The state of Salem is very bad. Reverend Parris fears rebellion as they've heard occurred in Andover, nearby. Cows and orphans wander the highroad while crops rot, unharvested in the field. Parris has received what seems like a death threat: a dagger stuck into his door. Very few people came to witness Proctor's excommunication from the church, and this betrays the community's disagreement with his conviction. All of this is used as evidence to convince Danforth that the hangings scheduled for today must be postponed. However, he says:
Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering. If retaliation is your fear, know this—I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes.
Danforth fears—first—that he would lose credibility and authority if he postpones the hangings. If he pardons or delays the execution of those scheduled to die today, it will cause people to question both his authority as well as the guilt of the others who've already been executed for the same crimes. He reminds everyone that the law is from God, and that he is the arbiter of that law. He promises that, if there is a rebellion, he would likewise punish rebels with death. In other words, then, Danforth would rather hang thousands in order to maintain his power rather than save the lives of innocents and risk losing that power. Retaining his authority, not seeking truth or even upholding the law, is his top priority; he will not postpone the hangings.
Already, there have been twelve hangings with another seven scheduled to take place. Though having found that Abigail has run off with her uncle's (Reverend Parris) money, thus making it clear that she was in fact guilty of lying about being bewitched and about her accusations against others in town, Danforth knows that turning back on their initial stance against believed and, according to him during the trials, "proven" cases of witchcraft would result in nothing more than loss of credibility on their part before the opinions of the town. Postponing any further hangings would be like giving in and admitting their error. At this point, though, with so many who have already died, the families of the hanging victims would come down upon the courts with such hatred that complete anarchy could ensure, forcing Danforth and the other officials into very compromising situations. Parris makes this concern clear to Danforth when he states, "I fear there will be riot here" (Act IV).
Why does Danforth say he refuses to postpone the executions?
Judge Danforth's refusal to postpone the executions of individuals such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse comes at the behest of Reverend Hale's utterance that he needs more time to persuade them to confess to their supposed relationship with Satan. The good Reverend has been counseling those...
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who have been sentenced to death so that they may be spared. He states that they have stubbornly refused to admit their guilt and that a postponement might give him an opportunity to convince them to relent. Furthermore, it is evident that the town is in an uproar. There have been rumors of a rebellion similar to the one in Andover. Reverend Parris also states that John and Rebecca, in particular, are heading a faction to get rid of him and that they are the foremost citizens in the village. If Reverend Hale can extract confessions from those in prison, others might follow suit and prevent any further disruption in the community. As it is, unharvested crops are rotting, untended livestock is roaming the streets, and orphaned children have nowhere to go. The mood in Salem is, therefore, disturbing and threatening.
In light of all of the above, Judge Danforth stubbornly refuses to postpone the executions. He states that:
I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die at dawn. Postponement, now, speaks a … a floundering (Willard ENTERS) on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.
The arrogant and recalcitrant Judge has ruled the court with an iron fist and has, from the outset, stamped his authority upon its proceedings. He has been harsh, unforgiving, unrelenting, and unwilling to provide any compromise. His dictatorial style has permeated through all aspects of the proceedings and has defeated, in all instances, all challenges to his authority.
The judge's refusal, on one hand, can be deemed rational since many others have already been executed. Allowing a reprieve to those incarcerated and who have been found guilty will seem unjust. Such an action will most certainly result in outrage by the families and associates of those already executed. On the other hand, as rational as this argument may sound, clear evidence that the girls have been lying has been presented to the court in the form of testimony by Mary Warren and others, namely, John Proctor and Giles Corey. Many witnesses have provided affidavits in support of the good character of the accused such as Rebecca Nurse. Also, enough evidence exists to prove that Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis are deceitful and sly. The two girls surreptitiously left the village after Abigail stole her uncle's entire life savings. In effect, then, there is more than enough evidence to provide the accused, living or dead, with a pardon.
It becomes apparent, therefore, that Judge Danforth's decision is not entirely rational. Because he is the chief presiding officer, any changes to the judgments he has passed will be a reflection of his character and judgment. Since he has not permitted anyone to question his abilities in this regard, he will not allow it now. His reticence is informed by his arrogance and dictatorial nature. Judge Danforth will not have any accusatory finger pointed at him. He is not prepared to admit to his mistakes and accept that he has failed the community of Salem. He, even in the face of truth, is unrelenting and unforgiving. His narcissism and supercilious attitude are what drive him to refuse a postponement.
Why does Danforth say he refuses to postpone the executions?
Like so much in Danforth's attiude, he refuses to accept any premise that would bring questioning and doubt to the nature of the court. In some senses, Danforth has brought forth the idea that he refuses to let anything question his court. The court has become an extension of himself. It is for this reason that he refuses to accept anything during the trials that questions the findings of the court. It is for this reason that refuses to budge in delaying the executions. He believes that to do so would bring a bad name to both the court and, by extension, himself:
...postponement now speaks of floundering on my part.
This is a telling line in that Danforth links the court with his own name, something that Proctor will flip in an unusual way later on in the Act. For Danforth, the very idea that there could be a delay or any doubt in the proceedings helps to bring question to both it and to Danforth himself. This is an end that he cannot even fathom to embrace.
Why does Danforth refuse to postpone the hangings?
As was mentioned in the previous post, Deputy Governor Danforth is an extremely rigid and prideful man. In Act Four, Parris attempts to convince Danforth to postpone the hangings. Parris tells Danforth that other towns, such as Andover, have thrown out the court and there is a high possibility that the citizens of Salem will rebel if Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor are hanged. Upon hearing this suggestion, Danforth remains implacable and refuses to pardon John and Rebecca because twelve people have already been hanged. He goes on to mention that pardoning the accused will only bring "doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now." Danforth is intransigent and too prideful to admit when he is wrong. He also has complete faith in "God's law" and believes the court is infallible. Postponing the hangings will make Danforth and his court look weak, and people will begin to question the court's authority.
Why does Danforth refuse to postpone the hangings?
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Danforth is an elderly man who serves as the judge in the witchcraft trials. Danforth is extremely rigid and once he has made up his mind, there will be no changing it. For example, when Corey tries to defend his wife, Danforth roars,
"Then you take it upon yourself to decide what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?"
When Corey tells Danforth that he did not mean any disrespect, Danforth again declares indignantly:
Disrespect, indeed!-It is disruption, Mister. This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?
Danforth seems almost proud of the fact that just by signing his name, he is responsible for 400 people being in jail and another 72 being condemned to die.
Thus, when Parris suggests that the hangings be postponed because of recent developments that have cast doubt on the proceedings in their town, Danforth twice declares that there will be no postponement.
On the most basic level, Danforth refuses to allow the postponement because he is a rigid person and is convinced that his decision is the correct one. Second, he himself says that to allow postponement would speak "a floundering...on my part". In addition to Danforth's unwillingness to appear indecisive, he also says that a "reprieve or pardon [would] cast doubt upon the guilt of" those who had already been put to death.
Why does Danforth refuse to postpone the hangings?
Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings because he feels that, if he were defer them, it would undermine his authority and credibility. Further, it might encourage people to question whether or not those folks who were hanged before were actually guilty. He says, "While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering." Danforth feels that God is speaking through him, that he is God's agent, and so he argues that it would appear to weaken God's voice if Danforth appears weak.
The others -- Hale and Parris -- fear that the people in Salem are going to rebel against the courts because they are beginning to be perceived as corrupt and because life in the town has gotten so bad. To this, Danforth says, "I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes." In other words, Danforth very much prizes law and order over mercy, and this belief also helps to inform his decision not to postpone the hangings.
Why won't Danforth postpone the hangings?
This is in Act Four. Parris (and Hale) are worried that news of the revolt in Andover will inspire a similar revolt in Salem. Danforth is defiant and stubborn and says "There is no rebellion in Andover!" Recall the description Miller (the author) gives of Danforth in an earlier section:
Danforth is a grave man in his sixties, of some humor and sophistication that does not, however, interfere with an exact loyalty to his position and his cause.
His sophistication (being cultured and having diverse knowledge) does not interfere with the position he has taken. In other words, he is stubborn. He also will not allow anyone to challenge him as Deputy Governor and this is because of his pride. Hale arrives and pleads with Danforth to pardon the others. Danforth says he can't because twelve have already been executed for the same crime of witchcraft. He won't postpone the executions or pardon anyone because it will suggest he was wrong and the court convictions were incorrect. He says:
Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.
Danforth is more worried about his own reputation and the integrity of the court. He would rather go ahead with more executions than even suggest that he and the court have made a grave mistake.
Why does Danforth refuse to postpone the executions?
Deputy Governor Danforth (in "The Crucible") is a symbol of government officials who care only about protecting their own image and the image of their offices. It is because he is concerned about his image and the image of the government that he won't postpone the executions.
Basically, Danforth says that postponing the executions would make the court look bad. They had already executed twelve (I think it was) people using pretty much the same evidence as they're going to use to execute the next bunch.
Since they executed the first bunch, they have to execute the second bunch or else it looks like they don't know what they're doing.
So he's willing to kill innocent people so as not to make the government look bad.
Why doesn't Danforth postpone the executions?
I assume you are talking about the executions of people like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse.
The reason for this is that he doesn't want to look bad or to make the Court/government look bad. Up to this point, he has allowed a bunch of people to be executed based on the same sorts of evidence that have been presented against Proctor and Nurse. If he postpones the executions of these last two people, then what is he saying about the previous executions?
So, if he postpones these executions, he would essentially be admitting that they screwed up and shouldn't have executed the other people. That would make the Court/government look really bad.