The Crucible is a play centered around the Salem Witch Trials, which the author uses to reflect on human nature. Rev. Hale is an expert in witchcraft from Beverly, a town near Salem, and starts off by assisting the court in judging those accused. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Rev. Hale changes from feeling confident and justified in his beliefs to feeling uncertainty and guilt about what he has done through his manner, how he is portrayed, and his views of the trials.
The witches are on the hunt for the innocent souls of Salem with Hale stating, “The Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points” (Miller 1251). Hale is determined to use God’s mighty hand against the “evil witches”. This shows that Hale is faithful to Abigail’s accusations against the common people of Salem. At first, Reverend Hale is eager to prosecute, but as more innocent people are condemned, his compliance turns into distaste. His dissatisfaction eventually turns into rage when Hale shouts, “I denounce these proceedings!” (Miller 1323). Hale shows to be a hero because he is trying to raise awareness of the unfair hangings of the townspeople. Additionally, Hale is exposing the idiocy of the court to the unaccused citizens of Salem. Reverend Hale shows heroism through his actions, but Elizabeth Proctor also shows heroism through her supreme
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. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God 's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it” (Act 4, 132). In fact, Hale doesn’t suggest Elizabeth to use religion to get Proctor to confess, but rather just a simple word of telling him to survive. In conclusion, Reverend Hale finds that going against the court is obligation that is needed to be done because no one has done that and the society needs rebellion
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.
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.
In act 1 and 2 in the play ,The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was introduced and learned what his role was. Reverend Hale was a man nearing his forties and was a high-status intellectual who was an expert in witchcraft (Miller 155). In this act Hale said that he believes there always will be someone with the devil(Miller 155). Hale was siding with the court in this act and signing death warrants along with believing in these accusations fully as shown in his visit to the Proctors when he said there is too much evidence to deny the Devil is in Salem (Miller 171). Also, Hale almost played as an interrogator when he was giving rapid fire questions to John about his Christian character and if he goes to church in his visit to the Proctor house (Miller 171). 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.
“Container for melting a purifying metal” and “severe test” are the definitions of the word crucible. Throughout this play there are several test and challenges each character goes through. In this story written by Arthur Miller, each character was faced with a test. Proctor is the only one that succeeded. Reverend Hale didn’t completely fail nor succeeded. Mary warren failed completely. Each character is different and handles things in very different ways.
Throughout the play, Reverend Hale serves as the voice of reason in the trials. Hale is well educated and respected, and is initially brought in from Beverly to determine the cause of Betty’s ailment that keeps her inanimate in her bed. He directs his focus to seeking out the presence of the Devil in Salem, and then to cleansing the village. However, when Hale realizes that the Girls were manipulating the trials for their own gain, he seeks instead to undo the actions of the court in the name of truth. Miller develops Hale as a character who is willing to sacrifice what might be moral in the name of truth as a means to show how
Entering any new community, especially when dealing with a crisis, is difficult for anyone to handle and adjust to which is true to no one more than Reverend John Hale. The reverend, from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, left the town of Salem a whole new person after the trials, but not any less of a genuine and caring man than he was when he first set foot there. Hale was summoned to help the town with it’s witchcraft problem by accusing citizens he saw fit, yet ironically the reverend was the only cautious and logical character when it came to justifying their actions throughout the play. He held no bias against any others characters and so he was one of the few with good intentions for the town not solely themselves. Thus, making Reverend Hale the least responsible for any of Salem’s troubles and the largest reason why many lives were saved.
Arthur Miller developed several great characters in his novel THE CRUCIBLE. Connection to 21st century, time period, other archetypes. Reverend Hale, an example of the hero and traveler archetype, which is demonstrated by a connection to the 21st century, how the time period affected the story, and further illustrated by a comparison to other characters in other novels, movies, and other types of media. Hale is the only member of the court who questions the court's decisions. Of which he is striving for justice. Once he realizes that Abigail is a fraud, Hale devotes himself to attempt to persuade the other prisoners to confess so that they may avoid execution.
We are all put in this world under rules and how we should live, but the truth is that those ways aren’t alway how we end up. We are raised on a set of rules that as you grow you see them in a different light. You grow become your own person, that is what Hale has done. Reverend Hale starts off as a man who goes by what he was taught and then in the end he becomes his own person.
In the year of 1692, 19 innocent people were forced to slowly walk towards a rope that in a matter of seconds would end their lives. These horrific events are something portrayed in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. In Salem, Massachusetts, a mass hysteria violently spread the fear of witchcraft amongst the Puritan village. Reverend Hale, a so called “expert” in demonic arts, was brought in by Salem's most spiritual figure Reverend Parris to demolish any sign of witchcraft from his home. Yet, Hale is overall culpable for the tragedies that struck Salem because of his false accusations and narrow point of view.
In a spiritual-judicial endeavor, a priest loses his sense of self, his piety, and his sanity. In ‘The Crucible By Arthur Miller’, when Reverend Hale first stepped into the light, he was very pious and very confident in his mission to eradicate witchcraft in Salem. Though as the play progresses Hale’s demeanor changes, communicating a sort of despair in the way he carries himself. 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 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.
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.