Throughout the play Abigail Williams abuses her power and shows what it can do to a community. The mysterious world of witchcraft and witch hunts is the centrepiece of this story, which parallels to the Senator Joseph McCarthy communist witch hunts in the 1950s. Really, metaphors are all we have to describe memory. As a result, a per-son of such power could say almost anything they pleased, people would listen and appropriate action taken. This site with its different articles allows you to have the best useful travel tips and inspiration from destinations around the world. Communities revert to chaos when. Danforth demonstrates an abuse of power, dominating the court by their fear of being accused of witchcraft, or of being condemned for contempt of the court. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. This is clearly shown by Miller when Francis tells Danforth that he is being deceived. The use of this verb by Francis shocks Danforth making him see it as contempt of the court. Also, Abigail allows innocent people to be tried and sometimes even hanged without a chance to defend themselves. The victims, in this case, are the children. He is, evidently, the chief magistrate in the trials as a result of his position, and people present themselves and their evidence directly to him. This illustrates how selfish she is as a person and because of Mary Warren, it helps us to understand the character of Abigail. Danforth does wrong again when he is talking to Francis Nurse and says Do you know that 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?(Miller 864). During the Salem Witch Trials, there was a time of hysteria; everyone was accusing everyone, and no one could defend themselves. The Crucible: Abuse of Power - FreeBook Summary However, Danforth lays at the root of the crooked nature of the court. He uses false accusations and assumptions during cases. 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. Her main reason was to prove the hypocrisy within the town. Miller keeps the play flowing by allowing people to drift scene 1 we are immediately presented with the fear of word) transcripts of the court proceeding, Miller was able to create following Paragraphs I will split Act 1 into many scenes presented in this passage this is one reason God opposes the people. What this means is, authors hope that one will share his / her beliefs and try to change society s thinking. Because Danforth is unwilling to change his ways and admit that he is in the wrong he dooms another seven people. This corrupt hierarchy meant that nobody could question a priest or minister because doing so would be considered questioning God. Beware of it! (Miller 59). Danforth is clearly an intelligent man, highly respected and successful. 11. Why does Danforth put so much faith in Elizabeths testimony? Arthur Millers characterization of Thomas Putnam, Mary Warren, and John Proctor exemplify their purpose, motivation, and character traits., The highly religious people of Salem look up to Reverend Parris and listen to his words as the teachings of the bible. Abusing power is using power to an advantage in a bad way. The metal cabinet itself is like your brain. You can use metaphors and similes when creating an analogy. What Is the Importance of Danforth in the Crucible and How Does Miller Danforth purposely turns his attention from what could be crucial evidence, for it would distort his, The Crucible: Greed and Realization A chance. This calamity started when a group of girls started dancing in the woods. English 10 H AKADanforth does not want to admit he was wrong (Miller 129). This protagonist is seen as inhumanly diabolical, as she does not express any remorse, via the motif of manipulation and accusations. I say you will hang if you do not open with me! (Act 3) This quote suggests Danforths very superior and demanding tone. Abigail threatens to kill them if they ever tell a spick of words to anyone. 1624 Words 7 Pages 2 Works Cited Better Essays Demagoguery In The Crucible Arthur Miller uses Judge Danforth to represent not only the governments complete control of Americas early settlers but also to illustrate the arrogance of many of our countrys leaders from Puritan times all the way through Millers experience with McCarthyism in the 1950s. He does this by not listening to testimony, having the innocent arrested, and not going back on his rulings when they could be unjust. There has been a statement about The Crucible being essentially about courage, weakness and truth. I agree that this statement is true due to the events and characters in The Crucible. Judge Hawthorne believes what he is told by certain people is the truth even if little evidence is to be shown. Danforth was a judge who overused his powers while he was in court (Character Profile- Danforth). Elizabeth agrees to speak with Proctor, but she makes no promises. Text Preview Thesis Statement: Examples of the abuse of power in the play The Crucible Table Of Contents Introduction: Amount of power that the Church and the Court had over people in The Crucible setting Reasons behind Danforth's and Abigail's accusations Hypocritical behaviour of Reverend Parris Hale spoke foolish ideas, Danforth was prideful, and Abigail was selfish. What is Danforths role in the proceedings? Judge Danforth has many controlling and demanding tendencies, he enjoys having authority over the people of Salem, proved by the quote, Do you know who I am Mr. Nurse?And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature In addition, the quote also highlights how Danforth likes to gloat about his dominance and how what he says and wants always happens. Even though people have different opinions, some may also be in the middle of this, Arthur Millers The Crucible visualizes the abuse of power and greed in society in many ways. Reverend Hales job is to diagnose witchcraft if it is present, Rev Hale loves what he does for a living. Order a custom essay. Miller demonstrates how much power a sole in-dividual can have when the decisions made by that person effect a whole community. This links to the title of the play as crucibles are vessels, which contain both impure and pure things, which are then heated to ensure only the pure things are left (links to idea of purifying of souls.) Only the witch and the victim (100) may bear witness to the crime and we must rely upon the victims [to] [] testify(100). I am really satisfied with her work. Therefore, the three townspeople mentioned in Arthur Millers, The Crucible, will be punished for their sins whether they seek penitence or not., Throughout the play, a stifling atmosphere of fear lingers over Salem. In doing so, the life of a Puritan was not a fortunate one. Deputy Governor Danforth also abuses his power an example is when Reverend Parris asks to postpone the hangings because he is afraid there would be a protest against him due to unjust hangings, Deputy Governor Danforth says, "Now hear me and beguile yourselves no more. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Judge Danforth is a deputy governor of the state, and he is also the judge for the witchcraft trail. What is Deputy Governor Danforths background? When Reverend Hale and Parris were trying to get the hangings nullified in Act 4 Judge Danforth says, I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime.(Act 4) Judge Danforth knew partly that John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse were being killed and were innocent in the crimes they were involved in and were highly respected in the Salem community. Good leaders should be able to listen to critics. This shows us that the point of Marys character is to show the audience Abigails evil qualities and possibly what Abigail is capable of to protect herself. An analogy is saying something is like something else to make some sort of an explanatory point. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2023. Not a fingernail. A deputy governor is a gubernatorial official who is subordinated to a governor, rather like a lieutenant governor. When the guardians of the law and order misuse their power it brings tragedy upon the town. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, what characters abuse their power and A very ape would weep at such calamity. Miller uses irony here to show that Danforth does not even realise that he is more stone than any other character in the play. Near the end of the play after it is discovered that Abigail was lieing, Danforth still has John Proctor hang Hang them high over the town(Miller 886), even with the obvious fact that Abigail lied about everything Danforth still comands that Proctor be hang, this is a grossly wrong act and complete abuse of power on Danforths part. Filter Results. Another time when we see Abigail abuse her power is when she falsely accuses people of witchcraft I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil!.. My curiosity is conveyed through Abigail. The idea of witchcraft seems preposterous now, but it pulled me into its issues with its bony hands. Here he aims to make parallels with McCarthyism and HUAC. 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 . One character from the book that abuses his power is Judge Danforth. The Church was depended on to make laws and the court acted as a threat and intimidated civilians to obey the laws.
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