In the book “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, Deputy Danforth is more to blame for the trials continuation than Abigail Williams because he always believed whoever had been accused a witch, refused any evidence showing that the accused were innocent, and was more concerned with the court’s image than justice being served.…
n The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the court and its judges use the fallacy of the undistributed middle to attain the conclusions they desire. In order to arrest people, Judge Danforth creates conditions where citizens who oppose the court fall under suspicion, and threatens those who might oppose him with, “No uncorrupted man may fear this court”(98). Because the court assumes that all people who fear the court are witches, instead of all witches also happen to fear the court, many people innocently oppose the court’s ways and suffer. Miller uses the fallacy of the undistributed middle to show the dangers of assuming. Those who wish to avoid false conclusions should know the difference between causation and…
Danforth is concerned whether Proctor has told anyone else about the girls’ lies because he is concerned for his position. Miller shows Danforth's panic when Danforth says, “Tell me, Mr. Proctor, have you given out this story in the village?” (88). Instead of showing immediate concern for the people who may have been falsely accused, he looks out for himself and requests to know of how many people know about the girls’ lies. Dansforth views these allegations as a threat to his position because it may remove him from his position of power. If the people of Salem realize that Danforth's judgement is wrong and he allowed himself to be lied to, he would lose popularity among the people of Salem. This also makes him responsible for hanging and jailing…
In the play The Crucible there is a big controversy over witchcraft. Some children were dancing in the woods with the slave and the Rev. caught them. So that they wouldn't get in trouble they lied to him saying it was witchcraft and that the slave girl made them do it. Then they start blaming people saying that they had seen them with the Devil. When they had not. Well the town went crazy thinking there were witches in there town. So when a person was asked if they were a witch and they said no then the townspeople said they were lying and would hang them. But if they had said they were and had repented' and blamed someone else of being a witch they were free to go. But the story wasn't only about trying to save there lives if someone wanted land or another persons wife/husband then they would say that that person was a witch so they would get hanged and the person who wanted the land or spouse could have them without stealing or committing a crime.…
Throughout the play, Danforth consistently fails to examine evidence or proof to stop the tension within the community. He refuses to see that the witchcraft trials and hangings might have been part of the reason why people are accusing others. After John Proctor tells Danforth that he has committed adultery, Danforth is horrified by the realization that Abigail may be accusing others based on jealousy and revenge. Danforth ignores this chance and continues to…
In The Crucible (1953), author, Arthur Miller brings to life many decisions that drag a respectable man to the noose. This play, based on the history of the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in Salem Massachusetts in 1692, though not completely true, does follow the basic line of events. This line of events begins with curious young girls who are caught dancing in the forest by the Puritan reverend of the community, Reverend Parris. An effort to contain the events by Reverend Parris, Parris’s niece, Abigail, and others backfired and resulted in the bringing in of Puritan priests trained in the topic of witchcraft, which quickly led to a mass hysteria of witches in the community. Once accused of being a witch, a citizen had two basic choices,…
In addition, Danforth did not allow people to have their own opinions about the court of Salem. He suppressed the individual freedom of a person to have their own attitude about the court and express that opinion. Danforth believed that “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road in between” (Miller 94). He did not anyone to go against his opinion and if they did, he saw it as a rebellion against the court. As a result of this, he even went on to say that “if retaliation is your fear, know this- I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law” (Miller 129). He was not afraid to make his opinion known and to threaten the people of Salem. Danforth did not want to be proven wrong by anyone.…
While the Salem witch trials are occurring, the girls talk complete blasphemy about invisible doings. Judge Danforth throws all reason out of the window and believes these girls over anyone else. “Horrified: Mary Warren! Draw your spirit back out of them!” Danforth was swayed more about young girls screaming of an invisible bird in the room that no one in the room saw over a petition that proves the wives of the men were indeed innocent. These girls framed everyone in town on account of witchcraft. Judge Danforth shows a bias towards witchcraft since this is the puritan era. The puritans consist of religious extremists and witches were seen as the help of the devil. Danforth then, without hesitation proceeds to believe the girl’s accusations and goes through with hanging half of the town. Danforth is unfair on account of his extremist ways. An effective judge would not show bias to religious affairs and would need hard, cold facts; Not any superstition or “invisible bird spreading its wings on the rafters.” Danforth is also going through with these hangings and trials because the success rate will be extremely high. The bias qualities of the puritan society to punish every evil overpowers the law. Danforth will have a great reputation for being the man who saved Salem from witchcraft. He is backed up religiously as well, so his career will be full of success and to him that is more important than the fate of an accused human in…
Danforth’s stubborn demeanor controls most of his accusations and influences his decisions. He truly believes that the only way to prove there is witchcraft is if the victim accuses the assailant. However, there is a serious flaw in this method. Anyone can make an accusation and no one will be the wiser as to if they are lying. When Proctor comes into the court to give evidence of the girls lies, he accuses Danforth of not using evidence. Danforth tells Proctor if people are accused of being witches then it’s “Ipso facto” and they are guilty (103). Francis Nurse then gives a petition to Danforth. Instead of looking at it as evidence he tells Hathorne to “arrest for examination” the 91 names on the petition (97). Danforth cannot think of the girls as a lie because his behavior prevents him.…
For instance, at one scene in the play, Elizabeth was arrested for witchcraft which stated that she stabbed Abigail through a puppet and needle, but at that very scene Mary admits it was her doll. Later when brought up in court, Danforth as well as Cheever ignores the fact that the doll with the needle in it belonged to Mary, in order to speculate upon whether Elizabeth had other dolls. This series of events represents how Miller views the truth, or rather, how others view and create their own “truths”. Danworth particularly, but also Parris and Cheever believe the lies they hear and ignore the truths they see because they are in their own, subjective reality, where the absolute truth holds little…
In the Crucible John Proctor made one of the worst mistakes in his life he was way in over his head. He and his special “lover” Abigail were making it happen while John is a married man. But that’s not even the bad part Abigail is only 17 years old and John is 33 years old. Now John’s wife can’t trust him at all wherever he goes.…
In Salem many people were accused of witchcraft. They were forced to tell lies to get a hold of their freedom. One of the individual that was accused was John Proctor. Proctor was not scared what his sins…
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many people are accused wrongly of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Whether it may be fear, anxiety, or even greed, these characters lie and accuse others of witchcraft. The characters: Tituba, Abigail, and Goody Putnam display each of those motives when accusing others of witchery. Characters are motivated differently to falsely accuse their neighbors of witchcraft…
"When in doubt, tell the truth." Spoken by Mark Twain. Twains history consists of one of the most widely loved and celebrated American writers since his first books were released in the late 1860s, early 1870s. This quote has a very interesting realism and that makes it so true because if the people in the town of Salem heard this quote, they maybe would not have had to go through the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials of 1692 resulted in 19 executions and 150 accusations of witchcraft. Arthur Millers is one of the greatest and most well known playwrights of the twentieth century bases many of his characters off of real, living people. The characters of The Crucible have powerful characteristics that vary from the…
The “evidences” of witchcraft used to convict witches wasn’t much. These so called “evidences” was the testimonies the witnesses had. There was no real proof besides word of mouth, so your evidence was judged on the creditability of the person who is telling the story. The evidences used in the play were the imaginations of the people who had been hurt in some way. For example, Mrs. Putnam accuses Rebecca Nurse of killing her babies during child birth. Just because Mrs. Putnam accused Rebecca, with no evidence or proof, Rebecca is questioned, put up for trial and sentenced death. Proctor sees this error within the justice system for the witch trials and speaks out upon is saying, “A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see…