When J.J. Thomson discovered the electron he devised a model called the Plum Pudding Model to help explain the structure of the atom. Twelve years later, Ernest Rutherford’s gold-foil experiment disproved Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model with its discovery of the positively charged nucleus. For over a decade, people believed that the atom was a sphere of positive charge with spots of negative particles, but faced with indisputable facts, their way of thinking was proven to be wrong. When people do not know any better, they accept what is thought to be true to be the truth. When people have evidence and proof, they are tended to change their mind to favor the side the evidence supports. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend John Hale comes to Salem with the assumption that Satan is there and it is his duty to rid the town of its pretense. By the time Hale realizes that the witch trials are fictional, it is too late and many will still hang.
Reverend Hale was more than honored to be called in from Beverly for his expertise in witchcraft. He is a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual who arrives with an air of confidence and knowledge. He enters carrying a large stack of books that are “weighted down with authority.” When Tituba confesses and calls out names of those affiliated with the Devil, Hale is sure that he has found the Devil. Hale exasperatedly reminds Proctor that “until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.” This shows Hale’s conviction that the Devil is alive in Salem. Lucifer is treacherous and could appear in the form of those they trusted the most so they could not hang on to “old respects and ancient friends.” Nothing and no one could be trusted based on old relations. Tho...
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... lust for John Proctor and Putnam’s want for land causes innocent Elizabeth and George Jacobs to be arrested for witchcraft. In this theocratic society, the court is a testament to the justice of God; therefore the decisions of the court were tantamount to that of God’s. Hale states in the beginning that his duty is to add what he could to “the godly wisdom of the court.” By the end of the story, Reverend Hale has changed dramatically. After witnessing the injustice of the court, he loses lose faith in its power. The young, naïve witch hunter who had a strong faith in God has transformed into a broken man who others to surrender to the witch trials in order to survive. Hale’s dogmatic outlook on things in the beginning leads to the arrest of many innocent people. People cannot be too closed-minded and must be open to new possibilities that could change lives.
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.
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
All of a sudden there was a witch outbreak in Salem Massachusetts. The following day the girls were found in bed inert. The doctor attempted to figure out the sickness the girls could have. However, he could not give the sickness any name. Then Reverend Hale was called in to help the town cure its unnatural problem. Throughout the play Reverend Hale contributed to both sides of the arguments. At the beginning he believed the court was doing God’s job. Towards the end his character changes and is less in favor of the court and more in favor for the people being wrongly accused. Reverend Hale’s is seen to be independent, confident and outspoken. These traits end up changing towards the end of the play. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character in The Crucible written by Arthur Miller he changes from protecting the authority of the court with the strict laws, later realizing the court's accusations were unjust, to finally changing his beliefs in the false accusations and supernatural rumors.
Today is the day that John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, known as the purest of Puritan women, and Martha Corey, wife of Giles Corey, are set to hang for being judged as witches. Hale comes back to speak with Elizabeth because he is uneasy with these three, who he believes are innocent, being hung. He was suppose to be this witchcraft expert, but in his conversation with Elizabeth, is shown to be doubting himself now due to all those who have died and are set to die. “ Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crown of holy law I brought, and what I touched with bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up. Beware, Goody Proctor-cleave to no faith when faith brings blood. Like, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it. I beg you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. Quail not before God’s judgement in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than that he throws his life away for pride. Will you plead with him? I cannot think he will listen to another. “ Hale says. This shows the great guilt for all the accused. Arthur Miller has taken the highly confident witch expert and turned him into this guilt ridden minister who
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.
“Mr. Hale is nearing forty, a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual.” (32, Arthur Miller). He is a minister from Beverly who has been summoned to Salem by Reverend Parris to investigate his daughter Betty’s condition and whether or not there is witchcraft in Salem. If he finds there to be witchcraft, he would then eliminate it. Hale devotes himself to his faith and his work. His good intentions, and sincere desire to help the afflicted, motivate him. He wants nothing more than to get to the bottom of this situation and come out the hero. Unfortunately, this also makes him vulnerable. His desire for discovering witchcraft allows others, particularly Abigail, to manipulate him. Nonetheless, Hale 's perspective does not stay constant. In The
Parris and Danforth prioritize their reputations over John Proctor’s actual life. Hale does not care about his good name, but about the lives of the people in Salem and his guilt for partaking in the trials. Like Proctor, Parris, Hale, and Danforth are extremely flawed men. They all make unrighteous decisions that can be selfish. Unlike Proctor, though, these men place their own needs above the needs of the community. John Proctor has lived in Salem all his life and cares for the town and its citizens, whereas Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, and Danforth are all outsiders to the town. They place themselves above the well-beings of the townspeople for the reason that they do not care if Salem is to be destroyed. Reverend Parris, Reverend Hale, and Deputy Governor Danforth’s yearn of John Proctor’s confession represents they only care for their own self-interests and not about what his confession could do for the town of
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
...es own fear that the data he had collected was to be false and the town was to be tried by each accused of such hearings of being hanged for witchery. This was Hales demon of fear he could not overcome of being the key holder to these people's lives and caused the court to trial them of false accusations of a few young girls.
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...
As Reverend John Hale is not a resident of Salem, he approaches the accusations and rumors without any prior opinion. Hale is introduced as extremely arrogant and proud with his goal being “light, goodness and its preservation”(Miller 34). This phrasing strengthens his role as a man of God, but this is not actually displayed in his personality until later. He is very book smart and this leads to some signs of immaturity. This is shown in Act I when Parris questions why the devil would come to Salem. “Why would he [the devil] choose this house to strike?”(39) In response Hale says, “It is the best the Devil wants, and who is better than the minister?”(39) This shows he enjoys the position better than he does its purpose. He is also very eager.
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.
Reverend Hale arrives in Salem thinking that he will become a hero and rid Salem of the devil. Hale is speaking to the townspeople when he says, "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!" Hale thinks that there is an actual devil in the town, and they must defeat it. He is trying to show the people of Salem that he is their savior, and that he knows exactly what to do.
Most people in Salem believed those who confessed to witchery but there was a select few that did not. The individual known as Reverend Hale was one of the few. “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 a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (942). Reverend Hale was tired of signing people to their death just because they wanted to keep their life, not