The Crucible Judge Danforth Character Analysis

In ¨The Crucible¨ Judge Danforth is the head judge and he has to listen to everyone’s plead and demand to see who has done witchcraft or has not. If Danforth had to choose to side with I think he would pick the younger people because I think that he would want to set a good example for the young people.
Danforth is complicated. He is the one responsible for judging people´s stories but it is too soft hearted when it comes to certain ones. Danforth is always trying to get everyone to stay on God´s side but he finds out that some of the people in Salem for doing witchcraft. Danforth is in his sixties and is a proud man who has the respect of the people he works with.
Judge Danforth is primarily developed through indirect characterization. Unlike

Any questioning of the church's authority was seen as questioning the will of God himself. In addition, such things as physical gratification or individuality were seen as a threat to their way of life.
Danforth is a very sure of himself and his authority. People respect him and his experience. For example ¨Danforth summons Abigail and three of the girls into the vestry room, where he questions Abigail. She denies Mary Warren's charge that she is lying and that she falsely accused Elizabeth Proctor.¨
Judge Danforth is dismayed that people actually fear his court. He believes that himself and Judge Hawthorne are guided by God and hence the innocent need not fear the proceedings. In reality Danforth validates himself through these witch hunts. The more they go on, the greater importance he still has. So Danforth has a vested interest in presiding over the hysteria. He clearly refuses to see the paranoid slanders that are being tossed back and forth. He sees the trial as proof that he is needed as an intermediary between God and the Devil. I always thought that he allows the executions to continue to keep himself in the position of power that he has become accustomed