Reverend Hale Character Analysis

The warrant’s vengeance!” (73). In this scene, Proctor and Hale’s tumultuous relationship develops parallel to that of Hale’s own

(35) This shows that Hale is so involved in his work that he could possibly end up accusing someone who was not guilty of witchcraft. Hale seems overly conscious about his own life and his duty to serve the people to find the devil in Salem; he doesn’t seem to like the idea that he himself could be wicked. This shows that Hale too, did not show himself to be truthful and courteous when it came to the

A villain is a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot. To manipulate others is to control or influence someone or a situation cleverly or unfairly. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Abigail portrays exactly that. Abigail and her friends are accused of witchcraft. She is selfish, manipulative, and a liar.

At the beginning of the play, John hale came to salem with his mind set on finding witchcraft and seeing if the devil took over Salem or not. Later on in the play, he finally realized what was really going on in Salem and the truth in both the court and people. An example of this would be the beginning of Act four, when John Hale quite the court due to the fact of him realizing all the lies and all the people who got hung for nothing. A few scenes after this, he comes back to Salem to try and save John from getting hung, to do this he tries to get him to confess of witchcraft to not only save his own life but to also save his wife's life. “The Crucible” was full of many lies and denial, but throughout the play there were patches of truth.

A reputable minister and expert in diagnosing witchcraft, Reverend John Hale has good intentions and sincere desire in devoting himself to his faith and work. However, Hale’s faith and work waver as he realizes that the girls have manipulated his own beliefs, realizing that he is sending innocent people to their death.

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

It is proven that John Hale does not believe that witches are real and John Proctor is telling the truth that Abigail and the rest of the girls were lying about the people being witches. Abigail told John Proctor that they were pretending because Abigail did not want her name blackened in Salem. Proctor told Hale what Abigail has told him and now Hale is wondering if he is telling the truth. He then finds out that Proctor is telling the truth and Hale realizes that he has killed innocent people. And so it has been demonstrated how John Hale’s character goes from being a witch hunter and later on how he realizes that witches are not real.

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.

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).

Hale went to the houses of those accused because he was starting to worry that they were actually innocent. He acknowledges, “No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it” (II.469-473.). Hale tells John and Elizabeth how the accusations are attacking the village, and how there is more evidence making it more difficult to not believe Abigail’s lie. Hale is worried that innocent people are being accused, but he also feels obligated to agree with the court.

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

Abigail, in fear of the likelihood of a deteriorating reputation for having casted charms in the forest, finds an outlet in Tituba’s confessions. As Abigail realizes Hale’s encouraging reactions to Tituba’s confession to service of the Devil, she proclaims, “I go back to Jesus... I saw Sarah Good, Good Osburn with the Devil!” (45). Abigail takes advantage of her fellow villagers’ naivety in believing in the existence of witchcraft, in doing so, acts as though she’s sending herself back to God, presenting an image of a truthful Christian.

Power, the ability to maintain control, command, or authority over others can often be determined by one’s reputation and his or her persuasiveness. This principle is displayed within The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, in which follows the town of Salem, Massachusetts attempting to navigate through a “Witchcraft” outbreak supposedly lead by the Devil. Within such a theocratic society such as Salem, the Devil is often associated with death, fear, and uncertainty. While his name alone is often believed to be able to influence others in to following through in certain actions. The Devil, as a key figure behind the immense “witchcraft” occurring in Salem, is crafted by Miller as the most influential “character” due to his infamous reputation and his ability to control characters’ actions.

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.

Arthur Miller, a prominent twentieth century playwright, is well-known for his play The Crucible. The play opens in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Puritan religion is against dancing and singing because the Puritans believe these are sensuous activities. The Puritans also believe that Satan tempts human beings to carry out his work. Fear and hysteria strike Salem over the belief that the devil is in the town because Parris’s niece, Abigail Williams, was found dancing in the forest with other girls and Parris’s servant; and soon after two young girls fall sick.