At the beginning of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend John Hale is introduced as an intellectual who is extremely learned in the subject of witchcraft, having had an experience with a witch not long before he was contacted by Reverend Parris of Salem. Due to Reverend Hale’s “experience” with a witch, he is extremely confident in his abilities, as exemplified by the quote “they must be; they are weighted with authority” in which Hale was talking about his books, .This is also shown by his actions when he assesses Betty Parris as she lie in bed sick. In act one Hale is sure of the witchcraft surrounding Betty and the town of Salem, as shown through his conversations with Tituba and Abby on page 1260, where he responds to Tituba saying she …show more content…
The reader first sees Hale’s doubt of his own skills when he is in John Proctors house talking to Elizabeth and John Proctor about Elizabeth being under scrutiny of the court, when he says “I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court.” In the former quote Hale is acknowledging that he’s not familiar with the people and he meets them then judges them. While Hale does acknowledge he is a stranger to the people, he also still believes there is witchcraft, as shown by the quote “This is a strange time, Mister. No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence to deny it” The change in his statements making him seem indecisive. In act two Reverend Hale seems to think that no one can be trusted, as he asks John and Elizabeth Proctor to list their commandments, and questions them as to why they haven’t been in church, and while Hale is the reverend being asked to judge the people he says “Goody Proctor, I do not judge you. My duty is to add what I may to …show more content…
Reverend Hale’s presence in Act Three is resigned, he is positive that he and the court are incorrect and he just wants to right the wrongs done and prevent more wrongs from being committed. Hale’s acquiescence is shown first by a stage direction where he is hesitant to respond to Deputy Governor Danforth’s question and shown again by the quote “Your Honor. I cannot think you may judge the man on such evidence” which shows his disbelief and his disagreement with the court’s decisions. Reverend Hale voices his disagreement with the court’s actions by saying “Is every defense an act upon the court? Can no one” And is instantaneously shot down and silenced. He then reiterates his fears by talking about the fear of the courts in the country, and saying “But it does not follow that everyone accused is part of it”. Mr. Hale repeatedly tries to appeal to Danforth and the court, one example of this is the quote “I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honor, Ill not conceal it, my hand shakes yet as with a wound! I pray you, sir, this argument let lawyers present it to you.” Hale is defeated for a while but is brought back into the act by him saying “Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more - private vengeance is working through this
Hale is an intellectual man who takes pride in his ability to detect witchcraft. He was called to Salem to analyze their situation. "This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of one specialist whose unique knowledge has at least been publically called for."
Reverend Hale is a dynamic character in Miller's The Crucible as he is challenged by John Proctor's courage. He starts out very convincing and seems to know exactly what he wants. John Proctor is a very strong and courageous character. He influences Reverend Hale so much that Hale completely changes his mind about Salem, the court, and witches. Reverend Hale enters Salem as a very strong character that knows what he wants to do.
In the beginning of The Crucible, Reverend Parris of Salem, Massachusetts calls for Reverend John Hale. Reverend Parris believes Hale is an expert to everything related to witchcraft and is the best in the field. Reverend Hale has been summoned to determine if there is any evidence of witchcraft in Salem. When Hale arrives, carrying a number of heavy books, he is confident that he can use the books information to help discover if witchcraft is truly at work in Salem. Upon his arrival, the first thing he does is examine Betty Parris, the daughter of Reverend Parris, who supposedly has been stricken with witchcraft. This may be the only reason Hale visits Salem, but he stays to assist with the sudden accusations of witchcraft that arose up around the small village of Salem.
In the play The Crucible many characters use different rhetorical fallacies, and one of those characters being Reverend Hale. Hale comes as an expert on witchcraft to help this small village with their new found problem. He interviewed everyone who had made allegations against people in the village and everyone who was said to be involved with witchcraft. When Reverend Parris comes to take Elizabeth Proctor into custody after Abigail Williams says that Mrs. Proctor's spirit was sent to stab her, Hale says, “Nonsense! Minister, I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good and numerous others that have confessed to dealing with the Devil.
he has spent his whole life in the study of it. “We cannot look to
The Crucible, a container that resists hear or the hollow at the bottom of an ore furnace. However its connotations include melting pot, in the symbolic sense, and the bearing of a cross. Elizabeth, John Proctor’s wife; a cold, childless woman who is an upright character who cannot forgive her husband’s adultery until just before he died: she is accused of being a witch. Reverend Hale, a self-proclaimed expert on witchcraft; at the play’s end tries to save the accused. John Proctor, a good man with human failures and a hidden secret, a affair with Abigail, he is often the voice of reason in the play; accused of witchcraft.“I do not judge you.
Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a fictional representation of the Salem Witch Trials, which occurred from 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts. He wrote the play to humanize the people involved, and to try and interpret their possible motivations to do all that they did. One particular character Miller focuses on is Reverend John Hale. Hale first appears in Act One, when the citizens of Salem summon him for his expertise on witchcraft. His presence sparks the witch hunts within Salem. Hale goes from being the main accuser and the investigator to later condemning the witch trials and the court’s rulings. Miller displays this change of view through the use of commentary, dialogue, and stage directions.
The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations. The confession of Proctor would convince others in the town to confess to their
Because he is forced to accept that his beliefs have been messed with and realizes that he has sent people to their deaths, he loses faith in the law and questions his faith in God. Arthur Miller put many events into the story and tells about Hale’s mindset. In the middle of Act I, Hale comes and what he is called by the townspeople “The truth seeker”. Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft is going on. Hale arrives admired by the people who wants him to calm this nonsense of witchcraft down. He understands he being led toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the town’s wrong doings. He also begins to see a weakness in the position of the townspeople of Salem and tries to not let common things be the support for his
Throughout The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a faithful and intelligent minister. He comes to Salem as the spiritual doctor to respond to the rumors of witchcraft, which have been flying in Salem after the strange illness of Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty Williams. Hale never declares witchcraft, but he relies on people’s evidence of it because of the large amount of evidence. As the play goes on, Hale’s intelligence leads him to other sources of hysteria and accusations. The change in the character of Reverend Hale is noticeable throughout the play. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale grows from a confident, authoritative figure, trying to end witchcraft in Salem, to a regretful, fair character who wants to end injustice and save innocent lives.
“Hale: Why, it is all simple. I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. (His sarcasm collapses.) There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!” (Miller 137). In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, a man is sent to Salem, Massachusetts to help get rid of the witches. This man’s name is John Hale. He helps get rid of people that are accused of witchery. The judge is still accusing people of witchcraft and because they will not admit it they are getting hanged. Hale is a dynamic character because at first he wants to prove that witchery is real but at the end he recognizes that a man named John Proctor was telling the truth and that the girls were lying the whole time.
Hale does not start out as such however. In fact he is the reason the witch hunts are started. In the beginning of the play Hale is called to Salem to determine whether or not witchcraft is afoot. Witchcraft is expertise, and Hale, eager and naïve, wants to determine whether or not the devil is in Salem. His analysis is that Tituba is controlling the girls’ souls, leading the girls, starting with Abigail of course, to shout out various people they saw convening with the devil while they were under the control of Tituba. Hale, blindly and unquestioningly conforms to the rest of the town and believes the girls. In fact he leads the way, resulting in fourteen arrests. He is completely unphased by this, and wholly believes that they are all witches and that by arresting them he is doing God’s work.
Lies. Death. Affairs. John Proctor had fornication with Abigail, who hates his wife and would do anything to make sure she was out of the picture. Abigail started the talk of witchcraft because her and the girls were caught dancing in the woods and she did not want to get into any trouble. John died because he was accused of witchcraft . Reverend Hale came into town and aided in pursuing the “witchcraft hunt”. In the book The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Hale is the most responsible for John Proctor’s death because when he arrived in town he started the gossip of witchcraft, he pressured and inquired the girls to give him a name, and he left the court when he could have tried to salvage the innocent people.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale sees that he has made a huge mistake by running the Salem witch trials. Soon after, he attempts to prevent a situation in which he would be responsible for the death of an innocent man. Hale goes to Proctor’s wife and begs her to tell her husband that he must not be hanged, by saying “life, woman, is god’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, can justify taking it” (Miller). Here, Rev. Hale is stating that John Proctor should not get himself killed and justify his own hanging with a glorious principle. By stating this, Rev. Hale is
Arthur Miller weaves many events into the story that contribute to the alteration in Hale’s mindset. In the middle of Act 1, Hale arrives and is perceived by the town as “The truth seeker”. Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft, if any, is occurring (Page 33-35). Hale arrives admired by the people, who all want him to claim it was witchcraft that has occurred. Although unsure, he understands he is being led toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the town’s false pretences and mass hysteria. He begins to see a weakness in the position of the townspeople of Salem and tries to not let common accusations be the support for his diagnosis.