Reverend Hale's Involvement In The Witch Trials

John Proctor, a character from The Crucible is a Rebel/Misfit Archetype. A Rebel/Misfit is defined as a character that radically rejects the values of a society and the restrictions placed on him or her. I chose to do my research project on John because Proctor is my favorite character from The Crucible and throughout the whole book he was feeling guilty for his actions but wanted to do the right thing. Proctor can also fit into the Hero Archetype for sacrificing his life to save his wife. Back in the 1690s, not going to church every Sunday was a sin and could be punishable by death.

People wanted him out of the church. During the Witch Trials, Parris’ teachings also revolved more around Satan and a person’s sinful ways. Lastly, the final effect of the Salem Witch Trials was that it affected many individuals personally. Reverend Parris’ reputation became so horrible, they voted him out of the church. Then, John Procter was convicted of witchcraft and hung.

Judge Danforth’s unwavering egotism culminates in the unfortunate deaths of Salem townsfolk. Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible demonstrates how the actions of one person can affect many others. Judge Danforth cares more about his own reputation than what is right. Often times people try to think of what is right instead of saving their own face, Judge Danforth is an exception to this stereotype. The Salem Witch Trials were a horrible time where many people lost their lives due to an unjust court system.

Dimmesdale was a devout Puritan, and because of how hard they were on themselves he believed that he can no longer live a life of happiness. His despair was inflicted upon him once he committed adultery with Hester Prynne and decided to keep it secret.“While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul…”(Hawthorne 117). The pain came from deep within Dimmesdale, and he believed that one sin can destroy his whole life. Puritanism is now looked upon as one of the hardest religions because of their strictness in their ways of life. They truly believed that if they sinned they would be looked at as if they were scum in the eyes of the church, and this was exactly how Dimmesdale saw himself.

She makes him change his mind by making him remember that he was a father/ husband and he was part of the Maycomb community. After all the chaos happened Atticus told Jem and Scout, “...you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough” (Lee 210). This quote goes well with perspective because when Scout stopped Mr. Cunningham and the mob she made them all realize that they were family men and that they have children of their own. She saved Atticus and Tom Robinson from getting hurt that night at the courthouse.

The emotions a person feels can cause people to do unimaginable things to themselves and other people. Throughout the book, people's emotions bring out the worst of the people of Salem. The people of Salem begin accusing people of witchcraft for their own personal vendettas and gain. In the book “ The Crucible” by Arthur Miller the people demonstrate, When reason fails, emotions control and results in the destruction of what is morally right or good. Before the book begins, Abigail Williams was fired by the Proctors because of her affair with John Proctor, the husband of the Elizabeth Proctor.

HIs cracks appear little by little. First, he, of his own accord, travels to the Proctors to determine for himself what truly is happening in the midst of the hysteria. He doubts his own decisions on those accused of witchcraft and we eventually find him quitting the court. Hale is in a state of anger and disbelief towards the people of Salem with all of the unjust proceedings in the court and the personal vendettas everyone seems to have against each other. Hale’s denouncements of the court proceedings and quitting the job he

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem believe Maycomb is Unjust because The Maycomb he used to know is not like what it is now, Which is shown when the prejudice members of his community are against Tom, Lula refusing to let Jem & Scout enter their church, and When he was punished for destroying Mrs. Dubose’s flowers. To Start Off, Scout was explaining on how the final verdict of the jury & judge affected Jem & loss faith in the citizens of Maycomb. Scout says, “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (282). Maycomb is an injustice town because as every time the Jury said “guilty” it negatively affected Jem like he was being stab inside which illustrates how he was very confident in knowing that Tom will be acquitted & be found innocent but, after the verdict it had made realizes & lose hope on the members of his community.

Intolerance is important in The Crucible because it demonstrates how fast people’s attitudes and beliefs can change due to an event taking place in their town. Judges Hathorne and Danforth exhibit intolerance towards the people being trialed. If somebody spoke of another person performing witchcraft, the judges would not tolerate it and had that person thrown in jail even if there was no evidence to back up the statement. They were definitely substituting a role of unjustifiable reasoning. Miller uses intolerance to show that the people of Salem, especially the judges, were narrow minded and wanted everything to go their way.

Hale’s confusion gets the best of him, but shows that he does not agree with the girls’ beliefs anymore that the devil has scouted the accused. He realizes that the court is corrupt and what they are doing is unfair, in the sense that believing the girls was wrong. Quitting the court ends Hale’s confidence and shows he is doubting the validity of his own conclusions that he had made initially. The morning that was set for John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey to be hung; Reverend Hale was at the jail trying to get the accused to confess to witchcraft. Hale begs to Danforth, “If you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are striving for their confessions, that speak mercy on your part” (1223).