When reading a classic novel like that of Arthur Miller, we oftentimes encounter the typical dynamic character; the lovable cocoon experiencing a most dramatic metamorphosis right before the reader’s eyes. In The Crucible, the reader is initially introduced to a reserved, confident, and scholarly Reverend Hale, who arrives in the secluded, gloomy town of Salem to investigate the mysterious behavior of the local priest’s daughter; Betty Proctor . Throughout the novel, Miller reveals Hale’s transformation from within his strict cocoon of formal studies and formulaic outlook on witchcraft diagnostics and religion to a jaded, less-than-sure of himself scholar, broken by the raw injustice and shameless hypocrisy which he witnesses in Salem. By the end of the novel, Miller’s butterfly thrives vicariously through Hale’s now brazenly fair, honest, and rational character. However, this transformation does not come about without a moment’s faltering on Hale’s part.
In the start of the reader’s acquaintance with Reverend Hale, he is portrayed as a “…nearly forty…tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual,”—a formal and adamant individual (---). The seemingly perfect savior, Hale yet possesses an unspeakable vice; idealism. He graces the community eager to seek and eradicate the source Betty of her ‘satanic’ chokehold, but fails to see the foreboding clouds that churn a sinister storm over Salem as a whole, as the town had earlier been taken into the custody of a select few’s suspicion, vengeance, and hysteria. Ignorant to this fact and deeply certain of his cause, Hale diligently works at his case as a myriad of other witchcraft cases pour into the higher courts of Salem. He claims he will rid Betty of the unholy forces working within her even ...
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Hale eventually completely loses faith in the courts, citizens and self-proclaimed piety of Salem and its citizens. In a last attempt to salvage Proctor’s life, Hale begs of Proctor’s wife to “prevail upon [her] husband to [falsely] confess,” simply to dissuade his accusers from asserting the death penalty upon him (81). Hale beings now to doubt his own faith, questioning how his Puritanism; so perfect, just, and reasonable, could allow such malicious chaos and outright evil to break loose and prey upon the poor innocents like the late John Proctor.
Despite the drastic change in Reverend Hale’s perspective on the Salem witchcraft trials’ credibility, one thing remains static in his character—good intentions. Throughout the novel, his resolute objectiveness and purity in motives arguably make Reverend Hale the most admirable character in Miller’s masterpiece.
He is no longer enthusiastic and his attitude starts to change when he first came in the Proctor’s home. He was “drawn a little, and there is a quality of deference, even of guilt, about his manner now.” In first act, Hale was very energetic and excited, but at this point he seemed like he’s strained from guilt. He came with the mission to expel witchcraft, and the trails are supposed help with that, but he started to think that the witch trials are not the right way to go anymore. He started to realize that the trials are unfair and can ruin people’s lives and since he is a man of morals he starts to question the trials. When John Proctor came in and presented his case to the court, Hale tried to be rational and urged other to be so as well. He said to Danforth “stop here; send him home and let him come again with a lawyer.” Hale knows that the trials are unfair, so to prevent any more people from being hurt by the court, he wants the people to be represented with lawyers, so the process can be fair. The court wants to get rid of witchcraft, but Hale is the only one who thought about how it will affect the people being accused. As that trial continued, Hale exhibited courage because he left the court since no one wanted to change to things right. As he tries to talk to him, Danforth exclaims “I will have nothing from you Mr. Hale!” Now he was completely unvalued as a member of the court and
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."
Hale has a lot of wisdom to share with Salem. " Man, remember, until an hour before the devil fell, God thought him beautiful in heaven," (p. 71); ".private vengeance is working through testimony," (p. 114). John Proctor is a strong and courageous character who will not give in easily to his accusers. In the end of The Crucible he denies the charges of witchcraft.
He transforms from being arrogant to humble. Hale studies for several years and acquires the knowledge on various legal procedures that make him feel, “of himself much as a young doctor on his first call. His painfully acquired armory of symptoms, catchwords, and diagnostic procedures are now to be put to use at last.” (Miller 36, Act I). His ultimate goal being in Salem is to eliminate the Devil and is sure of himself due to the amount of legal training he acquires. However, we see his confidence start to fade when he witnesses the court accusing and murdering good people without any tangible proof. At this point, Hale starts to show signs of doubting his work. He realizes at this point that he has sent innocent people to their deaths. After reevaluating his soul he shows up to the jail where many people accused of witchcraft are being held, hoping he could help save lives and redeem his abilities. The reason being that “Life, woman, life is God 's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.” (Miller 132, Act IV). He is no longer confident in his ability to prove people guilty for being a witch and is willing to help save people because he knows it is proper justice to help the prisoners. After realizing that he let the thought of his legal training get to his head, he becomes more humble.
Reverend John Hale is motivated by honor and righteousness, but at the same time by reputation and pride. He is certain about the witchery in Salem and while having doubts refuses to speak up. Hale before the executions start to get out of hand is all for the witchery theory and absolutely believes that the girls are telling the truth. Hale’s wavers on the witchery theory after his talk with John Proctor. Hale realizing his error decides to say nothing out of pride and worry for his credibility. In essence he starts to question his own certainty about the situation. Hale’s motivation slowly changes as the executions continue. Hale’s motivation changes from pride and reputation to honor and righteousness. This is especially evident when he quits and breaks all affiliation with the court. He
...the beginning Reverend John Hale’s intentions were good, just like Joseph McCarthy’s intentions in the 1950s, but they both got caught up in their reputations. Reputation played a tremendous role in The Crucible. The fear of guilt by association became destructive. Reverend John Hale experienced the demise in his reputation. Reverend John Hale, although a sensible man, struggled to keep his sensibility. He believed he helped rid the town of the Devil, but soon after he began to doubt the reasons behind the trials. In the end he began to fear what had become of the Salem Witch Trials. Although Reverend John Hale recognized the evil of the witch trials, his comeback was not boldness but surrender. He persisted that survival was the highest good, even if it meant accepting oneself to discrimination, something that he just could not accept.
In a theocratic society, the church is at the top of the societal pyramid. With the church being at the top, they were often the authority of the town or society. Ministers being the head of the church, were the main people to follow the law out. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts there was a discovery of witchcraft. When they began to struggle with finding all the witches in the town, they call upon Reverend John Hale, a Puritan minister and the witch expert, to help. Hale gladly traveled to Salem to help them with their crisis at hand. Hale was not your classic Puritan minister. Along with attempting to “ purify “ the church, Hale was an “ expert “ in witchcraft. He took pride in
Salem citizens in general were afraid of all ungodly things with their Puritan views. They had no trouble believing that, because Parris had called Reverend Hale, (known for his studies in demonic arts), there must truly be witchcraft within the town. The play progresses and certain characters begin to develop: here is a community full of underlying personal grudges. Religion pervades every aspect of life, 'A man may think that God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now.'; but it is a religion that lacks the ritual of confession. Here and throughout the play we see how this affects John Proctor, a man so proud of his name that guilt eats at his very heart, as he will not let out his secret pain in a vain attempt to keep his integrity.
When Hale came to Salem, his heavy books gave him confidence.”They must be; they are weighted with authority” (Miller, 1279). By Act II, he begins to change in his belief, that what he has brought to
Imagine a man who seems to have all the blessings his society can offer: a loving wife and family, financial security, and the respect of his community. Then imagine that same man losing everything because of a personal flaw that he either cannot or will not control. In arthur Miller's play The Crucible, the reader is introduced to just such a man. John Proctor, a well-respected member member of Puritan Salem, knows his lust for the beautiful, but dangerous, Abigail Williams is sinful, but he has no idea how much misery his weakness will cause for himself, his family, and all of Salem. In this play, the reader witnesses Proctor’s downfall as a tragic hero as his personal flaw destroys his life, but his hardened wisdom saves his community and his soul.
The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller. This play centers around the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. In Act II, Abigail and her friends accuse several innocent people of witchcraft. Once they leave the court, Reverend Hale goes to John Proctor’s house to inform Elizabeth Proctor that people in the court have mentioned her name. Then officials of the court, Herrick and Cheever, arrive at the Proctor’s house. They claim to have a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest because the court declares she practices witchcraft. After, Herrick and Cheever take Elizabeth to jail. Injustice in Act II prevails because of the inability to see the truth. Reverend Hale and John Proctor illuminate the theme that closed-mindedness
...tension was picked up by Proctor sooner than most realized that Hale in fact did not believe what he was saying about the court. This aided proctor in doing what he knew was right. It was certainly not the main factor in Proctor’s quest for the defeat of the courts, but it undoubtedly contributed to his reasoning. Hale’s tensions also made Parris, Danforth, and the rest of the folks down at the old courthouse very nervous, which made them encourage the witch hunts even more, pressing the girls for more accusations.
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 Millers The Crucible possesses many examples of interesting character development. A character who one initially finds to be worthy of mercy or pity can easily become the last person deserving of sympathy. This relationship is not only formed between the reader and the characters, but between the characters and the scenario of the story itself. The victim may become the accuser, or the scholar may become the humanitarian. This manner of characterization is best shown in the relationship between Reverend John Hale and Deputy Governor Danforth. Each is objectified to the events in Salem as they come into the situation with no attachments to any of the other characters and are unfamiliar with any of their mannerisms or personalities. Hale is a well-read minister who relies upon his books. Danforth is a reputable judge who relies on consistent input and prodding. Both of these men enter the trials with very similar goals. The places they stand at the finish, however, could not be more different. This is due to the personal relationships and opinions Hale develops concerning Salem. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character who learns his role as a minister while Judge Danforth is a constant force who voices others opinions through his authority.
Originally, Hale was only provided evidence that witchcraft was occurring in the town. Now that he has visited the Proctor’s home, he finds more support for his suspicion of the girls’ claims as he finds truth in the words of John Proctor.