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Characterisation in the crucible
Characters and characterisation in the crucible
The crucible character analysis essay
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American author, John Steinbeck once said, “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts - perhaps the fear of loss of power”. As seen in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, people of authority can feel pressured to go along with actions or make decisions they know are wrong because they fear losing their power and influence in society. They also tend to let to their opinions and motives impact their work and responsibility to make good decisions. The Crucible demonstrates how people of authority, like Parris and Danforth, try to use good judgement to make fair decisions, but are often influenced by their own personal opinions whether they realize it or not. Reverend Parris became a minister because he regarded himself to be holy and was blessed by God …show more content…
A judge is someone who presides over court proceedings, and makes impartial decisions in the pursuit of justice. Danforth is a loyal judge to the court and is passionate about making sure justice is served. When Proctor and Cory try to free their wives, he informs them that, “In an ordinary crime… one calls up witnesses to prove his innocence. But witchcraft is… on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime… Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it? The witch and the victim. None other. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims… ” (Pg. 93) Danforth has authority in the court and has the power to determine who is guilty and who is innocent. Deep down inside, Danforth probably realizes that by relying on spectral evidence, innocent people will probably be hung; yet, he goes through with it because he values the court system. Miller also used the theme of reputation to illustrate how society can pressure individuals into going against what they think is right. Although he might not realize it, Danforth is afraid that going against the court trials for individuals he thinks are innocent could damage his reputation as a judge. Then when Proctor has Mary Warren, one of the accusers, confess that she lied about witchcraft, Danforth thoroughly interrogates her to make certain that her new claim is the truth. He says, “ you tell me that you sat in my court, callously lying, …show more content…
In the play, after Abigail runs away, it becomes obvious that she lied and that she left to escape punishment. Parris wants to postpone the hangings and get more people to confess. He suggests to Danforth, “Excellency, I would postpone these hangin’s for a time… This way, unconfessed and claiming innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest people will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in their tears.” (Pg. 118) With Abigail gone, people know that innocent people were hanged and might chose to blame authority for being so easily deceived. Parris realizes that his supporting the trials could reflect badly on his reputation as a church official; thus, he begins to request for postponements and encourage people to ‘confess’. For Parris, it is less about proving people innocent or guilty but about clearing his name so he does not lose his power in the church. On the other hand, Danforth chooses to continue with the hangings. He says, “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of those seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering of them that died till now.” (Pg. 119) Danforth refuses to stop the hangings or pardon anyone because Danforth does not want to
Throughout The Crucible, Miller is concerned with conscience and guilt. Through the character Abigail Williams, he shows how people are willing to abandon their firmly-established values in order to conform with the majority and protect themselves. Those who refuse to part with their conscience, such as the character of John Proctor, are chastised for it. For this reason, the Salem witch trials raise a question of the administration of justice. During this time in the late 1600’s, people were peroccupied by a fear of the devil, due to their severe Puritan belief system. Nineteen innocent people are hanged on the signature of Deputy Governor Danforth, who has the authority to try, convict, and execute anyone he deems appropriate. However, we as readers sense little to no real malice in Danworth. Rather, ignorance and fear plague him. The mass
?What is left when honor is lost?? Publilius Syrus' quote, though dating from 100 B.C., still seems pertinent to our era (Quotations). Many people still feel that once integrity is lost they are nothing and many are willing to stand up to keep their integrity. Without integrity, we are nothing. During the time that Arthur Miller wrote his most famous play, The Crucible, innocent men and women are accused of having Communist leanings. Their whole lives are ruined in a short amount of time because they refuse to compromise themselves by selling out their friends. Miller tries to make a statement about these unfair trials by comparing them to the Salem witch-hunts and trials of 1692. The main protagonist of his play is a man named John Proctor who is accused of witchcraft but stands up to maintain his name and his honor, even though he is hanged for it. During the H.U.A.C. trials some took stands for their beliefs with the knowledge of possibly being shunned by society. Knowing this, instead of taking the cowards' way and giving the names of their friends, they refuse to tell the committee anything in the same way that John Proctor stands up against a court that is ruining the lives of innocent people.
The absolute power of aristocracies is a scourge on society that corrupts minds and imposes too much of an impact on the lives of the majority. At the time when Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, society was subject to McCarthyism, the unquestionable authoritative force that could and did ruin the lives of those suspected of communism. Yet, of these people who suffered the brunt of punishment from authority, a numerous percentage of them displayed hypocrisy in accusing others out of survival. In The Crucible, Miller reflects this idea of hypocrisy in an environment where unquestionable authority reigns. His work displays the essentiality in rising out of such an insincere state and acting upon what
As accusations arose, the town became so focused on getting confessions and holding trials they forgot to look for tangible evidence of guilt. Instead, even if people were innocent, they would still have to confess, so they wouldn’t die. For example, there was no way for Proctor to escape death other than confessing, even though he was innocent. Danforth’s question to Proctor showed the mindset Danforth and others in the town had. Danforth asked Proctor, “Will you confess yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet?...”(119). In other words, Proctor needed to confess he was guilty of witchcraft or he would die, still considered guilty. Many characters knew in their hearts ...
Power emanates and reverberates through every aspect of our lives, the influence and control that an individual has is often an indicator of their rank in life. Three of the more prominent factors that affect your power and influence are: gender, roles and relationships and conflict. These aspects influence your control over others, structural and institutional power exist in the forms of access to educational, economic, political resources and opportunities. These ideas are presented as truths, in the novel The Crucible which was written by Arthur Miller and the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest directed by Milos Forman.
William Gaddis once said “Power doesn’t corrupt the people, the people corrupt the power” William claims that people corruptes the power, this statement explains how Abigail Williams corrupted the power of the court in the play The Crucible. It was not the power that corrupted the people it was the people that held the power that corrpted the people in the town. Since Abigail williams is motivated by obsession, jelousy, and power, her decision to take of the town to help herself creates total choas by the end of the play.
After Danforth refused to postpone the hangings he receives threats regarding his position in the trials and is then scared for his safety. Hale returns and he demands pardons for those that are convicted. Danforth states how twelve others have been hanged for the same charges and the pardons for those remaining would crack the God’s voice “whimpering”. Though Hale thinks that a week postponement would seem like mercy to the public and not weakness, Danforth simply disagrees. Danforth then tries to get Proctor to confess
Forthright and meticulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced he is doing right in his helping of the witch trials. In reality, he realizes in the middle of the play that the accusations are fake but he has already had people die from hanging and does nothing to stop the rest that are scheduled to hang. “ Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die at dawn. Postponement, now, speaks a… a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.” ( Act. 4, pg 1275?) He will not even consider postponing the hangings for he is afraid of what the townspeople will say when they hear that it was all fake and Danforth had no order in place to stop
In The Crucible, John Proctor discusses the allegations and confessions of witchcraft with Reverend Hale, declaring, “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that?” (Arthur Miller, 69). Proctor illustrates that the confessions to witchcraft may not be a representation of what is truly occurring. Since those charged with witchcraft are confronted with the possibility of being hanged, they confess to witchcraft out of fear and they blame others, resulting in a concatenation of accusations. Moreover, in The Crucible, Deputy Governor Danforth makes the decision to arrest those who signed the paper that claimed that Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, and Elizabeth Proctor were all righteous women. In response, Francis Nurse states, “Mr. Danforth, I gave them all my word no harm would come to them for signing this” (Arthur Miller, 94). Francis’ promise illuminates the townspeople's fear of being falsely accused of sorcery and condemned. The citizens of Salem were aware of the injustices that were occurring. Nonetheless, their trepidation restrained them from voicing their disapproval and rioting, thus allowing the trials to
I have given you a home, child. I have put clothes upon your back—now give me an upright answer. Your name in the town—it is entirely white, is it not?” This shows that early on in the play the Reverend thought highly of himself and saw himself as ‘white’ and the worst thing in his mind was anyone thinking anything different than that. He wanted to be the best and keep his family name clean above all else. However later in the book, due to all of the stress of the witch trials, Parris wasn’t so much concerned about himself than he was about others, he began to try and tell other people what to do as well by
Language is considered to be one of the most powerful ways to define a time, a place, a social standing, an occupation or even a character. In Miller's play, the language the characters speak is specifically chosen and is able to give us a feeling for the emotional intensity of each of the character's conflict towards one another. The language appointed, is able to show abstract ideas which emerge from that conflict by supplying us with the insights into all of the character's personalities and the values of their dialogue. This language or words chosen to be spoken between each other, leads to further rumor and gossip. Within the town of Salem, many accusations are made, calling people out as witches. Instead of standing up for their beliefs and what they truly value as a being, they quickly choose to believe this gossip because no one has the courage to demand the proof. In this story, proof is the most required, yet it is a limited supply in this town. These individuals don't choose to search and make the effort to find the proof, rather they would appreciate it to be given to them. The evidence is there, but it must be a desired search to be able to be found. The only proof found, is that of which to support a person's bias. Judge Danforth is a character represented as power and authority. He presides over the town of Salem's witch
Firstly, throughout the play Judge Danforth acts with pride and arrogance. At the commencement of act III Judge Danforth voices his view on the ongoing phase of the witchcraft trials by stating that “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?” (Miller 85). Here Danforth establishes an ultimatum to Giles Corey when he comes to defend his wife Martha Corey from the accusation of being a witch. Danforth sarcastically questions Giles Corey whether he has the authority to make any decision on the ongoing matter and thereby silences him. He makes it clear that no one else can determine what and how the court should act. In addition, the tone with which he delivers this dialogue is filled with arrogance as displayed by the movie “The crucible”. Overall, the picture profile of Judge Danforth created while saying these lines reveals his pride and haughtiness. Another instance where Judge Danforth reveals this attitude of his is when he snubs Francis Nurse for questioning his judgment and wisdom during the trials. In return Danforth replies “ And do you know that near four hundred are in jail... upon my signature”(Miller 87) and “ seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” (Miller 87). These lines show that Judge Danforth is proud of his actions and his power as a judg...
“Peace, judge Hathorne. Do you know who I am, Mr.Nurse?”(pg 89) No judge needs to show confidence like that, especially in a serious matter like this. He just proved that he's more focused on himself then the situation. “I judge Nothing. I tell you mister, 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 until this moment not the slightest reason to suspect that the children may be deceiving me.” Danforth tells Proctor with all confidence (pg 91). John Proctor gave judge danforth evidence to work on against witchcraft but judge Danforth is still blind. The decisions that he already made wouldn't let him change his mind because people already died because of it. Judge danforth never ceased the opportunity to open his head and realize the truth but instead he's still was blind to the
The issues of power, that Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, portrays are concerned with, who has the power, the shifts of power that take place and how power can consume people and try to abuse it, for either vengeance, jealously, material gain or sexual desire.
This was making people fear the court and also secretly question the way it was ran. Given the Puritan background the community never dared to question the court because this was looked at as questioning God. Danforth being an honorable man acknowledges this but also is trying to be fair given the circumstances of his previous trial and the current one he is examining. His decisions ultimately lead to reveal how each individual crucible is a little piece the crucible of the community of Salem. To give a background Danforth is in his sixties and has been in the court system for some time at this point in his career.