others. Hale, a devout reverend, also plays a prominent aspect in the blame game. However, unlike Danforth, Hale actually searched for the truth and craved justice for others.
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.
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.
Guilt, guilt can mean many things. To most people though guilt means feeling bad for someone or feeling bad for yourself. Guilt often occurs when one is embarrassed or sad that something happened. Guilt can cause a person to assist the victim and help that person get better. Guilt is a very common theme in The crucible and is constantly shown in characters throughout the play, Reverend Hale is one of those characters.
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.
As time has passed, throughout history, during different periods of time there are parallels. There are three eras that we are focussed on, where there are three types of people during each era. The three different eras that we’re focusing on, are The Salem Witch Trials (1600s), The McCarthy Era (1950s), and Today (2000s); the three types of people are the people who are the reasons why there’s accusations towards the accused, the accused, and finally the accusers. In The Crucible, or during the Salem Witch Trials, the person that’s the reason why characters were accused is John Proctor. The accuser in the play, who decides to point fingers at everyone, is Abigail Williams.
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.
One Choice Can Change Lives Who knew one seemingly innocent lie could cause 19 deaths and pit an entire town against itself? That’s exactly what happens in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Authors often use similar plot devices, and their favorite one is having their characters face a test. In a small town called Salem in early America, something terrible is happening.
Hysteria can be defined as the exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This definition proves true and exists throughout the course of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In The Crucible, a group of girls go dancing in a forest around a cauldron, some even naked, and along with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris, the local minister, then catches the girls in the act. As a result, Betty, one of the girls and Parris’s daughter, goes into what it seems like a coma.
For example, Danforth frequently spoke of the importance of fairness and justice, however when he found out that Abigail’s testimony was false, he refused to stop those that had been found guilty through Abigail’s testimony from being hanged. This is shown on page 100 in Act 4 of The Crucible where Danforth says, “Mr. Hale, as God have not empowered me like Joshua to stop this sun from rising, so I cannot withhold from them the perfection of their punishment.” It is assumed that the court will uphold morality and justice, yet Danforth’s character shows the inversion of the normal moral order in the
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.
One part where Judge Danforth decides the people punishment, Judge Danforth says “Hang them high over the town!”(144). This quotes says that Judge Danforth had these prisoner hanged, but before these he decided to have Giles Corey “Press”(135), “They press him, John”(135). “Press” in the play refers to having someone crushed to death, and with this Judge Danforth has the most power in the play The Crucible, because he was able to decide the punishment of the one found guilty, this shows how powerful he is, because he decided this punishment specifically for Giles Corey and once he decided the punishment and gave the other,his orders were final, no one argued or tried
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.
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.