John Hale in the Crucible

On Page 39 of the Crucible by: Arthur Miller, a minister named John Hale is describing the things the Devil can do to people. At this point in the book he has come to the town of Salem to rid it of witches, who are people believed to be possessed by the Devil. He believes that the Bible is law and spreading God’s light is his Christian duty. Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl, has just cried witchcraft on a maid named Tituba. Hale implies to Tituba that her options are to confess to being in league with the Devil or to go to court and most likely hang. Of course Tituba confessed, wanting to save her life, and Hale helps her find “the light of God” again. However as the book goes on incidents make Hale change his views and question his morals. He begins to see through the false accusations of the village girls. He finds seams in their stories and finds Mary Warren, a girl claiming it’s all false. He helps present this to the court which only results in more people getting accused. As Hale gets more passionate about saving the lives of people he believes are innocent, he is forced to come to terms with the damage he did when he first came to Salem. Upon realizing this he is a completely changed man from when he first came. Hale initially believed that the Bible was law, but later came to believe in the innocence of the accused.

Hale’s devotion to the bible and extreme influence helped set the trials in motion. Hale is quite an influential character. He is well known not just in Salem, but other counties as well. He came to Salem highly renowned and very eager. It was Hale that proclaimed Tituba a witch which led to Abigail pointing her finger at other villagers. That began a chain of events ending in more and ...

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...He definitely has the most distinct and obvious change of any character. He clearly believed one thing at the beginning of the book, and he believed the complete opposite by the end. He was influenced by characters such as Proctor and Rebecca Nurse as well. Those characters helped mature his thinking so he could see rationally. This book proved that people who are doing wrong can change. Although Hale may have caused a lot of damage he chose to try and rectify his actions. There were other people who knew the trial were a hoax but found it more convenient for themselves to stay quiet. Hale however chose to fight for what was right. Even though the characters in this book were infuriating it was refreshing to see someone so completely change their ideals and ways of thinking.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1952.