The Crucible Hero Analysis

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Can a Reverend be a Hero? According to many experts of both history and literature, Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is used to describe many protagonists in both American and world literature. There are many aspects to Aristotle’s definition, and each idea helps to explain the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. Many of Aristotle’s ideas can apply to multiple characters in The Crucible. Although Proctor unarguably represents the tragic hero of this novel, Reverend Hale’s story fits surprisingly well with the criteria that Aristotle believes to define a tragic hero. Hale is a character of noble stature, suffers with his tragic flaw of arrogance, yet has a reversal of fortune that is not fully deserved and not fully …show more content…

One of the main ways in which he follows this definition is through his high social status and greatness within the community. Reverend Hale is a young minister who is reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. Because of this noble stature, he is called in to examine Betty. Hale has a critical mind and intelligence that is far and beyond anyone else in the town of Salem. Therefore, Hale has a very high social status, which fits the first aspect of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. He embodies nobility and virtues as part of his character because of his position as minister, therefore, many people have respect for him. In Act 1, Miller writes this of Hale: “His goal is light, goodness, and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed…” (34). Hale trained to have the skills for a “witch-hunt,” and the reader is able to see that he is the most competent based on his skill …show more content…

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

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