The Crucible Reverend Hale Character Analysis

Throughout the course of time, it is apparent that people change because of inevitable occurrences they go through. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend John Hale is made to be a complicated character. In the beginning, he is extremely confident, intelligent, and is a man that seems to want to get the job he is assigned to do done. Towards the middle of the play, that confidence begins to decline because of certain mishaps. In the end, Reverend Hale is a totally different person with different views of those that he had in the beginning. Reverend John Hale is one of the characters in The Crucible that makes apparent changes.

In Act 3 of The Crucible, he is one of the judges of court during a trial where John Proctor ended up being arrested for witchcraft. “Hale: I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court! He slams the door to the outside behind him” (111). Hale said this after not being able to persuade to the court that Proctor isn’t a very bad person as he seems. By reacting to the pressure of the people, he just leaves or I guess you could say “rage quits.” This next part in The Crucible shows Reverend Hale trying to do the good thing again, for John Proctor who is about to be hanged. “Hale: Woman, plead with him! He starts to rush out the door, and then goes back to her. Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. She avoids his eyes, and moves to the window. He drops to his knees. Be his helper! - What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away” (134)! Reverend Hale was pressured by the fact that Proctor was going to be hanged and he almost fully confessed himself and Hale saw the good person in him. However, when Hale pleaded with Elizabeth Proctor, he begged for her to take the shame away until Elizabeth pretty much could not do anything about it. In the end, like a good person like Reverend Hale should be when put under pressure, is to try to do the right

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

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

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.

The Salem witch trials were a time period in which there was mass chaos and very little reason. In, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, there were an elect group of people that overcame this hysteria of the trials. Among the people of reason arose, Reverend Hale, who displayed both sides of the hysteria. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character as he transforms from a character following the strict law and causing the deaths of many, to a character that understands the ridiculousness of the trials.

“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

“Hale began to be tormented by doubts early in the proceedings” (overview). It was not until his wife was accused to be a witch, did Hale begin to realize the inconsistency with the accusations being made against certain people. Seeing John Proctor arrested for witchcraft and finding out Abigail was a fraud also raised uncertainty. Most of the reputations of the people being accused did not match up with the evil acts they were said to have done. The true reasoning behind all accusations became clear. It was all just for vengeance. As Hale said, “I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance, I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court” (Act 2). He was acknowledging that he was not very familiar with the town, therefore, it is hard for him to be able to know if the accusations are valid or just another form of revenge. This made him question all the final decisions he has made. Realizing he ended the lives of many innocent people lay a heavy burden on his shoulders. It helped Hale change for the

Wayne Dyer, an American philosopher, author, and motivational speaker once stated “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Reverend John Hale changes his viewpoints throughout The Crucible multiple times based on the current events around him. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, uses this book to focus on the historical events occurring in Salem during the Salem witch trials, which occurred from February 1692 to May 1693. Miller utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos through his writing of The Crucible to convey the changing viewpoints and emotions of the morally ambiguous character, Reverend John Hale.

Reverend Hale wanted to preserve his integrity and maintain his honesty as a priest. However, that no longer was the case when the court continued to only believe Abigail when it came to the witchcraft. Reverend Hale could not take it anymore because he knew that Abigail was lying, but the court would not understand and just kept believing in her. He was basically the only one how slowly started to realize what she was doing and Hale started to defend John Proctor. When Reverend Hale was at the court he just could not take it anymore so he wanted to leave Salem. That is why he said,“I quit this court!” (Miller 120). This is when Reverend Hale is done with the court and leaves Salem. This also makes Reverend Hale a tragic hero because he realized that he needed to leave the court and Salem. He did not feel that the court was doing the right thing for the people. The court was only believing Abigail and would not listen to anyone else. Reverend Hale was on John Proctor’s side and he knew that what Proctor was saying about Abigail was true. Abigail only made up these lies because she wanted Elizabeth Proctor dead so she can be with John Proctor. An article said, “in The Crucible the religious authorities are villainous, seeking to force people to act against their consciences to save themselves—to sacrifice their souls to save their bodies in the name of fighting the devil” (Puckett 1). This

Throughout history, the presence of fear has driven people to do and become the unthinkable. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a fear-stricken town turns against one another in a literal witch hunt where only few dare to speak out and risk their own prosecution. The town’s conflict not only shapes how the story turns out, but also shapes what the characters become. One of the most significant character changes in the play takes place in Reverend John Hale, who was once a proud man, eager to find witches, but then later became a remorseful one, desperate to save the accused. It is through his actions, his statements, and the other characters’ views on him that this gradual change is shown.

Literary characters such as Macbeth or Professor Moriarty, while typically portrayed as “evil,” are morally complex characters that view themselves as protagonists, similar to Reverend Hale. In Arthur Miller’s seminal recreation of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, a group of Puritan farmers, landowners, and priests collide in a tale of desperate fear and hysteria. Reverend Hale, is a minister with what appears limitless knowledge of the supernatural, thrust into an event that his expertise could never prepare him for. While Hale’s intentions to eliminate all Demonic presence from Salem appear noble, the outcome leads to the deaths of many innocents and the greater spread of hysteria. Hale creates chaos by placing himself into a leadership position and refusing to acknowledge his pride, but is not a typically “evil” character. When he realizes his mistakes, Hale attempts to right his wrongs and stand against the court using his words to defend the accused as a form of redemption.

American playwright, Arthur Miller, in his play The Crucible, implies that witch hunts still exist in American society. Miller supports this claim by drawing parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the Senator Joseph Mccarthy Trials. His purpose is to warn his readers of the dangers of mass hysteria. He uses emotional appeals and logic to convince the reader that mass “hunts” are still a danger to Americans today. The central way, however, that Miller achieves his topmost goal of displaying the hazards of Individuality vs. Ideology is through the expressive characterization of Reverend John Hale. John hale is an example of outward conformity because he believes in the devil in the beginning, he sees that the girls are

The tragic events of the Salem witch trials tested the morality of several individuals, who abided to a government based on religious intolerance and limitation. Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” highlights the detrimental effects of the religious court, and the impact Puritan societal norms had on its citizens. Reverend Hale, a protagonist in the play serves as a balance between morality versus and the religious conformity that took place within society. His transformation throughout the play demonstrates his true intention in doing what is right and abiding by the correct ideals, instead of following the damaging priorities enrooted in the theocratic system. Throughout “The Crucible,” Reverend Hale transfers from adhering to a theocracy to prioritizing the true value of life, revealing his maintenance of a strong moral code.