Reputation A Japanese proverb once said, “Sometimes it takes only an hour to get a reputation that lasts for a thousand years.” This proverb applies to every human in this world. We all watch what we say and do because a bad reputation can hurt your future and make people look at you differently. This proverb can also apply to history with the Salem Witch Trials. A multitude of innocent people were condemned to die all because people were worried about their good name. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller the characters are consumed by the importance of a good reputation that they make rash decisions that will hurt them in the end. A central theme in The Crucible is the reputations of all of the antagonists in the play. Danforth, Abigail, and
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Danforth is the major judge in the play The Crucible. He is trying to keep all of the people in the town happy by condemning innocent people because they were accused of witchcraft. Danforth believed he had the most power in Salem and that he was never wrong. We see an example of this in the text when Danforth says,” “Mr. Hale you surely do not doubt my justice,” (Miller 942). Danforth won’t stop killing people until he believes that the devil is out of Salem. Every time Danforth condemned a person to die he would ask them to name who else they saw with the devil. Danforth would feed them the answers he wanted to hear. The reader sees an example of this during a conversation between Danforth and Proctor, Danforth says,” When the Devil came to you did you see Rebecca Nurse in his company...Did you ever see his sister Martha Easty, with the Devil...Did you ever see Martha Corey with the Devil?” (967). Danforth is giving Proctor the names of the people he believes are associated with the Devil when they are truly innocent. He tries to protect his name when he says, “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime,” (962). He says this because he knows people will look at him differently and question him because, how can he kill the first twelve and not kill the people he just condemned. Throughout the play Danforth believes that he has a good reputation, but the reader sees him as the antagonist in the story because he is killing these innocent
Danforth is the major judge in the play The Crucible. He is trying to keep all of the people in the town happy by condemning innocent people because they were accused of witchcraft. Danforth believed he had the most power in Salem and that he was never wrong. We see an example of this in the text when Danforth says,” “Mr. Hale you surely do not doubt my justice,” (Miller 942). Danforth won’t stop killing people until he believes that the devil is out of Salem. Every time Danforth condemned a person to die he would ask them to name who else they saw with the devil. Danforth would feed them the answers he wanted to hear. The reader sees an example of this during a conversation between Danforth and Proctor, Danforth says,” When the Devil came to you did you see Rebecca Nurse in his company...Did you ever see his sister Martha Easty, with the Devil...Did you ever see Martha Corey with the Devil?” (967). Danforth is giving Proctor the names of the people he believes are associated with the Devil when they are truly innocent. He tries to protect his name when he says, “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime,” (962). He says this because he knows people will look at him differently and question him because, how can he kill the first twelve and not kill the people he just condemned. Throughout the play Danforth believes that he has a good reputation, but the reader sees him as the antagonist in the story because he is killing these innocent