Essay about The Role of Reverend Hale as a Catalyst in The Crucible

He is holds his head high above others, slightly cocky, assuming himself a high, respected position as soon as he enters Salem. He firmly trusts solely his skills to be the savior of the village. Hale also shows to be assured of the habitation of the Devil when he demands answers from a female slave Tituba in spite of no solid proof and her constant denials: “Have you sold yourself to Lucifer?” (156). He continues to pound at her: “Women, have you enlisted these children with the Devil?” (156). Hale’s relentless questioning exude the fact that he has already accused Tituba of witchery and is now attempting choke out an answer that will satisfy him. He disregards the facts presented in front of him and instead, allows his own ego of expertise to blind himself into arraigning an innocent

Due to the rise of witchcraft in Salem, Reverend Hale is brought to town as an expert in identifying witches. When Miller says, “he spent a good deal of time pondering the invisible world, especially since he had himself encountered a witch in his parish not long before” this shows Hale’s motivation for wanting to seek out witches, because he doesn’t want others to experience witches like he did (Miller 31). Throughout the play he examines the men and women accused and puts them on trials, many of which end in tragic deaths. Later in the play he comes to realize the court in Salem is set up in an unjust way. People are forced to admit they are something they’re not. When Hale said, “It is a lie! They are innocent”, he is choosing to save innocent people from living a lie or dying from the court’s wrongful actions of forcing people to confess to witchcraft whether they have proof or

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

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

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Reverend Hale’s attitude and beliefs are changed completely as the play progresses. After Reverend Parris is a witness to girls dancing in the woods and also when his daughter becomes very ill, he calls Rev. Hale to Salem. Hale’s job is to find any form of witchcraft and to get rid of it. Over the course of the play, Rev. Hale experiences a transformation in his beliefs from the beginning of the play to the end. Reverend Hale has three different emotions throughout the play. When Hale is introduced in the the beginning of the play, he is passionate and very confident about finding witchcraft and getting rid of it. In the middle of the play, Hale is frustrated and he does not know who to trust nor

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.

Hale feels tested in his faith in God, and faith in his own abilities. He came to Salem to help the people, and feels he failed everyone; including himself. He blames himself for killing innocent people. He ultimately couldn’t handle this feeling. He starts to crack.

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.

“Hale: Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws away for pride” (206). Reverend Hale’s eye-opening words make Elizabeth realize that John Proctor should do the right thing for God, even if that includes lying. This quote relates to the Salem witch trials because during this time, the court was getting involved with the town, so everybody had to constantly tell the truth. Overall, the play gives a feeling of the Salem witch trials by using facts and events relevant to the time period. On a similar topic, Arthur Miller feels that everybody is vindictive, manipulating, and betraying each other; therefore, Miller uses his troublesome experience to commemorate the demeaning investigations of witches. Miller’s high disapproval of the American government, especially how the court handles situations, is greatly represented in his play. The characters change throughout the story, and they start to realize that it is not all about what the government wants for their life. They soon enough start thinking and speaking for themselves which leads to big decisions and disapproval from the American government. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he artistically manipulates the authentic facts of the Salem witch trials’ victim John Proctor to fiction in order to similarly represent his interrogation during the Red Scare while also putting a spin on the trials through his style, characterization and tone.

Reverend John Hale is the minister who is called in to investigate the witch trials in The Crucible. At first he believes them, but later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials. Deputy Governor Danforth is the judge at the witch trials. He is dedicated to removing all witches. He rules by the law and will not allow exceptions or anyone to try to undermine his court.

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

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

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

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