Reverend John Hale
There are two types of characters in a story, dynamic and static. A dynamic character is one that changes drastically in a story. One dynamic character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller that changes significantly is Reverend John Hale. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character because of the major changes he goes through during the play. In the beginning of the play Mr. Hale wants to find all the witches, and wants them to confess because he thinks they are a sign of the devil. Next, in the middle of the play John Hale begins to change beliefs about witches when John Proctor begins his trial. Lastly, towards the end of The Crucible Reverend Hale realizes that that witchcraft is fake, and he tries to save the accusers. At
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Throughout the play John Hale seems to become more and more unsure of himself. It is like Reverend Hale is being split in two directions and can not decide which is the right path for him to take. He changes his opinion about witchcraft at this time because he knows that John Proctor is a good man and is not a witch.Reverend Hale realizes his job of finding and ridding the world of witches is false.“It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice.”(Miller 1301). Next, Reverend Hale realizes that whole thing is getting out of hand and is ridiculous, so he quits the court. Reverend Hale's character changed from believing in witches and saving their souls from the devil to saving their lives from a lie. At some point, he realizes that the church can be used for evil too. The cause of this is from interrogating the people of Salem of witchcraft. At the end of the story John Hale opposes the court one hundred percent. Hale realizes that he was wrong, so he tries to amend his wrong doings by saving the people he condemned."I am not worth the dust on the feet of those who have hanged."(Miller 1345). At the end, Reverend Hale is very happy and holy. John Proctor doesn't seem to fully accept Hale's advice on the confession. This does not mean that Hale did not have a good idea to keep Proctor alive, it means that John Proctor values his pride above his
When Hale entered the story he believed that he was going to be the savior of the town ridding them of witches. When Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor were arrested Reverend Hale was deeply shaken with his beliefs. Hale near the end of the story he tells Elizabeth that you should not have religion when it brings you harm but you should keep faith in God. Reverend Hale near ending of The Crucible is the complete opposite of the Reverend Hale that first entered the story, because he came in believing he was the authority on how to find witches, then he was shaken by arrest of Rebecca and John, and finally by him telling others to throw away religion when it brings harm to
Throughout The Crucible, during the Salem Witch Trials, Reverend Hale slowly changes from a ‘confident man with a plan’, to a haggard preacher who seems to be losing himself amongst the chaos of these colonial trials based off of lies. After a life-altering experience, Hale is never again the same person he started out as. In the beginning of
If the accused confess to practicing witchcraft, they will be freed; if they do not confess, they will be hanged. As the trials continue, the list of accused people lengthens. The more people accused of witchcraft, the more John Hale sees that things are getting out of hand. When John Proctor is accused of lying about his affair, John Hale comes to his defense, stating his belief in Proctor and his distrust toward Abigail. This shows that Hale is not only focused on punishing those accused of witchcraft and defeating evil in Salem at any cost.
Towards the end, Hale changes from a person who carries his heavy written laws to a person who hates the court. During Act III, after Danforth arrested Proctor, Hale is so angry with the court that he yells, "I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (Act 3, 120). The quote might seem really simple, but it is significant because Hale finally figures out that the court system is a failure to the society, and also figures out what he should be go after. As a result in Act 4 when Hale tries to convince Elizabeth to tell Proctor to confess, Hale says, “‘Beware, Goody Proctor cleave to no faith when faith brings blood.
When trying to save John Proctor, Hale tells Elizabeth, "You know, do you not, that I come of my own Goody Proctor" (Miller 206). Hale did not associate with the courts, he wanted to do what he viewed as
To begin, when hale arrives in salem his books show how much he knows about witchcraft. As the play progress he starts to notice that the events in salem are not witchcraft. He notices that it is just people accusing other people they do not like. Next, Hale goes into salem confident it is witchcraft. When hale arrives in salem, he believes the girls and what they are saying about witchcraft and the people they are accusing.
Throughout the play The Crucible, there are several transformations among characters. One strong transformation is that of Reverend Hale. Hale epitomizes a very dynamic character. Throughout all of the drama in Salem, Hale changes drastically from a man with intentions to free the world from the clutches of satan to a person who realizes the Salem witch trials were all based on lies and tomfoolery.
Reverend Hale and Judge Danforth are two authoritative figures in The Crucible whose roles in society are to lead the community in the ways and likeness of God so that the people of Salem can, basically, be good Puritans. Despite their similar intentions, there are also blaring differences which distinctly separate the two and their beliefs. To start, both Hale and Danforth work chiefly to serve God and lead his people on Earth to live holy and just lives. When the question of the Devil and witchcraft arise within Salem, both men come to investigate and cleanse the town of evil. While Judge Danforth considers himself “a minister of the Lord” and does “not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience
Reverend Hale is the character that changes the most in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible because his feelings on witchcraft turns from full belief to unbelievable doubt, his thoughts on Proctor changes from thinking that he is evil to thinking that he is a good and honest man, and he switches from doing God’s work to doing the Devil’s. Reverend Hale makes a huge change on his claim of witchcraft. In the beginning of the play when Reverend is called to the town of Salem to see if the reason why Betty and Ruth are unconscious is due to witchcraft he brings with him many books. When Reverend Parris sees this he makes a comment that Hale responds to him explaining his expectations. This shows that Reverend Hale is focused on one thing, finding
Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, when characters are faced with differences between one another, they tend to show what they want the world to see instead of their true beliefs. Reverend Hale fights a battle between what he has been studying his whole life against what he feels is truly right. In the end he completely undergoes an important inner change, he sees the false accusations in the witch trials and changes from believing completely in witchcraft, to protecting the innocent and doing anything in his power to save their
In the beginning acts, Hale was trusting the court more than John and was a big part of handling warrants of the accused individuals along with having much confidence in himself, his knowledge of witchcraft, and knowledge of witches in Salem. In Act 2 and 3 in the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was changing a lot. Throughout the first act of this play Reverend Hale had much of his trust in the court and fully believed the devil is in Salem but as the trial begins and goes on things start to change when Hale starts to question the court shown when he pleads
John Proctor starts the play out as a lying and confused character to being truthful and brave whereas Reverend Hale starts the play out as a confident character to a character who is making up lies to people all over Salem. The way they both change are complete opposites of each other. The foil of John Proctor and Reverend Hale helps the reader to understand that characters better because it shows that even though you may start out as a good person or a bad person there is always time to change either for the better or the worse. There is good and bad in
Hero: A person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities; however, heroism is not synonymous with perfection. Man can be a hero in spite of having some flaws. This is apparent in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a story about the Salem Witch Trials in which Abigail Williams accuses dozens of innocent people of witchcraft. Despite being flawed, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor can demonstrate their heroism in The Crucible. John Proctor is shown to be both a hero and a flawed man in regards to his lechery.
Reverend Hale, from the play The Crucible, is a dynamic character who was involved in determining the guilt of convicted witches in the Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller is based on the true events that occurred in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1953. Reverend Hale enters Salem with the assumption that there is witchcraft in the colony due to many unexplained events. Hale's character change can be traced in events that occurred throughout the story. He seeks to convict and condemn the witches in the beginning of the play, but by the end, he realizes the corruption of Salem in the convectors, judges, and witnesses and seeks to change the fate of the accused.
In the book Crucible written by Arthur Miller took place in 1692. Some may believe that Reverend Hale is not to blame for all the deaths of innocent people in Salem. The only reason Reverend Hale is involved in this case, is because he is pushing his limits to get the truth. Also, to not let any guilty doers off the chain, for the reason that they will keep repeating their dirty crimes. There has been many witch trials taken place in salem, of which many people have been accused and persecuted.