CHANGES WITHIN HALE The Salem Witch Trials were a time of destruction and tragedy; the children and the people of the court were accusing everyone in their town of witchcraft. In The Crucible, a play about the Salem With Trials; Reverend Hale is an extremely dynamic character towards his beliefs and power. Hale changes throughout the story from being determined to find witchery in Salem to realizing that all the accused were innocent. The main problem for Hale in The Crucible is power: the level of it, how he uses it, and the issues it may cause. Reverend Hale comes into the town of Salem with his power, for example; he has an abundance of knowledge about witches, which gives him the advantage to be above others. The Salem Witch trials all began when Parris needed Hale to figure out what was going on, “Parris announces that he has invited the Reverend Hale, an expert on witchcraft, to Salem to investigate recent events” (“Overview”). Hale knew that it was an honor and his duty to figure out everything happening in Salem. This is when he had to more power throughout the play, The Crucible. In Act one, he is investigating everyone, “It has impressed him: Proctor, let you open with me now, for I have a rumor that troubles me. It's said you hold no belief that there may even be witches in the world. Is that true, sir?” (Miller 69). At the beginning of The Crucible, Hale had a lot of power because he knew the most about the Salem Witch Trials. He was very determined to find
Upon analyzing the events of the crucible I have come to the conclusion that Reverend John Hale is to blame for the Salem Witch trials. The details that have led me to conclude this is that prior to Hale's arrival in Salem, the idea of a witch among them was merely speculation, however, Reverend Hale with his infatuation of the supernatural secured the idea of a witch in Salem. Even with Hale's presence in the town, people began to question him about weird behaviors that allude to witchcraft, such as the scenario where the Putnams began to ask him about his opinion about the unfortunate demise of all of goody Putnam's children and where Giles Corey begins to question him about his wife reading literature that is not the bible. Additionally,
The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a play that takes place in the sixteen nineties during the famous but tragic witch trials. Reverend Hale who is a minister and an expert of the demonic arts and witchcraft is sent from East Hanover to Salem where there is a spreading fear of witchcraft. When Hale arrives in Salem he finds the entire town in total chaos. At the beginning Hale is adamant in believing that they’re where witches and that nothing but good could come of his being there. Near the end when the truth has been exposed, Hale with so much blood on his head pleads : ‘‘ I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on
Reverend Hale was a complex character whose changes could be observed through his actions and motivations. Hale shifted from being a devote Puritan to abandoning his faith entirely. He went from fully believing in the trials to damning them and becoming consumed by guilt because of them. Hale’s complexity adds to the play by showing how intense the trials were and how even the most devote were
The major influence was the time period in which The Crucible had taken place. "In 1692, Salem was filled with Puritans who saw the world as good vs. evil, ("The Crucible")." The people of the time were completely washed over by superstition that evil was coming for them and in that fear they made many decisions that in our current day would not be justified. Hale is one of the very many who were a victim of the "Claustrophobis Puritanical-code-of-conduct-fear-of-witches nonsense of Massachusetts in the 17th Century, ("The Crucible')." Hale had the mindset, like everybody else, that he needed to do whatever possible to save Salem from the evil thought to be in it when he get the girls to confess and
In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a group of adolescent, immature girls are seen dancing around a fire pit in the woods. The man accuses them of witchcraft, but their cowardice to reveal the truth leads to a series of accusations of innocent, unknowing citizens within Salem. In the story, Reverend Hale, an experienced and high-class specialist in witchcraft comes to the not-so-quaint town of Salem to further investigate this matter and declare who is the real “witch”. Everyone in town sees him as a man of great intellect and authority, and many fear to oppose him. Hale is aware of his place in society, and carries himself very highly because of it.
Reverend John Hale is the minister who is called in to investigate the witch trials in The Crucible. At first he believes them, but later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials. Deputy Governor Danforth is the judge at the witch trials. He is dedicated to removing all witches. He rules by the law and will not allow exceptions or anyone to try to undermine his court.
Wayne Dyer, an American philosopher, author, and motivational speaker once stated “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Reverend John Hale changes his viewpoints throughout The Crucible multiple times based on the current events around him. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, uses this book to focus on the historical events occurring in Salem during the Salem witch trials, which occurred from February 1692 to May 1693. Miller utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos through his writing of The Crucible to convey the changing viewpoints and emotions of the morally ambiguous character, Reverend John Hale.
Throughout history, the presence of fear has driven people to do and become the unthinkable. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a fear-stricken town turns against one another in a literal witch hunt where only few dare to speak out and risk their own prosecution. The town’s conflict not only shapes how the story turns out, but also shapes what the characters become. One of the most significant character changes in the play takes place in Reverend John Hale, who was once a proud man, eager to find witches, but then later became a remorseful one, desperate to save the accused. It is through his actions, his statements, and the other characters’ views on him that this gradual change is shown.
Reverend Hale is a man who comes to Salem with a mission. He had recently discovered witchcraft in his own town where he was the minister, and now his services were being requested elsewhere (Miller, 9). His talents were becoming known, and he was very proud. He had intentions of being Salem’s hero by purging their small town of witchcraft and evil while increasing his reputation as a witch catcher. He truly strives to be a virtuous man, and seems to carry that
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller tell the story of Reverend Hale and the witch trials in the town of Salem,Massachusetts. In the play, Reverend Hale was called to Salem because Betty,the daughter of local Reverend Parris, will not wake up after she was found dance around a cauldron in the woods. Hale examines her, and concludes that the devil has bewitched people in Salem. Later in the play, Hale realizes that maybe hr is wrong about the devil. He tries to save John Proctor, a man accused of being a witch or a warlock, but Proctor refuse to confess to a crime he didn't commit to escape being hung. Hale tries to convince Proctor's wife to influence John to agree to a confession. He tells her “ Cleave to no faith when faith brings blood”
Literary characters such as Macbeth or Professor Moriarty, while typically portrayed as “evil,” are morally complex characters that view themselves as protagonists, similar to Reverend Hale. In Arthur Miller’s seminal recreation of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, a group of Puritan farmers, landowners, and priests collide in a tale of desperate fear and hysteria. Reverend Hale, is a minister with what appears limitless knowledge of the supernatural, thrust into an event that his expertise could never prepare him for. While Hale’s intentions to eliminate all Demonic presence from Salem appear noble, the outcome leads to the deaths of many innocents and the greater spread of hysteria. Hale creates chaos by placing himself into a leadership position and refusing to acknowledge his pride, but is not a typically “evil” character. When he realizes his mistakes, Hale attempts to right his wrongs and stand against the court using his words to defend the accused as a form of redemption.
“These men ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have,” said Abraham Lincoln. In Arthur Miller's book, The Crucible, Reverend Hale comes to Salem to help Reverend Parris and followers get rid of evil people promoting witchcraft. Reverend Hale is known around town as a spiritual doctor. He has been studying witchcraft for many years, and is one who can identify and get rid of witchcraft. Over the course of the play, Reverend Hale changes emotionally. As he learns the truth about witchcraft and becomes less confident in the legal system's fairness his motivation to abide by the laws of the church and of the legal system has lessened, in order to provide fairness to people.
Serving as a catalyst for all the witch hysteria, credulity has a strong role within The Crucible. Undoubtedly, naivety affects almost everyone within the play. Almost every character has lack of strong judgement to a certain degree. Most notably, it hits Reverend Hale. Unknowing of the true intentions of the witch trials, Hale arrives in town and begins to interview those who were accused, which gave the witch hysteria more power. After that, he shows a some belief in the accuser's testimonies, revealing his lack of wisdom. Near the end of the play, he begins to break out of his naivety, leading to doubts about the rightness of the accusations. Overall, throughout the play Reverend Hale is blind to what is truly going on in town, resulting
In the beginning, Hale came to Salem to try and find out if witchcraft is lingering in the village, and if it was present, he yearned to bring those committing witchcraft back to God. Hale had dealt with witchcraft before and knew how he would have to help those who were committing witchcraft. Arthur Miller wrote, “This is a beloved errand for him; on being called hater to ascertain witchcraft he. Felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for” (34). Miller defines himself as an expert on witchcraft and has witnessed witchery
When Reverend Hale arrives in Salem he was very confident holding his books about witches and spirits. He says how its better not to jump to conclusions about witchcraft. Also when he gets to Salem he is not filled in about the property issues an the problems with the community and church. At the very beginning of the court hearing Hale believes the girls and who the accused of witchcraft.