Girl’s dancing Essay

The failure of Parris to determine a cause for the girl’s dancing leads to another key character, Reverend Hale of Beverly. From the moment he enters the act, he is portrayed as a man of arrogance and over confidence. Yet, he seems embarrassed when Proctor praises him, contradicting his exterior demeanor. In the early course of the play, Hale is a force behind the conviction of so-called ‘witches’ and he is continually probing people to confess. Like most of the other characters in the play, Hale himself is also afraid of the unknown, despite his ‘experience’ with incidents of this kind in the past. He remarks that no matter what religious status an individual may occupy, they may still be accused of dealing with the devil. In a clear contrast to the beginning of the play he appears uncertain if the girls are telling the truth, but is reluctant to show his suspicions until the very end of the play. Tragically, his suspicions are told too late, as the trials no longer remain in his hands. His reluctance to speak what he actually believed in condemned many more people, which means that Hale is a key figure in showing how innocent people can be convicted and ‘murdered’ so easily by the girls. John Proctor plays the most prominent role in the play, as Arthur Miller gradually brings him into the affray as more and more people become convicted, one of whom is his wife, Elizabeth. Proctor is regarded as a strong figure in the society of Salem, yet his past life continues to haunt him however, as he has committed the sin of adultery with none other than Abigail Williams herself before the play. Once the trials begin, Proctor realises he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem, if he confesses to his sin of adultery. This would ruin his reputation in the society, so he is reluctant to confess. This likens Proctor to Reverend Parris at this stage, as he they are both intent on keeping their good reputations. Towards the end of the play however, this changes as Proctor is prepared to lose his reputation by confessing to adultery and finding the truth. His confession arrives too late however, as the matters in the court have gone too far. This now likens him to Reverend Hale, as both of them form an invisible alliance in the courtroom, as both know that Abigail is manipulating the judges and is clearly lying. Proctor is also portrayed as an ‘un-Christian’ being in the mind of the court when Hale questions him about his Christianity. This lack of religious belief in him is a key factor in the court proceedings once Proctor is brought before them. However Miller creates sympathy with the 20th century audience for Proctor by creating hostility towards other characters. The sympathy is also shown at the end of the play when Proctor refuses to give up his name in order to establish the truth. This gives the audience the impression that Proctor is a man of integrity and is willing to give up everything for the truth. Judge Danforth is the key figure in the condemnation of the accused persons. He is, like Parris, portrayed as a man intent on keeping his reputation rather than finding the truth. He enters the play as the trials begin, having no background knowledge of what has gone on in the society before the trials involving Proctor and Abigail, and has no knowledge of people’s ways of thinking and attitudes towards others. These factors ultimately are the main reasons why people are convicted in Danforth’s court, and not because of witchcraft. During the court case in act three involving Proctor and Abigail, all the truthful evidence that Proctor gives against Abigail is ignored by Danforth, as he is easily distracted by Abigail’s lies. This shows that Danforth and the court’s justice is flawed. The flawed justice of the court is another clear reason of how Salem’s society is able to convict people so easily. He also expects people to side with the court by saying: ‘ †¦ A person is either with this court or against it. ‘ This shows that if you were against the court then you would be persecuted. During the case, his justice is frequently questioned, which angers him, as he is not used to having his justice questioned.. Danforth’s belief in the truth fluctuates, as there are points where he begins to doubt Abigail’s story such as where he ‘studies Abigail for a minute’. However, to wash away all of Danforth’s doubts Abigail pretends to have ‘visions’. This works on every occasion, and therefore proves that the court’s justice is again flawed if it can be manipulated so easily by a mere 17-year-old Christian girl on a quest for love. The cause many people would believe of the outpouring of accusations and convictions in Salem would be Abigail Williams, but the detail that surrounds the events is immense. There are many different key figures surrounding the deaths and all play a large part in the events that took place after the ‘dancin’ occurred.