At the beginning of the book, Reverend Hale was called upon to go to Salem, Massachusetts where he was assigned to help find witches because, he is an ordained minister who “feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe- kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiast of all churches.” (Miller 34) This is a description of him that is used to show how he has a narcissistic personality and show that he is a man that believes that the word of God is the only way to truly prove one’s innocence. Towards the beginning of the book Reverend Hale comes into Salem with a stack of books he is struggling to carry. He says that the books are heavy because “They must be; they are weighted with authority”(34)
Reverend Hale’s confidence in the church has eroded to a doubtfulness in the sense of the church’s trueness and jurisdiction. This occurs in Act 4 when Hale believes that John Proctor is not a wizard due to past encounters, but he is still due to hang even through all the evidence that Hale has given the judge, Danforth. Hale pleads with Elizabeth Proctor, “Woman plead with him! What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him?
Miller chose to have Hale change because of the guilt Hale holds as he watches all the people he initially thought worked with the devil be killed. In the beginning of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale was brought to Salem during Act one in order to look at Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty. He is a doctor who examines others for signs of witchcraft, and then tries to find a way to rid the victim from witchcraft. He is from Beverly and has dealt with witchcraft prior to Salem. At first, he was convinced that witchcraft was painted all over Salem because he examined both Betty and Tituba while he was there.
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.
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
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.
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
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).
This experience changes him from being a confident man, who believed in the law and the witch trials to a humble and hurt man. At the beginning of the story Hale was overly confident. Parris reached out to him to come to Salem and hunt witches. Hale felt pride because he was called publically. When he arrives in Salem, he had multiple large books with knowledge of witchcraft.
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.
To begin, When reverend hale went to salem he was very confident. Reverend Hale, knew a lot about witches and spirits. Hale took witchcraft very seriously, he believed there was actually something going on in salem. Next, Hale is determined to get to the bottom of what is going on. When hale gets to salem, he is very tired and has very little motivation.
Reverend Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man characterized by self-importance; furthermore, his enthusiasm for the witch trials in the beginning and his misguided
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
In the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, two of the most important characters are, Mary Warren and Reverend John Hale. The story takes place in Salem, 1692, when supposedly witchcraft ran rampant. John Hale gives us the knowledge of witchcraft and puritan beliefs, in the story, in order to decide whether someone was a witch or not, while Mary Warren assists Abigail Williams in the false accusations presented in order to alleviate the punishment they were facing for the actual practicing of witchcraft as well as dancing. In the story John Hale is intelligent while Mary Warren seems to want good, but is too nervous to take a stand on it.
Hale, defeated, weeps in prayer as Proctor is sent to hung. Reverend Hale's downfall in the novel was his quick assumption that there was witchcraft in Salem. Everyone's fear of the unknown and the chance of witches being present in Salem caused many deaths due to jumping to conclusions. Although he had the best intentions to bring justice to Salem, he made an improper call. He realizes his error and tries with all he has to make it right, but fails.