Within Salem in the 16th century, although many people forget the importance of truth and are easily swept up in the hysteria caused by the supposed witchcraft present in the town, the truth ultimately overcomes many people's fears and doubts as they realise how powerful it really is. People such as Danforth and Hale, who are in positions of authority take great advantage of where they stand in terms of power and tend to disregard the relevance truth has in the very serious matter of taking people's lives. Abigail is another character who takes advantage of the position of power she is in for the majority of the play and makes a large number of wrongful accusations of witchcraft occurring throughout the town. She goes to great lengths in hope of achieving her main goal of bringing the harsh sentence of death upon Elizabeth Proctor so that she can reunite and be with John Proctor again. Proctor, however, is a contrasting character in that truth is more important to him that anything; even life itself.
             Characters such as Danforth and Hale hold positions of utmost authority in the town of Salem; Danforth being a judge of the legal system and Hale being a reverend renowned for his dealings with witchcraft and the Devil himself. However, these characters differ slightly because of how they develop over the period of the play and how much they value truth. Danforth lacks the insight to see through the wrongful accusations being thrown around within the town, whereas Hale begins to finally see the goodness in the accused and starts to highly doubt the presence of witchcraft. This shows the evilness in Danforth, for his stubborn ways and refusal to admit to the truth cause the deaths of many innocent people. "I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime...Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part." His twisted values of thinking his position and reputation are more important that saving ...