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
Truth is oftentimes glazed over or obscured by the sweet words of the manipulator, and the journey to discover it is painful in the mental aspect by challenging one’s mindset or morals. To those who have faith in truth, however, it can be a savior shining a light onto the path of righteousness. In the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the eloquent lies of a single girl by the name of Abigail expands into full-blown witch trials where minister Reverend Hale is brought in to examine the markings of those tainted by the Devil. Within his time spent in the ominous village of Salem, the lies exposed to him begin to query his life-long standings of the Bible and God. As he further uncovers the truths, Hale’s role in the Salem Witch Trials undergoes a dramatic transformation from a certain accuser, to a precarious bystander, to the defender of the tried.
Over the course of the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend Hale has changed dramatically from the start of the play to the end. At first, Hale is convinced that he is an expert of witchcraft and the truth is found in his books. He also comes into Salem putting his faith into the court. As the play goes on, Hale questions his belief because he realizes that many people are being convicted without definite evidence. In the end of the play, Hale has no faith in the court. He realizes many people innocent people have died through the courts rulings and therefore he can not be a part of it. Hale’s character has changed significantly throughout the
In this act, and with much consideration (adverb phase #2), Reverend Hale seems to be less full of himself, and more hesitant. He talks about how he has a difficult time drawing “a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court,” because he doesn’t know the people of their town (adverb phrase #3) (Miller 1169). This is only one of Hale’s problems as the play keeps moving along. Act three brings more complications and hesitance from Hale. Proctor’s wife has now been seized and taken to court, along with others accused of witchcraft. During these court sessions, Reverend Hale is beginning (gerund #2) to realize that the court really is unfair (noun clause #1). For example, even though evidence is given by Giles Corey (adjective clause #2), the judge refuses to accept (infinitive #2) it and simply asks for more evidence (Miller 1195). Now, Hale is starting to become frustrated. He’s also beginning to realize that he has made some aberrations (noun clause #2). When John Proctor is sentenced to be hanged for witchcraft, Hale respondes to the prejudice court by declaring , “I denounce these proceedings! I quit this court!” (Miller 1213), and proceeds to walk out of the courthouse. This is only the beginning of Hale’s
Reverend Hale was a complex character whose changes could be observed through his actions and motivations. Hale shifted from being a devote Puritan to abandoning his faith entirely. He went from fully believing in the trials to damning them and becoming consumed by guilt because of them. Hale’s complexity adds to the play by showing how intense the trials were and how even the most devote were
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the witch trials in Salem were a devastating time. The entire community was in disorder and chaos because of personal vengeance. This included accusations of innocent town’s people being called witches, so they hanged and were jailed. Throughout the play certain characters help the rise of witchcraft as well as the disapproval of all the innocent people who were being convicted for no reason. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character whom comes to rid of the evil spirits in Salem, yet he later tries to end the trials. Hale realizes the accusations are false, attempts to postpone the hangings, and persuade the victims to lie conveys that he is a dynamic character and changes throughout the play.
In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a group of adolescent, immature girls are seen dancing around a fire pit in the woods. The man accuses them of witchcraft, but their cowardice to reveal the truth leads to a series of accusations of innocent, unknowing citizens within Salem. In the story, Reverend Hale, an experienced and high-class specialist in witchcraft comes to the not-so-quaint town of Salem to further investigate this matter and declare who is the real “witch”. Everyone in town sees him as a man of great intellect and authority, and many fear to oppose him. Hale is aware of his place in society, and carries himself very highly because of it.
Reverend Hale believes in his second thoughts of the devil not being such a thing, and sees that Abigail has been setting this all up and framing John Proctor to have his love. Pointing at Abigail, Hale says, “I believe him!...This girl has always struck me false!...”(Act III, 50) After Abigail over-exaggerates and makes the girls believe the devil is in their presence, and the people of the court believe them, Reverend Hale walks out in frustration. People of the court and town don’t know what else to believe because they always thought the girls were saying the truth about what they saw. Hale begins to see that a lot of people in the town of Salem, are corrupted in result of the witchcraft trials.
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Arthur intrigues audience time and time again with the historical context, social implications, and the Salem, Massachusetts Witchcraft Trials of 1962. Most members in Salem feel the need to prove their authority in ways such as accusing those who have done nothing or hanging them without proving their innocence first. The thing is authority is not made up by an authority figure, but by society. Miller’s The Crucible, demonstrates how people misuse their authority for cruel purposes through a fascinating plot, well-crafted characters, and well-set theme. During the hysteria of witchcraft trials in Salem, there were multiple figures of authority or per say the community who abused their power, Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris and Judge Danforth.
Hale starts believing Proctor and Marry and he becomes convinced that there telling the truth. But it is too late now and the trials are no longer in his hands but rather in those of Danforth's and the theocracy. The failure of his attempt to help them turns Hale into a broken man. As his belief in witchcraft falters so does his faith in the law. He then tries to get the people accused to lie just to save there own lives but in the end he fails at that because most people didn't want to ruin their names. So Hale after all turned out to be a good
Hale was once a distinguished Reverend but now his opinion doesn’t matter in his own profession. Reverend Hale shows distraught in the Salem Witch Trials during Act 4 with his actions, statements, and through other people’s opinions of
In the crucible, not many characters are considered morally ambiguous because they do not change the way they view their Puritan religion and Puritan lifestyle. However, Reverend Hale is a morally ambiguous character in the crucible for the reason that in Act IV hail goes against what he believes earlier in the play showing moral ambiguity, As well as the fact that he is not purely good or purely evil throughout the play. The Reverend Hale was considered a specialist in witchcraft and brought up the idea that witches are in Salem, Which caused the Salem witch trial. Throughout the play, he felt the same way and expressed it, and expressed it. However, in act IV, when John Proctor got arrested and taken away, Hale came to the realization that
The Crucible “Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up” (Saunders). Some may find a deep meaning in this instance. As irony captures the readers mind and interest, slowly taking them away from the real world and settling them into a fantasy. Arthur Miller undertakes this, in his insane world of Salem. He brings to life characters, and the fact that history repeats itself.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible emphasizes different human flaws and their dangerous impact on Salem in 1692. By analyzing the effects of arrogance, blind faith, and guilt, Miller creates the dynamic character Reverend Hale. As Hale struggles with overcoming his own flaws, he transforms from a zealous man focused on gaining respect into the voice of reason amidst the chaos and corruption of the court. Throughout his character development, Hale challenges the authority figures of Salem as he becomes more skeptical, fights against his own Puritan ideals and accepts his role as a tragic figure.
In Act 1, Hale’s devotion to carrying out God’s law reveals his sense of obligation in eradicating the diabolic disturbances in Salem, despite the negative impact it may have on its citizens. Prior to entering the town, the Reverend’s motives lie in defeating the Devil, believing that this valiance will bring preservation to the Puritans. Although “his goal is light,” he believes the people of Salem have been “called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself” (36). Despite wanting to face off with the devil, Hale stands strong in his belief that this will restore peace and prove to be beneficial. Consequences aside, his heavy
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller reveals false religious values over logical assumption is hazardous and can cause great hysteria by using dramatic irony and verbal irony. The dramatic irony is a type of situation that can lead to a dramatic event and mainly presents to the audience but not the other characters. By using this to generate critical thinking throughout the audience and to catch the attention. Verbal irony is the using of words and phrase that it seems to disobey itself or simply being counterintuitive. These are the techniques that can help us try to comprehend what is the author try to infer us in the content.