Elizabeth's Refusal To Judge John Proctor In The Crucible

Judge Danforth is responsible for the outcomes in Salem because he is arrogant, superstitious, and unwilling to listen to reason. Danforth accuses countless girls of witchcraft with no proof to support

both The Crucible and Twelve Angry Men, there are characters that equally stand for and are motivated by truth and justice. In Twelve Angry Men Juror Eight embodies reason and attentiveness. He refuses to “send a boy off to die without talking about it first”, much to the initial dismay of his fellow jurors. He rejects the idea of agreeing with the eleven other jurors just to make the process more efficient, and in doing so he rejects conformity. He has reasonable doubt and asserts that “no jury can declare a man guilty unless it’s sure”.

His guilt is what is driving him to prove himself good. This leads her to decide she is not in a place to judge his actions or control his future, so she says to John, “Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is!” (137).

The affair and John’s inability to forgive himself leaves his relationship with Elizabeth strained throughout the majority of the story. The text alludes to this by reminding the reader of how “cold” the Proctor household is starting to become as John and Elizabeth exchange dialogue. He is mad at his wife because she cannot forgive him, he resents her for this and hypocritically he can’t even forgive himself. In the book, John Proctor is seen as a strong, logical man who isn’t afraid of hard work.

John came face to face to a very hard decision, to live and dishonor his name and family, or to die a falsely accused man. John knew that confessing to witchcraft would be lying and that it would only make his afterlife worse. So he asked Elizabeth what she would do, but she only told him to follow his heart and that she supported whatever choice he decided to make. Proctor at first falsely confesses to witchcraft to save his life, which is what Hale, Danforth, and Parris wanted him to do.

Journal Entry 1, Question 1 People who “mind other people’s business” can often times be a real pain, but in other cases, should be thanked and commended. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a combination of both of these types of characters appear. For example, characters like John Proctor help the common good by not minding his own business, and characters like Abigail fight against the common good. John Proctor helps fight for the common good when his wife, Elizabeth Proctor is arrested.

He believes strongly in his ability to judge the character of the informants. This comes into play when others question his judgement of Abigail and the girls from the woods. Danforth has a great deal of authority over the verdict of the accused, he has the power to judge them as not guilty. Danforth being the primary judge means he could have admitted to his foolishness and told the community that the accused people were not witches, and it would have made the townspeople believe that there was no witch problem in Salem at all. Danforth is too concerned with his reputation to admit that his judgement, at first, was clouded.

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.

Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife told John to do what he thinks is best, disagreeing with the ideas proposed by Reverend Hale, to confess to the court. Reverend Hale’s

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.

Another viewpoint, maybe that Judge Danforth was just trying to get the Salem witch trials to blow by quicker, but if this was true, he would´ve accepted John Proctor´s evidence showing that the girls were just playing tricks them. This would make the witch hysteria go away much quicker. Instead, he benefits himself by letting the Salem witch trials live longer. If Danforth was a good Judge he would not have acted so adamant and did his job as a judge to interpret the

In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, authority causes hubris within characters which allows them to persuade the witch trials negatively. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, gains authority through her multiple accusations during the trials. Later she uses her power to stretch the witch trials onward by threatening the judges to believe her or go against God. Abigail has caused an uproar in the town which leaves people in fear and torn between what to believe. Judge Danforth, on the other hand, uses his authority in a slightly different way to influence the trials.

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.

The Crucible “The Crucible” is a play, by Arthur Miller, about the Salem Witch Trials. After reading “The Crucible”, you will be asking yourself, is it necessary for a person to suffer? The answer to the question is shown through the characters, Giles Corey, John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. John Proctor is a respected puritan man in the community. John had made the mistake of sleeping with, a teenage girl, Abigail Williams.

Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his