Durin2g the Salem witch trials, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 people were executed. It's hard to think that Reverend Hale signed their death warrants. Hale is one of the many dynamic characters in the play. Throughout the play, Hale's values changed and he realized the malpractice of the court throughout the play.
Hales sole purpose was to end the witchcraft that was taking place in Salem. His values towards witchcraft ware plain and simple. Find the witches and punish them to the fullest extent of the law. "We shall need hard study if it comes to tracking down the Old Boy" ( Miller - 1037). Hale knows that it's not going to be easy when it comes to tracking down Satan. But that doesn't stop him. He is
determined to find the devil's witches and he has the resources to help him do it. By the end of Act three, Reverend Hale's values start to fade away. He no longer wants to punish others. He reevaluated his values, and decided to save the innocent. To Hale, things were never easy. The situation started to change for the worst and that's what caused Hale to change his values. You could say that Reverend Hale was the bad cop in the beginning of the play, but that can't be said about him anymore. He changed along with his values. He realize that many people are being wrongly accused. Like for example John Proctor and Rebecca nurse. "Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord,and I dare not to take a life without there be proof..." (Miller - 1076). Hale is starting to fear the power of the court. Many people have been hanged without the evidence of being involved with witchcraft. He knows that this nonsense needs to stop. You can tell that Hale is desperately trying to save the life of John Proctor. "I come on my own Goody Proctor. I would save your husband's life..."( Miller - 1097). Hale knows that if there is any hope in saving John Proctor's life, Elizabeth is the key to it. He knows that John Proctor has been tangled up in Abigail Williams lies. Lies that may condemning him to death but if he dies die, Hale would consider himself the murder of John Proctor. Hale's values change when he realized that what he thought was right, wasn't. His values were to punish the ones who were involved with witchcraft to saving the lives of the innocent. He changed when he realize that there is no such thing as witchcraft or witches. As a dynamic character, Hale could have changed for the worst, but he didn't. He changed for the greater good.
Hale is simply a hard working reverend who takes his job very seriously. He is very stern and is set in his ways. He is set in his ways in which he is only in Salem to do his job and not to take it personally. In his line of work he may have to convict people who eventually get hanged for witchcraft. When Hale first arrived in Salem he said "In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises. Here are all your familiar spirits-your incubi and succubi; your witches that go by land, by air, and by sea; your wizards of the night and of the day. Have no fear now-we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!" (Miller 185). This quote shows how he is very intent on finding any signs of the devil and will show no mercy.
After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded a total of 20 people were hanged all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Judge Danforth is responsible because he is not concerned about justice, all he cares about is being correct about the witch trials. Lastly Thomas Putnam is guilty of causing the witch trials because he was able to have people accuse other people so he could claim their land for himself. The witch trials were a senseless massacre and all because Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam were only concerned about them selves, not the innocent ones around them.
The test that Reverend John Hale faces is whether he can change his character early enough to redeem himself for the lives he has caused to be lost. He is the character that shows the most significant transformation overall. When he first comes to Salem, he is eager to find witchcraft and is honored that his scholastic skills are necessary. He feels that as an exorcist, it is his duty to help pe...
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.
Nationwide, students in history classes study and learn about the infamous incident known as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Through textbooks and research, students learn about this event from a factual and objective point of view. Students learn such facts like 19 men and women were hanged because they were convicted of witchcraft. Students learn the essential information as deemed important by their teacher; yet, students do not have the opportunity to learn about the trials from a subjective and personal point of view. Arthur Miller uses such a view point in his play The Crucible, which personifies the sentiments, attitudes, and standpoints of the people in Salem who were directly involved in the trials. Through Miller's poignant perspective, he shows the readers another side of the witch trials through the eyes of the actual participants. One such participant in the play who provides the readers with this valuable perspective is Reverend John Hale, a minister from Beverly who is called to Salem to investigate Salem's eccentric problem. Nonetheless, Reverend John Hale's perspective does not stay constant throughout the entire play. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the beliefs and principles of Reverend John Hale change dramatically, as the events of the Salem Witch Trials cause him to question his moral values and initial intentions.
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
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."
When we first meet Hale he has just come from another town he has purged of witchcraft. He says, “No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her.” (Miller 478.) Hale is very believing in his work and believes he truly knows how to rid a town of witches. Later on in the story, after seeing the results of the trials and how many people were dying, Hale’s idea’s started to change. “ I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honor. I will not conceal it; my hand shakes yet as with a wound! I pray you, sir, this argument let lawyers present to you.” (Miller 514.) Towards the end, Hale realizes how many people are dying and maybe people are not confessing to witchcraft because there never was any. At the end of the play, Hale realizes that the trials were sending innocent people to their graves and that his mission was not as godly as it
Reverend John Hale, from the play “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, evolves throughout the story as he faces tests of responsibility and righteousness. When he first comes to the town of Salem, Reverend Hale believes himself to be of the strongest importance because of his education and standing within the Puritan community. In an introductory description at the beginning of the play, it is said that “He feels himself allied with the best minds in Europe... His goal is light, goodness and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed whose intelligence, sharpened by minute examinations of enormous tracts, is finally called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself” (36). This is a good representation of his beliefs that he was superior and his purpose was to fight the Devil at all costs. He also shows no doubt in his skills, or his ability to accurately incriminate witches. A little bit later, Reverend Hale tells Tituba, “You are God’s instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil’s agents among us. You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us
Hale changes from being in favor of the witch trials to opposing it because of the obviously innocent people that are sentenced to death. The Reverend is able to see his sins and the evils around him, and he reveal his strength and will in standing up for what he knows is right. He shows the reader that it is not one's reputation or fulfilling a job that is justifiable to God, but one's ability to protect His will of righteousness.
His arrogance is what caused him to consider the evidence given to him at face value. Hale was so set on discovering the witchcraft occurring in the community, and he did not have time to carefully go over the evidence of “witchcraft” that the townspeople gave him. Hale’s arrogance comes into play because he truly believed that he knew everything there was to know about witchcraft. Therefore, he never second guessed himself or tried to dig deeper into the case. This is the reason why innocent people were condemned to death. Hale’s arrogance and “intellectual” attitude caused him to believe that he did not need to look deeper into any of the accusations made. If he had simply put more time into his investigation rather than his reputation, he would have been able to see that the evidence did not line
“These are all landholding farmers, members of the church. If you’ll notice, sir—they’ve known the women many years and never saw no sign they had dealings with the Devil.” Proctor conveyed to Danforth while handing him some sort of testament. There were ninety one signatures declaring good opinions of Rebecca, Elizabeth Proctor, and Martha Corey. However, Parris still claims Proctor is trying to overthrow the church even though he has a bunch of people from town signing that the people arrested are good people. The witch trials led to excessive amount of trials, while other issues in the town were completely avoided. Abigail's fascination to be with John Proctor led to appalling accusations. The witch trials in the drama had a negative impact
Throughout The Crucible, Miller is concerned with conscience and guilt. Through the character Abigail Williams, he shows how people are willing to abandon their firmly-established values in order to conform with the majority and protect themselves. Those who refuse to part with their conscience, such as the character of John Proctor, are chastised for it. For this reason, the Salem witch trials raise a question of the administration of justice. During this time in the late 1600’s, people were peroccupied by a fear of the devil, due to their severe Puritan belief system. Nineteen innocent people are hanged on the signature of Deputy Governor Danforth, who has the authority to try, convict, and execute anyone he deems appropriate. However, we as readers sense little to no real malice in Danworth. Rather, ignorance and fear plague him. The mass
Reverend Hale explains, “Excellency, I have signed seventy two death warrants; …I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (Act III, 45). He believes that these people are innocent but the evidence that was displayed to the court was much more powerful than his opinion. Hale signed these death warrants because he was well respected in Salem and other towns as well and worried if he put his
This story is a powerful example of people being incriminated or punished because of fear and bias. Most cases are one person’s word against another, lacking evidence, facts, and witnesses. Many people in this time period were hung for a crime that is very uncommon today. There never really was any proof that witchcraft was a fact. Every case of witchcraft that was taken to court was primarily one person's word against another. The people of Salem in the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller were enveloped in mass hysteria leading to several deaths that were. caused by the rumors of Satan and witchcraft. Many people of Salem were hung because of peer pressure, fear of accusations, and fear of the unknown.