An Analysis of an Extract from the Play The Crucible

(pg. 112-113)

“Tonight, when I open (…) with them all, Mr Hale?”

This extract is significant to the play The Crucible because it provides a valuable insight into the court’s precarious situation and resolution to this situation.

We see that Parris, a religious authority, is claiming that he was threatened due to his support for the trials. It is evident that Parris has lost his determination and wants to end the trials as peacefully as possible for his own good: “You cannot hang this sort! There is danger for me” (3-4). Next, Hale enters the scene. He seems to be in bad condition, “steeped in sorrow” and “exhausted” (6). Hale’s poor shape symbolizes the shaky circumstances the court has found itself in: As indicated on page 111, the townsfolk have overthrown the court in Andover, a town close to Salem, and Parris suggests that the same may happen in Salem as well. Little hope seems to be left for the court: even Hale admits that the perpetrators will not confess (11). Danforth, however, is firmly resolved. He states that he “cannot pardon” (13) nor postpone because that would speak a “floundering on [his] part” (24). Danforth strongly believes that pardoning or delaying will make the guilt of those he hanged dubious. Thus, the court resolves to stick with the original procedure as Danforth’s verdicts are foremost in the court.

From this extract, the readers can infer that Parris’s and Danforth’s opinions differ on how the court’s authority should be maintained. Parris thinks that the hanging should be postponed until one of the perpetrators confess. If this happens, argues Parris, the confession will “surely damn the others in the public eye” (pg. 112), therefore reinstalling trust upon the court and hampering any upheaval. On the other hand, Danforth reasons that a pardon or postponement will “cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now” (25) diminishing the court’s reputation.

-Bora