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How Does Arthur Miller Use Irony In The Crucible

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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, an arrogant and proud Reverend Hale waltzes into Salem with a strong belief in his ability to eradicate any force of the Devil. Using his books that are heavily “weighted with authority,” he can promulgate and ascertain anyone who has any association with the dark arts and sentence them to the rope. However, Reverend Hale realizes how dire and serious his mistakes were and comes to forgive himself and correct his blindly immoral actions to the people of Salem. Miller’s use of irony, symbolism, and spoken dialogue clearly show the transformation of the initially conceited yet ultimately sympathetic character himself: Reverend Hale. Arthur Miller uses irony in The Crucible to show the change of Reverend …show more content…

This is shown both through the 1996 film by Nicholas Hytner and the original play. An ocean or a sea is a symbol—a use of water—it can both be used to cleanse and kill. Only a select few in Salem are clear to the truth, while the others have clouded up the clarity of the situation. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and soon Reverend Hale understand that the witchcraft is pretense—all orchestrated by the devilish and sociopathic empress herself, Abigail Williams. When Proctor is alone in the water, surrounded by the townspeople on the shore, he is the one of the last two not to cower for their own life (the other being Reverend Hale.) Mary Warren claimed that Proctor is the devil’s man and by contradicting holy baptism, she was cleansed of good and has entered into the pool of lies and deception. This court’s leader, the ruthless Governor Danforth, is absorbed in his ego and knows that everything he does and Abigail says is from God himself. This is tested when Francis Nurse told him, “I never thought to say it to such a weighty judge, but you are deceived” (81) Anything positive of this court has been washed away; Hale quits, and runs off chanting “I denounce these proceedings; I quit this court!” (111) He is refusing to be a part of the unjust court, like how he refuses to be manipulated. Mary Warren’s poppet symbolizes the control that …show more content…

This is shown through Miller’s usage of symbolism, irony, and dialogue. When he is first introduced, he is a conceited and snarky man—fully intent on eradicating any trace of the devil. This mien of confidence still hangs around him even after the first accused, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne, are sentenced to execution. He begins to question himself and the court when the three most predominant holy women—Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey—are suspected of being witches Since they are women of such high standing, why would they be weak enough to be enticed by Lucifer and write in his dark and malicious tome? In Act Three, when Reverend Hale participates in the court, he is stumped and angered by the ignorance and assuming nature of Deputy Governor Danforth—to the extent where he is exasperated and abandons the court. Then, when he returns to Salem in Act Four, he wills up to his fatal mistakes and does what no other authoritative figure is able to do in this play—admit that they were wrong. Reverend Hale started out as an arrogant man and gradually realized how immoral his decisions and previous way of thinking was. He changes by allying himself with people like Giles Corey and John Proctor. He tries very hard, using his status and intellect, to prevent the innocent from being executed by a false claim. Reverend Hale’s

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