Beliefs On Witchcraft In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

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Reverend Hale
The witch scare of 1692, caused by a group of young girls, created insanity in the town of Salem leaving two hundred people arrested and twenty dead on the charge of witchcraft. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many peoples beliefs on witchcraft change and develop over the course of this time due to the persecution of hundreds of people in Salem. Reverend Hale is among these people, originally coming to help the people of Salem as a master in the study of witchcraft but overtime changes his thoughts on the matter. Reverend Hale's views on witchcraft are altered over the course of the play.
Reverend Hale's beliefs in witchcraft are strong in the opening of the play. In the beginning of the play Hale travels to Salem to help identify the presence of witchcraft .Reverend Hale's craft is described when Miller says, “on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of a specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for”(Miller 1146). Hale is a Reverend who has deeply studied the invisible world. The people of Salem are curious to know if the devil is present in their village so they call Reverend Hale to check their daughters for signs of witchcraft. …show more content…

The Salem witch trials left the village in disarray with the deaths of many beloved people. Reverend Hale, among the ones who survived, was originally brought to Salem to fix the issue of witchcraft but actually heightened the problem. Hale got to know the people being accused he realized the girls were corrupt and the cry of witchcraft was a lie. Hale turned on his practice of witchcraft to try to make things right and save these people, but his efforts failed. The character of Reverend Hale shows how a person's beliefs can change over time. In the end, Reverend Hale was caught in a horrendous situation he took part in creating and could not save the good people of

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