Admitting one’s mistakes in today’s society appears to be too hard to make. A combination of stubbornness and the fear of being wrong holds people back from making the right decision. Everyone will make mistakes, but the people with bigger character are the individuals willing to admit them. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a stubborn character in the play who changes, comes to his senses, and admits his mistakes. Reverend Hale is a character who changes his thoughts about witchcraft after seeing the horror that he had caused.He comes into Salem as someone who wants to prove that witchcraft exists after previous failed attempts (Miller 1146). Despite his animus, his reason for coming to Salem changed after he realizes that the people accused are innocent (1224). However, Hale only wanted to prove his theory but instead, he ended up destroying a town in return. Witchcraft seemed like a logical matter in Salem. However, it was only someone trying to get people killed. In the end, however, a young woman was hiding under the disguise of witchcraft having an affair with someone’s husband. Reverend changed his views on witchcraft after a village had been ruined because of his doing. …show more content…
Hale had his thoughts changed about the people accused of doing witchcraft. Before, he saw all the people of Salem accused of being witches are guilty. However, he saw how unfair the court was being to those people and what the head of the court had been doing was wrong. “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court! He slams the door behind him” (Miller 1213). This quote just shows how angry and fed up he is with the court. Even the stage directions indicate that he leaves in anger. He came to his senses in the courtroom, but only after how unfair the court was being to the
(35) This shows that Hale is so involved in his work that he could possibly end up accusing someone who was not guilty of witchcraft. Hale seems overly conscious about his own life and his duty to serve the people to find the devil in Salem; he doesn’t seem to like the idea that he himself could be wicked. This shows that Hale too, did not show himself to be truthful and courteous when it came to the
The Crucible is a very well known playwright that was influenced by the Salem Witch Trials. With the play explaining to the reader how this event happened in their own story, it really shows how the act of manipulation by using false accusations can really change the direction on how people look at a situation. Aside from the plot itself, the playwright also has an excellent supply of characters to put the reader highly in depth of the play as well. While each character plays a solid role to get the plot flowing, many readers can examine, interpret, and distinguish on how they operate. Focusing on the character who plays the role of the “Tragic Hero” it's arguable that both John Proctor and Reverend Hale are acceptable for this.
Throughout the play, Reverend Hale serves as the voice of reason in the trials. Hale is well educated and respected, and is initially brought in from Beverly to determine the cause of Betty’s ailment that keeps her inanimate in her bed. He directs his focus to seeking out the presence of the Devil in Salem, and then to cleansing the village. However, when Hale realizes that the Girls were manipulating the trials for their own gain, he seeks instead to undo the actions of the court in the name of truth. Miller develops Hale as a character who is willing to sacrifice what might be moral in the name of truth as a means to show how
When Reverend Hale first enters the story he is depicted as someone with great knowledge and authority. Proctor tells Hale on page 185, “I’ve heard you were a sensible man, Mister Hale - I hope you’ll leave some of it in Salem.” Hale is well known to people around Salem and he is known for possessing great knowledge. The people will listen to what Hale has to say, but know that his presence means that there is suspicion of witchcraft.
Throughout The Crucible, during the Salem Witch Trials, Reverend Hale slowly changes from a ‘confident man with a plan’, to a haggard preacher who seems to be losing himself amongst the chaos of these colonial trials based off of lies. After a life-altering experience, Hale is never again the same person he started out as. In the beginning of
When he arrive in Salem, Hale enters with the confidence of a man who does not think he can do any wrong and has supreme wisdom over everyone else, “Have no fear now– we shall find him [the Devil] out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!” (37). In addition to this, the true nature of Hale’s failure to understand the complex climate of Salem at the time is made explicitly clear in the passage. He arrives with the notion that, with the help of the locals, he would eradicate any form of witchcraft quickly and with no difficulties. In this fervent desire to hunt witches, he becomes blinded by the bloodlust, so much so that he cannot fathom using critical and rational thinking in approaching the cases.
¨Hale, continuing to Elizabeth: Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing 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.¨. Hale recognizes the way he had first acted when he was introduced in the play he had false confidence, was falsely assertive, a title of the best witch hunter in that region meant nothing and being a reverend, he had failed miserably to bring justice to the town of Salem. Along with being a failure he has realized that those that he had convicted were innocent and the girls that had played the system were the actual ones guilty and had escaped their well deserved punishment. The whole point of Hale being the tragic hero was that Hale would have been able to prevent all of these things onto the town but having a title does not mean you are qualified for the
Towards the end, Hale changes from a person who carries his heavy written laws to a person who hates the court. During Act III, after Danforth arrested Proctor, Hale is so angry with the court that he yells, "I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (Act 3, 120). The quote might seem really simple, but it is significant because Hale finally figures out that the court system is a failure to the society, and also figures out what he should be go after. As a result in Act 4 when Hale tries to convince Elizabeth to tell Proctor to confess, Hale says, “‘Beware, Goody Proctor cleave to no faith when faith brings blood.
A dynamic, or round, character is a major character that encounters conflict and is changed by it. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character, he undergoes a dynamic change throughout the play. Based on his transformation, Hale truly is a good man. In Act 1, Hale arrived in Salem to fix a "spiritual problem." He believed witchcraft to be very true and very prevalent in the area.
To begin, When reverend hale went to salem he was very confident. Reverend Hale, knew a lot about witches and spirits. Hale took witchcraft very seriously, he believed there was actually something going on in salem. Next, Hale is determined to get to the bottom of what is going on. When hale gets to salem, he is very tired and has very little motivation.
When Reverend Hale was first introduced into the play, it was that Reverend Parris had asked Hale to come down and assist in the pursuit of the evil that was devouring their small town whole. Hale was cautious at first in accepting situations that people believe have witchery involved. Considering he is recognized for his authority on witchcraft and the devil, Hale initially comes off as arrogant and authoritative. Although Hale never accused anyone of witchcraft, he just asked questions about it, he is more than ready to investigate and rid Salem of any demonic influences. In Act I, Hale arrives with his heavy books of authority.
Reverend Hale is the character that changes the most in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible because his feelings on witchcraft turns from full belief to unbelievable doubt, his thoughts on Proctor changes from thinking that he is evil to thinking that he is a good and honest man, and he switches from doing God’s work to doing the Devil’s. Reverend Hale makes a huge change on his claim of witchcraft. In the beginning of the play when Reverend is called to the town of Salem to see if the reason why Betty and Ruth are unconscious is due to witchcraft he brings with him many books. When Reverend Parris sees this he makes a comment that Hale responds to him explaining his expectations. This shows that Reverend Hale is focused on one thing, finding
This change revealed that Hale was a fair man and with time he had much reason when he knew that the girls were manipulating Salem. Also, he would become more apparent rather than being arrogant and confident when he realises the evil and corruption of these witch trials. His change shows he’s a fair man who only wants to find the truth and use these trials to find if there is a devil in someone not a place of convicting hangings no matter what evidence is given unless you
The witches are on the hunt for the innocent souls of Salem with Hale stating, “The Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points” (Miller 1251). Hale is determined to use God’s mighty hand against the “evil witches”. This shows that Hale is faithful to Abigail’s accusations against the common people of Salem. At first, Reverend Hale is eager to prosecute, but as more innocent people are condemned, his compliance turns into distaste. His dissatisfaction eventually turns into rage when Hale shouts, “I denounce these proceedings!”
Hale, defeated, weeps in prayer as Proctor is sent to hung. Reverend Hale's downfall in the novel was his quick assumption that there was witchcraft in Salem. Everyone's fear of the unknown and the chance of witches being present in Salem caused many deaths due to jumping to conclusions. Although he had the best intentions to bring justice to Salem, he made an improper call. He realizes his error and tries with all he has to make it right, but fails.