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Describe reverend hale in the crucible
The crucible arthur miller character analysis
Describe reverend hale in the crucible
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We have all heard the tales and seen the movies of evil witches cooking little kids up for supper. For the people of salem in 1692-1693 this was a reality. In the matter of less than a year more than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and more than twenty were executed. In these historic events author Arthur Miller wrote a play about the people and events in this play there is a man, Reverend Hale is well versed in the study of witchcraft and has come to try and save the girls that have been gripped by the Devil. Miller has Hale change very much throughout the event of this play. In the beginning he believes that the Devil is at work in Salem, how ever near the climactic ending of this play he realises that this witch talk has gotten completely out of hand …show more content…
“The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone” (Miller 35). When Hale says this it proves that there is with our a shadow of a doubt he has entered the town of the Devil Towards the middle of the play Hale has begun to see that abigail is out for vengeance than actually finding witches. “Only this consider: the world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl” (Miller 74). Hale has now realized that the Devil may be at work in Salem but if he is it is not on Abigail and the girls. Once the girls but mainly Abigail accuse Elizabeth Proctor most people especially John Proctor and Reverend Hale begin putting two and two together that these girls are out for blood and not revealing who is conspiring with the
Hales sole purpose was to end the witchcraft that was taking place in Salem. His values towards witchcraft ware plain and simple. Find the witches and punish them to the fullest extent of the law. "We shall need hard study if it comes to tracking down the Old Boy" ( Miller - 1037). Hale knows that it's not going to be easy when it comes to tracking down Satan. But that doesn't stop him. He is
(p. 44); "Who came to you with the devil?" and ".perhaps another person in the village?" (p. 45). A few of his faults are that he judges too much by appearances, ".you look as such a good soul should" (p. 37); ".a claim so weighty cannot be argued by a farmer," (p. 99); and he uses people to question other people.
he has spent his whole life in the study of it. “We cannot look to
Reverend John Hale also believes that the chaos in Salem can be directed towards Abigail as he said in Act II, "The world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl."(79)
Statements from Hale show that he has realized the error of his ways. He decides to “shut [his] conscience no more” (223) and quits the court. Hale can no longer suppress his beliefs about the court and in effect, like Pontius Palter, absolves himself from the court. Next, Hale’s Words are used to show the immense amount of guilt that rests on his shoulder. Hale walks the prisons of Salem and, in knowing that “there is blood on [his] head” (234), “counsels Christians they should belie themselves” (234) even though he is also belying his reputation as reverend by doing this.
In the play, there were many situations that in return caused new developments and even more problems in the town of Salem. The problems and situations that happened can all be tied back to perception, or the way someone regards or interprets a situation or event. Perception can be terrifying and have devastating effects on people and places. “Parris: Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest” (1030). Parris had caught the girls dancing in the forest and viewed it as witchcraft. He could have believed Abigail that it was just sport and the whole situation in Salem could have been prevented. This one perception is what caused everyone to believe that the devil was loose in Salem. Many other perceptions took part in leading to the devastating situations that happened in
Hale has taken it to himself to help to remove the world heretics. Which led him to
Firstly, women in the late 17th century did not have proper representation in matters that involved them or matters that they would like to be involved in. Female judges were not allowed in the town of Salem, referencing the fact that no woman was allowed to be a judge in the Salem Witch trials. Since no women were allowed in positions of high stature, no form of empathy was shown towards the accused females. To support this claim, one might be inclined to observe the female characters that supported the falsified claims of witchcraft. Only Mrs. Putnam accused another woman, the accused´s name being Sarah Good. Sarah was convicted solely due to the superstition and paranoia surrounding the death of Mrs. Putnam's babies; Mrs. Putnam hitherto had a sneaking suspicion that Sarah had murdered her newborns by supernatural means, and that belief was solidified when the hysteria arose. Abigail´s aberrations from normalcy have similar ties to Mrs. Putnam´s, as both women used the panic to get rid of people they dislike. Abigail took matters even further when she realized that the attention she was getting would stop if she ceased the accusations after killing Elizabeth, so she continued to make erroneous claims against the people of Salem. Another incriminating piece of information surrounding Abigail´s troublesome behavior is the insatiable thirst for revenge that rose from the depths of Abigail’s heart towards Elizabeth Proctor. In act one, Abigail says to John “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be . . . she is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” (Miller, 23-24). This quote is a prime example of the hatred Abigail felt towards Elizabeth. The quote also intimates towards the lust Abigail feels towards John Proctor. The feelings
For example, Reverend Hale, being condescending, enters the play to investigate who is and is not involved in witchcraft. Reverend Hale, sent by Parris due to his niece being under a cast of spells, approaches and greets the strangers standing before Betty with “books weighted with authority” (34). Reverend Hale relies on his books to guide him through this investigation, and hopes the books will be his way into not drawing to conclusions based on the sensitivity of the townspeople. Reverend Hale appears to be knowledgeable in witchcraft as he mentions that “…the devil is precise: the marks of his presence are definite as stone…” (Miller 35). Hale is very much respected by the townspeople, and is truly eager to begin his job in Salem, Massachusetts.
Ideology motivates Reverend Hale to investigate the witchcraft accusations to make sure that the devil is not attacking Salem. Reverend Parris calls for Reverend Hale so that he may
It is when John Proctor, who he believes to be an honest man, is accused of witchcraft when Hale is able to see that the girls have been lying all along, and that he is responsible for multiple deaths. He leaves the court, and leaves the “side of God” because he knows what he is doing and what the court is doing is truly wrong. He turns against everything he believes in in order to try and reveal the truth, even if it means that his reputation will heavily decline, and he also acknowledges that he is responsible for the deaths of many people when he says, “I come to do the devils work, I come to counsel counsel christians they should believe themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!” (pg. 82). These are the many things that truly make Hale the tragic hero of The
The play The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of girls go dancing in the forest with a Bajan slave named Tituba. While dancing they are caught by Reverend Parris. He is the local minister who believes that drama follows him wherever he goes. Rumors of witchcraft fill the town after Betty, Reverend Parris’s daughter, falls into a coma. As she is in the coma, another minister, Reverend Hale, is called in to get the demons out of Betty. Abigail, the girls ringleader threatens the others telling them not to admit to anything they are asked. While working in Proctor’s home the previous year Abigail had in an affair with John, which led to her being fired by his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail still wants him, but
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.
The play, set in the 1600’s during the witch hunt that sought to rid villages of presumed followers and bidders of the devil is a parallel story to the situation in the US in the 1950’s: McCarthyism, seeking the riddance of communist ideologists. Miller sets this story more particularly in a village called Salem, where the theocratic power governed by strict puritan rules require the people to be strong believers and forbid them to sin at risk of ending up in hell. However, the audience notices that despite this strong superficial belief in God, faith is not what truly motivates them, but it is rather money and reputation.