Persuasion In The Crucible

Hale requires everyone who is accused of being a witch to go to court and agree that they are witches in order to prevent being hanged. If they admit that they aren’t a witch they would be hanged immediately. Hale seems to be very involved with the accusations, questioning those that are accused everything they know about god and the church (asking Hale to recite the 10 commandments, questioning the victims’ attendance in church, baptism, and things he sees as strange). When Hale goes to John Proctor’s house we witness the interrogation process: “I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you’ll permit me…I note that you are rarely in the church on Sabbath day…how comes it that only two [boys] are baptized” (2.621-671)? Later on in the play, when Proctor is testifying in court, they mystery starts to unravel inside of Hale’s head. At the end of Proctor’s trial, he yells that he no longer supports what is going on after Judge Danforth is unwilling to listen to Proctor’s testimony that the whole thing is pretense: “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court” (3.1499-1500)! He is ashamed that everything he has been trying to find was false and made up by Abigail. We see that in the jail scene he is begging Goody Proctor to have her husband confess in order to save his life: “Will you plead for his confession or will you not” (4.486-487)? This dynamic character change truly captures how Hale has changed since the

Proctor is later found guilty and he is ordered to be taken to jail. With anger, Hale speaks out, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court” (1151). Hale can no longer take part in a court system that hangs innocent people. He publicly declares that the court’s rulings are wrong which reveal his frustration and his rejection to the court. Reverend Hale is no longer the same man who had his faith in the court when he had first arrived in Salem.

Once Reverend Hale notices that the accusers in the trials are frauds he goes from helping convict the suspected witches to helping prove their innocence. This change takes its full form when John Proctor is accused of doing things for the devil. The first time that John and Reverend Hale talk John says that he is going to confess. Reverend Hale does everything in his power to convince John to not confess but nothing works. After he does this he tries to reason with Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, and try and get her to convince her husband that what he is doing is stupid and that he shouldn’t confess to something that he hadn’t done. This is just the main person that Reverend Hale helped, but there were many

Persuasion is a very strong technique that is used by many throughout history to form some of the greatest works of literature. Ethos, pathos, and logos are the three forms of persuasion. In 2008 a man by the name of Barack Obama created his Victory Speech after a very hard fought campaign. He utilizes the three modes of persuasion to create his very persuasive speech. Persuasion is one of the most crucial strengths to any speaker, especially when applying ethos, pathos, and logos just as Barack Obama did in his 2008 Victory Speech.

All eyes on them, some even with tears, and the three thick ropes with a noose on each end. They dangle there waiting… This was happening now, it was really happening. His heart was beating out of his chest and his palms were sweating, as he stepped up, step by step until death itself was palpable. As he looked out into the crowd, he felt the rope being placed around his neck, then as the rough rope got tighter he could feel the relief of his sins. He knew he was doing right by god, he was ready. As they said their prayer in unison, one by one the floor beneath them all was swept away and all that was left was the three bodies hanging silently.

This quote shows that the reverend cares only about his reputation rather than the truth being uncovered. His character in the play often brings out the worst in the townspeople, as he doesn 't have many friends, and is known to be a man with gullible, uncaring, and villainous attributes. The quote shows his vulnerability to the lies of the girls and his enthusiasm to get the accused executed. This is an important statement in the play as it shows Parris for who he is as a corrupt clergyman and citizen of Salem. People like Rev. Parris are what keeps the truth from being discovered as he only cares about saving his own reputation rather than finding the truth.

Secondly, after Hale returns he wants to try and help postpone the hangings because he knows the accused are innocent. He returns just in time for the day John Proctor is to hang. He comes back to town because he knows that John is truly innocent. He has changed into a better man and he wants to now save the lives of those who he had a help in condemning. So he says to Danforth, “Excellency, if you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are striving for their confessions, that speak mercy on your part, not faltering.” (Miller 130) Hale is trying to show them, that they are helping the Church rid of evil by postponing the hangings and having the accused confess to dealing with the devil. Hale has become more desperate because he wants the accused to live; he blames himself for them being accused and not seeing that the accusations were false earlier. Hale came the first time to rid the town of what he thought was evil, and now he has returned to save the lives of the so called “evil people”.

“Why it is simple I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!” (201). This quote is so powerful to the audience, Hale is admitting he feels guilty. He feels he has killed innocent people. How many people had to die for him to finally realize? In act four, Hale also begs Elizabeth Proctor into getting her to make John confess. Elizabeth would argue that it isn’t her job to control him. “You know, do you not, that I have no connection with the court? I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murdered. Do you understand me?” (202). Hale is saying he has no connection to the court's decisions. He comes to help Salem not destroy it. If John decides not to confess, and gets hung, Hale won’t think he did enough to help him, he could’ve done more. If John dies, with Hale knowing he’s an innocent man, Hale will call himself John’s

Furthermore, Reverend Hale was pushed to change also. Hale came into Salem a stranger, but knew how to fix the problem the town endured. He never questioned that God had a plan and always thought that something was either good or bad, with no gray area in between. This thinking is challenged when Elizabeth, a pure person, is accused and then later when John confesses. He knows that these people are honest and leaves the court for a period of time. In the end, Hale is a desperate man, and even though knowing there is no witchcraft present, he urges John to admit that he is not the one that should be punished. He has to question all the rules he has lived by his whole life and pursue something he knows is incorrect. In essence, Reverend Hale is pushed to his limits and is turned into a man that will be permanently in suspicion of any standards he ever thought were true.

Reverend Hale was a priest so he was all about honesty and did not want anyone to lie. Hale once said, “cleave to no faith when faith brings blood” (Miller 132). In this quote Reverend Hale warns Elizabeth and tells her that she should not lie because that is bad and it could lead to death. This connects to Reverend Hale as a tragic hero because he changed his beliefs as he left the court and left Salem. Then Reverend Hale returned to Salem because he wanted to help save the rest of the people of Salem since he was not there to directly help John Proctor. Hale went from being someone all about honesty to basically a liar. The only way to help save the people of Salem would be to tell them to lie. Reverend Hale was only able to do this because he left the court. If he was still part of the court he would have to follow what they do and he would not have a voice or a say. When it came to John Proctor’s trial, he decided to tell the truth but that unfortunately did not work out for him. This is because they sent Elizabeth into the court and asked he the same question they asked John Proctor, however, Elizabeth lied for her husband. Because he did not say the same thing as John Proctor he would most likely be killed for this. When this was happening, Reverend Hale was still part of the court so he did not have say about what would happen to John Proctor. This is one of the reasons why Reverend Hale

When John Hale notices the accused people of the town who tell the truth are being threatened and killed he begins to encourage the indicted ones to lie. For example, Rebecca Nurse, one of the most honored people in the town of Salem, was arraigned of witchcraft and told the truth but was still executed. On the other hand, people who didn’t actually do anything and said that they did do witchcraft when accused just had to ask for forgiveness from god and were able to continue on to their lives. In result of this, John Hale seeks to get people such as John Proctor to lie and confess even if they didn’t do anything. He tries to convince Proctor to confess so he can continue his life with his loving wife and children. To

Arthur Miller conveys an intrusive community where characters strive for a clean name in The Crucible, which is still evident in modern day through the action of politicians and celebrities maintaining their images using different communication techniques. The Salem witchcraft crisis reflects the personal reputation of the characters, similar to how Americans make decisions based on their appearance on social media. The Crucible is useful to modern Americans because they can learn from the past through mistakes and common themes that are presented in the play.

If witchcraft is discovered in the Reverend's own home, it can very quickly ruin his reputation. Parris is worried “they will howl [him] out of Salem for such corruption in [his] house”(14). The Reverend is the one preaching God and against witchcraft. If the Devil is found in the Reverend's home, his reputation will be destroyed and he will probably have to leave town. The reverend will be seen as corrupt. Betty is aware of this, but does not change the way she is acting. Betty’s act causes her father to act with . He is supposed to be a calm and a role model. Quaking with fear, mumbling to himself through sobs, he goes to the bed and gently takes Betty’s hand. Betty. Child. Dear Child. Will you wake…” (8). Daughters typically do as their fathers say, but Betty is ignoring her father’s begging. She is able to make her father, the village’s Reverend, cry for his young daughter to do as he says. In a way, Betty causes Parris to lose his ‘masculinity’. During this time, women are the ones thought of to be hysterical and men are supposed to show little emotion, especially strong sadness. Now, the reverend is hysterically crying and repeatedly asking his daughter to wake up. Betty is controlling her father’s emotions and his job. If Betty seems to be working with the Devil, it can force a witch hunt to occur in the town. Reverend Parris wants to stop this from happening. She is in control of whether or not she wakes up and stops the witch hunt. If Betty was to wake, the whole situation would be over. Since she is not, Hale asks Tituba, Abigail, and Betty to “give [them] all their names,” (47). The religious leaders are seeking information from people who are typically of low power. Tituba and the girls start to name ‘witches’ in Salem, which is going to force Parris and the other authoritative figures to make accusations. Betty, regardless of her power status before, now

Upon being first introduced, Reverend Hale is described as a confident, ambitious man driven by motivation to impress others with his thorough knowledge of witchcraft. He considers himself to be an expert; a veritable beacon of intellectual light who will be able to cure Salem of its supernatural affliction. By the end of The Crucible, Hale has undergone a complete character transformation, making him one of the more dynamic characters in the play. His perception of the trials are shrouded in guilt and self-doubt as he struggles with feeling responsible for those who are condemned to hang and wanting to preserve his Puritan values.

Even if he knew what was true and what was false keeping his reputation in tact was more important. Contrasting from both of the first characters Reverend Hale was more of a guy who wanted to do right. He knew that his job was on the line but instead of worrying he tried to find justice for the people who were being hanged. His name wasn’t as important to him as getting justice was. In act four Hale finally starts to realize all what he's been doing wrong, and so was watching those innocent people getting blamed for something that wasn’t even real. When trying to give Elisabeth advice Hale says, “Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, earring gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my 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. It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. LIfe, 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 he that