The Crucible Reverend Hale Quotes

Thesis Statement: When Reverend Hale first arrives in Salem, he makes accusations towards the wrong people. He later realizes the truth and unsuccessfully tries to make things right.

All of a sudden there was a witch outbreak in Salem Massachusetts. The following day the girls were found in bed inert. The doctor attempted to figure out the sickness the girls could have. However, he could not give the sickness any name. Then Reverend Hale was called in to help the town cure its unnatural problem. Throughout the play Reverend Hale contributed to both sides of the arguments. At the beginning he believed the court was doing God’s job. Towards the end his character changes and is less in favor of the court and more in favor for the people being wrongly accused. Reverend Hale’s is seen to be independent, confident and outspoken. These traits end up changing towards the end of the play. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character

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

When the play begins John Hale is much like Reverend Parris- he is naïve and controlled by the dogmas of the church, but unlike Parris, he truly believes that what he is doing is right while Parris's intentions were never pure. When he first enters the play, he is the force behind the witch trials- probing for confessions and encouraging people to testify. As the play continues, however, he experiences a transformation, making him one of the most dynamic characters in the play. He begins to empathize and has independent revelations regarding the nature of the trials after listening to John Proctor and Mary Warren.

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

He uses his past condemnations as an excuse for him to act so powerful. However, his personality changes towards the end of the story, and Hale begins to care more for the lives of others, feeling the guilt of sentencing so many people to the rope. “Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more – private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true.

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

Quickly after Mr. Hale’s arrival in Salem, the situation regarding witchcraft escalates. Mr. Hale gets sucked into the middle of something which didn’t impact his life personally in the first place. As rumors of the devil spread around, more names known to be “seen” with him are mentioned in the court. Mr. Hale takes it upon himself to visit the houses of those who are accused of involvement in witchcraft. “No— no, I come of my own, without the court’s authority. Hear me. I know not if you are

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

One of authority figure in The Crucible, was Reverend Hale. Hale went to Salem in response in need of a “spiritual doctor” to evaluate the town. The reason he was summoned was to diagnose if there was witchcraft was present, then come up with a cure by removing the “infected people”, and the people of Salem will not be satisfied until he does. In result to all the commotion of unnatural events taking in place in Salem such as: Tituba’s ability to conjure spirits from beyond the grave, dancing in the woods, the death of the seven children who belonged to Thomas and Ann Putman, Betty’s illness, the strange book that were in possession of Martha Corey, and so on. Hale starts to become

Hale’s character arc is defined by the contrasting path he takes from the other authority figures in Salem, as he is originally a man of closeminded

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