In Act 1, Hale arrived in Salem to fix a "spiritual problem." He believed witchcraft to be very true and very prevalent in the area. In the play, Hale said, "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" (Miller 171). Evidently, Hale thought that it was near impossible to ignore all the signs of evil. In act 2, his view remained the same, and when John Proctor proposed the idea of the accusations being false, Hale stood his ground and dismissed the idea completely. Hale said, "Only this consider: the world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl" (Miller 178). He does not believe Abby is capable of causing such hysteria, and believes what the Salem people say to be completely honest and is overwhelmed with the amount of evil in the town. He does not
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.
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.
To begin, reverend Hale in the beginning of the play, reverend hale was determined to get to the bottom of what's going on in Salem. 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. Lastly, Hale believes the girls on witchcraft. Hale believes the girls on what they are saying and who they are accusing. Hale believes the girls because he is excited to get a jump start on his case of witchcraft in salem.
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.
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.
Reverend Hale’s pride for his good intensions separates him from his morals to help the afflicted avoid punishment. Hale’s arrival in Salem sets the hysteria in motion, as he is a extremely enthusiastic and committed servant to the mission of eliminating witchcraft and the Devil’s work in society. Hale is confident that there is the presence of evil and that the townspeople should be aware that “the Devil is alive in Salem, and [they] dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points” (71). Hale is captivated by the idea of witchcraft that he is determined to do right in the society. He is encouraged by the apparent need for his services. There is also a melodramatic sense about Hale’s words, suggesting that he enjoys playing the
One key person in The Crucible with ideals that completely changed from the beginning is Reverend Hale. In the beginning Reverend Hale came in believing that he was the ultimate authority on witches. Later on in the story, Hale was shaken by the arrest of Rebecca and the eventual arrest of John where he quits the court. Hale at the end does not believe in religion, but tells others to have faith. Reverend Hale from the beginning to the end is almost a completely different person; this is shown by him coming into the story being the authority on how to find witches, then he is shaken greatly by Rebecca and John’s arrest, and finally by him not having religion but keeping faith.
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 may
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.