“I came to do the Devil’s work” is the ironic and sad truth that Reverend John Hale
realizes in Arthur Miller’s dramatic play, The Crucible. One can see that Hale’s
personality changes enormously throughout the play. These changes are illustrated by
Hale’s many statements in the play. The statements in the beginning of the play establish
Hale’s firm beliefs and toward the end of the play his disgust with the outcome of the
trials.
Hale is a very intriguing person with many character traits. “They must be, they
are weighted with authority.” (p. 36) This shows that he is sure of his actions and himself.
Another thing that he is sure of is witchcraft. This is shown when he states, “The Devil is
precise; the marks of his presence are as definite as stone.” (p.38) and, “Are you gathering
souls for the Devil?”(p. 44). One of Hale’s character flaws is that he judges by
appearances. “You look as such a good soul should.” (p. 37) and, “A claim so weighty
cannot be argued by a farmer.” (p. 99) He claims to be the right-hand man of the Lord,
“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.” When in reality, his actions and beliefs end with
tragic results. Hale believes so strongly in his religion that he is willing to use unjust
procedures to extract the information he wants. He does this when questioning Tituba
and John Proctor. “When the Devil comes to you, does he come with another person?
Perhaps another person in the village?” (p. 45) and “God put you in his hands to help
cleanse this village.” (p. 46) Hale uses these persuading techniques and the authority of
the church to find and punish the “enemies” of the church.
In the second act, the audience can actually make a distinction between the morally
weak Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale. When Hale goes to the Proctor’s house and
hears about the accusations, he states, “if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to
stop the whole green world from burning.” (p. 80) Yet, Hale is so religious that he has
difficulty denying the charges. He even states, “until an hour before the Devil fell, God
thought him beautiful in heaven.” (p. 68) Hale has a mental conflict here: His personal
feelings tell him that a person such as Rebecca couldn’t be a witch but his training has
taught him that Rebecca could be possessed by the Devil.
The Devil stealing Goodman Brown’s innocence eventually leads him to a life of despair. All throughout his life, Brown had let the Church dictate his life, and when he finds that it is all a ruse, the foundation that his...
One’s self image of morals allows a person to accurately determine what they believe is wrong and vice-versa as is the case with Young Goodman Brown; the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “Young Goodman Brown” who sees a disturbing vision in which all of the supposedly good townsfolk enter into a pact with the devil. In Goodman Brown’s vision, while following the unholy worshippers to their meeting place, he proclaims “With heaven above and fa...
It all changed when I arrived at John Proctor 's house. I was to inspect the Godliness of the Proctor household, as there was reason to believe Proctor could be involved with Satan. Again, I let my human impulsiveness get in the way of my responsibility as a man of god to see all as th...
It occurred to him that what had appeared perfectly impossible before, namely that he had not spent his life as he should have done, might after all be true. It occurred to him that his scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly place people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false. And his professional duties and the whole arrangement of his life and of his family, and all his social and official interests, might all have been false. He tried to defend all those things to himself and suddenly felt the weakness of what he was defending. There was nothing to defend.
“It’s strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverly.” This quote, stated by Reverend Hale, referring to Rebecca Nurse explains how others in the town think very highly of her. Therefore, when Rebecca is accused of using witchcraft to murder Ann Putnam's babies during the Salem Witchcraft Trials, the townspeople suggest that it may be a hoax. I can relate to Rebecca Nurse because we are both greatly understanding, extremely skeptical, and very nurturing.
In many cases, sin becomes guilt in a matter of seconds, though the repercussions of that sin may never end. In the short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the devil haunts one man with his startling words, and those words leave the young man unable to be himself for the rest of his life. Goodman Brown portrays as the average Puritan with an unknown want to speak with the devil. It is because of the simple walk he takes into the woods with a new companion that enlightens him of the problems in his community. The problem being that he is not the only one to travel with the companion, and that means that nothing is just as he thought. Goodman Brown proves that it is through his own sin and guilt that he is able to see the sin within his community, past and present.
Whitecare, W.K. (2006). Measuring job satisfaction and stress at a community corrections center: An evidence-based study. Corrections Today, 68(3), 70-73.
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...
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.
Rebecca Nurse a respected character in the town of Salem. She is known to be kind to others. However, Like most characters, she is accused of witchcraft. Rebecca has an option to confess and live or be hanged. This might not be a hard decision to many but one will morals stands with them. Rebecca quotes, “... it is a lie; it is; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot (Miller 237).” Rebecca's character show’s integrity and the
Hale slamming the door behind him intensifies his words -- he is through with the court and will never be returning again as a supporter of the court's 'justice'. The anger of Danforth and the tone of his words, "Mr Hale! Mr Hale!" also indicates the effect Hale's actions and fears will have on the court.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” has an underlying theme that is reflected in his imagery and figurative language. As the conversation between Brown and the traveller ends, this theme is evident in the way Brown perceives the traveller’s encouragement to continue along the path. The devil pressures Brown using words that seem to “spring up in the bosom of his auditor” instead of being his own thoughts (215). This suggests that he has given this spiel to others, and it can be inferred that the devil says these things to many of the people he converts. Brown’s description of the conversation is biased by his expectation to find paranormal evils in the forest. Later, when Brown refuses to move another step, the Devil does not plead
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” tells the story of a young man who decides to league himself with the devil. Goodman Brown is a citizen of a typical town with its share of good people and not-so good people. Goodman Brown believed that he knew the inhabitants of the town fairly well. He knew Goody Cloyse, for example, to be “a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual advisor, jointly with the minister and Deacon Gookin” (598). He knew Deacon Gookin was a strict man of the Church and was always “bound to some ordination or ecclesiastical council” (599). However, in his travels through the woods with the old man, Goodman Brown notices Goody Cloyse progressing down the path.
In the United States there are approximately 400,000 correctional officers serving in penitentiaries and institutional corrective facilities. As a systematic power position, the role of the correctional officer is an apparatus embodying control within county jails, state prisons, federal and private prisons. This mechanism of law enforcement has acquired procedures, policies, duties and tasks in order for the correctional facility to operate efficiently. Not only do correctional officers serve as a key functional component in the prison complex, they serve the inmates to further their rehabilitation and punishment when and if needed. The responsibilities under the title of correctional officer include maintaining a safe and secure environment
Several ethical principles that are incorporated in the nursing care of patients on a daily basis are nonmalificence, autonomy, beneficence, justice, fidelity and paternalism. Nurses should strive to comply to as many of the principles as possible. In this case there are principles which support and conflict with the wishes of the patient. The first principle that supports the wish of the patient is autonomy. Autonomy means that competent patients have the right to make decisions for themselves and the delivery of the healthcare that they receive. Another factor that would support the patient’s wish to not be resuscitated is nonmalificence. Non maleficence means that nurses should not cause harm or injury to their patients. In this case the likelihood of injury after resuscitation was greater than if the patient were allowed to expire. A principle that could have negatively affected the outcome of the provision of ethical care was paternalism. Paternalism is when a healthcare provider feels that they know what is best for a patient, regardless of the patient’s desire for their own care. I demonstrated the principle of paternalism because I thought that I knew what was best for the patient without first consulting with the patient or family. This situation might have had some very negative consequences had the patient not have been competent. Practicing a paternalistic mindset might have caused a practitioner in the same instance to force their ideas about not resuscitating the loved one onto the family. This could have caused a sense of remorse and loss of control of care amongst the