The Crucible Belief is a subjective attitude that a proposition is true or a state of affairs is the case. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is about the town of Salem, Massachusetts. A city of around 2,000 people where the witch trials started in 1692. Miller writes The Crucible and creates the argument that people's fears overrule evidence. Reverend Hale, a witch doctor called in to help from Parris because of the concern about the ongoing thought of witchcraft. Hale has a lot of experience with witchcraft and has signed over seventy-two death warrants; [he is] a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof” (Miller 99). Hale is scared of witchcraft and fears the Devil and the consequences that could come if he makes the wrong settlement about who the witch is. Hail starts to believe that the witch trials are not right and people who are innocent are being accused of witchcraft and are big questions just because of somebody suspecting something that there is not even factual evidence about. Elizabeth Proctor, the one centered around all of the witchcraft, is scared and feared after finding out about her husband, John Proctor's affair with Abigail Williams. Elizabeth is afraid that Abigail “things to kill …show more content…
John says “[he] will believe me, Mr. Danforth! [his] wife is innocent”(Miller 111). John is pleading his case and is doing everything in his power to prevent his wife from being convicted. There is one more piece of information that John has been hiding from the court which was his affair with abigail. The affair he had was for his wife's own good because he was trying to protect her from Abigail because she didn't like Elizabeth Proctor and she wanted her dead. John thought if he could get on Abigail's good side he and his wife would be protected from being questioned and convicted of being a
However, this is inaccurate because he avoids Abigail and risks everything for his wife. Elizabeth was taken by the court because she was accused for being a witch, but John knows she is a good women and fights for her. Elizabeth is worth the trouble of going to the court and defying the government. It is honorable for a husband to protect his wife after all they are family. John is talking to the court and tell the court a secret that no one knows about, John’s reputation is on the line.
Reverend Hale was an eager individual who tried too hard to hunt witches. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950s to paint a picture of life within the continental United States (Act 1, The Crucible, Page 1 ). During the 1950s, the Red Scare instilled fear in the American people and fear onto the Un-American House Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy ( ). McCarthy firmly believed in the threat of communism; in response, he brutally targeted American people, who he thought were Soviet spies who wished to destroy capitalism in America. In The Crucible, Reverend Hale could have ended the mass hysteria in Salem by easing his enthusiasm towards witch hunting, refusing to trust children's words blindly, and calling out Danforth much earlier
“ I dare not to take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it.” This is a quote stated by Reverend Hale, a character from The Crucible during an important rising action in this play. Reverend Hale was brought into Salem as an expert on witchcraft. Throughout The Crucible Reverend Hale reveals many characteristics about himself. Reverend Hale
Originally, Hale is convinced that there is witchcraft in Salem stating, “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court—the Devil is alive in Salem…” (Miller 71). This belief changes when he begins to question the validity of the court trials and starts to realize that Abigail is a fraud. When Hale fails to convince Judge Danforth of Abigail’s lies, he denounces the trial proceedings and quits the court. Hale boldly shows a sign of his opposition to the outrageous ways the court was being run.
Reverend Hale, who enters Salem very confident of his greatness in discerning spirits, realizes he has caused irreparable damage. In order to right one of his many wrongs, he wishes for Elizabeth Proctor to convince John Proctor to sign a false confession in order to save his life. If John does not confess then he will hang and Hale will feel more guilt knowing Proctor is innocent. He has returned to try to convince the convicted to lie and confess to witchcraft in order to save their own lives because he now believes that lying is better than giving up one's life for no other reason than one's pride. He says in front of Elizabeth and Hathorne that he has arrived to save those who are blamed for witchcraft.
Moreover, as the trials progress Hale is starting to be increasingly appalled by the injustice and cruelty he witnesses. He starts to doubt the reliability of the trials and the evidence that is being used to support the accusations. He begins to see that there might be more going on than originally observed. In addition, as stated by Arthur Miller, Hale said, “Proctor, I cannot think god be provoked so grandly by such a petty cause…think of your village and what may have drawn from heaven such thundering wrath upon you all” (Miller, 75). This proves that Hale is starting to question the validity of the trials, and doubting the intensity of the punishment being handed out to the people.
The Reverend’s Loss. 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.
Reverend Hale holds the most blame for the outburst of hysteria because he is seen as an expert in what he does and he takes pride in that. Reverend Hale is seen as a very intellectual man who has studied witchcraft extensively and because of this, people tend to take his word seriously even if it may be false. When Reverend Hale questions Abigail about what happened in the forest, she tries to stay calm but begins to get scared when Hale states that “it may be your cousin is dying. Did you call the Devil last night?” (Miller 42).
In the play, Judge Danforth trusted that giving John and Elizabeth the opportunity to speak to each other would help them both make the best decision. “Mister; let you counsel with your wife, and may God help you turn your back on Hell”. (Miller 123) Judge Danforth needed to build trust in himself to make big and powerful decisions. It wasn’t easy for Danforth because he couldn't just believe everyone he had to stand his guard to get through the Salem witch trials.
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.
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.
A dynamic, or round, character is a major character that encounters conflict and is changed by it. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character, he undergoes a dynamic change throughout the play. Based on his transformation, Hale truly is a good man. 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.
He says this because he realizes that some people will confess to anything to prevent them from getting hanged. Shortly after, on page 79, Hale told Proctor, “For there’s your way, believe it, there is your only way, when such confusion strikes upon the world.” Since everyone was in a panic, everyone was making irrational decisions, so after Proctor talked some sense to Hale, he realized that Proctor was right and that some people who were accused were innocent. Finally, on page 98, Hale states, “But it does not follow that everyone accused is part of it.” This shows that he still believes that some of the accused may be a witch but he knows that not all of them are, which weakens the integrity of the Witch Trials.
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).
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. It takes place during the Salem witch trials. Salem is an isolated town in the Boston area that is set up perfectly for witchcraft accusations. Abigail is being accused of witchcraft and she is a manipulative girl. Abigail has been accused of committing witchcraft in the woods and she plans to bring other people down with her.