How Does Danforth Use Power In The Crucible

Power to the Pernicious
There are many factors that influence whether having power is favorable or hindering. In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, two main characters, Abigail Williams and Judge Thomas Danforth use the power they obtain to hurt others. While Abigail uses it in a self seeking manner, Danforth uses it to show the town who is in charge. The witch trials occur after a group of girls claim that various people have compelled them to conjure evil spirits. With everything going on in Salem, certain characters take advantage of chaos and step up to take charge. Abigail Williams, one of the girls involved with the witchcraft scandal, obtains a great amount of power, which she ends up using for her personal gain. Thomas Danforth,

Abigail Williams achieves power through her affair with John Proctor and her strong leadership role with her friends, and through her self seeking manner, she lets it corrupt her. In the beginning of the play, the author reveals that Abigail has involved herself with a married man. Although John breaks off the affair, Abigail now has a certain power over him because she reminds him of his unfaithful past. Abigail decides to use her power selfishly to avoid conviction and attempt to have John’s wife, Elizabeth convicted so she can be with John. Her first major use of power is when she threatens the girls who are suspected of witchcraft that if they do not lie she “will come to you in the black of some terrible night and … bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (20). She continues with the threats saying ,“I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (20). The harsh diction shows how serious Abigail is about the girls sticking to the story. She uses the fear factor to make sure the girls will comply and also shows the girls who’s in charge. The overwhelming amount of threats that Abigail uses show that she really needs to get her point across and make the girls have an incentive for lying. Once Abigail gains