Degredation_Of_Danforth

Degredation Of Danforth In the Crucible, Arthur Miller establishes the universal theme that good does not always prevail over evil. This theme clearly identifies with the character of Deputy Governor Danforth. Throughout the play, Danforth’s traits transition from desirable to undesirable, which illustrates how good does not always win in the end. Three major transitions seen in Danfoth’s character are his objectivity, his concern for the court, and the way in which he deals with other people. When Danforth makes his first appearance in Act Three, he comes across as a relatively objective man. For example, when Giles enters the court, he reprimands him for disrupting the proceedings, but insists that the court “let him submit his evidence.” (80). His open mind allows him to listen to the reasons that Giles, Proctor, and Francis Nurse give about why their wives should be released. Miller emphasizes Danforth’s impartiality when he continues to listen to the testimony even after Judge Hawthorne automatically jumps to the conclusion that the testimony “is contempt.” (80). He also rebuffs a similar accusation by Reverend Paris that “they’ve come to overthrow the court” (86) and asks Parris and Hawthorne to danforth, court, proctor, giles, three, good, first, evil, danforth’s, act, always, upon, through, theme, reputation, point, people, over, miller, makes, however, example, evidence, character, begins, becomes, because, asks, anger, 80, way, undermine, trial, testimony, shows