Channeling Change The Crucible by Arthur Miller was modeled after the Puritanical society during the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Innocent people, such as Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor were falsely accused and condemned of witchcraft. The aftermath of the trials affected the children, cattle, crops, and the reputations of the accused. Because reputation in the Puritan society was highly valuable, change in tolerating viewpoints other than their own was unlikely. Change, however, demonstrates character development. Characters such as John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Mary Warren show development throughout the play in which Hale acknowledges his mistakes, Proctor sacrifices his reputation and honor, and Mary deteriorates into a weaker character. Reverend Hale enters the play in Act I as a well-respected witch hunter from Beverly who investigates the supernatural occurrences in Salem. Reverend Parris invites him because of the presumable witchcraft in the forest, resulting in his daughter’s coma-like state. Hale arrives educated …show more content…
Due to their knowledge of the true causes of the witchcraft trials, they had the opportunity to act differently from the rest of the characters. Reverend Hale changes from a revered witch hunter, determined to solve the supernatural occurrences in Salem into a remorseful man who does everything in his power to help the accused. Although condemned by the end of the play, John Proctor dies honorably after sacrificing his dignity in an attempt to save his wife. Mary Warren ultimately becomes a liar by disregarding the truth to save herself and be accepted in Abigail’s pack. Although not all the characters in The Crucible transformed for the best, change and the motivation to change was essential in order to determine the characters’ process of
The character of Reverend Hale in The Crucible, transforms from a self-confident witch hunter with good intentions into a disillusioned, broken man who has lost faith in the law and religion. Hale is summoned to Salem to evaluate the community and investigate the possibility of local residents practicing witchcraft. He informs the townspeople, “No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this.
Have you ever wondered if characters went through change? In the play " The Crucible" by Arthur Miller John Hale is a character that change. Arthur Miller separates Hale from other characters in "The Crucible", While Most of these girls were entirely static, with the exception of Elizabeth. This play is based on the witch trials that took place in the puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. In the play reverend John Hale goes through a change where in the beginning he is rational person and the at the end he tried to be a savior.
At the onset of his entry, Reverend Hale enters Salem with certainty conveying books on the subjects of spirits and witches. He considers the subject of witchcraft important, and even remarks about how it is best not to make a hasty judgment on the matter. Sound demands that he will find reality in his examination; notwithstanding, he enters Salem fairly fatigued, not knowing the full extent of the property question and battles for power inside the congregation/group. Over the span of his examination, and the court procedures, Hale at first trusts the young ladies, and their cases of witchcraft against others. Sound's confidence in the young ladies' allegations is not by any means a blame all his own, he entered the town somewhat over energetic.
Miller chose to have Hale change because of the guilt Hale holds as he watches all the people he initially thought worked with the devil be killed. In the beginning of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale was brought to Salem during Act one in order to look at Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty. He is a doctor who examines others for signs of witchcraft, and then tries to find a way to rid the victim from witchcraft. He is from Beverly and has dealt with witchcraft prior to Salem. At first, he was convinced that witchcraft was painted all over Salem because he examined both Betty and Tituba while he was there.
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.
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
He is most worried that he will be destroyed because witchcraft is in his family. Luke 6:27-28 says, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you," (Barker 1550). This is a perfect example of how Hale treated the people of Salem, and the exact opposite of how Parris treated the. Knowing this, it is obvious that Hale for the people in knowing the truth of morality; where as, Parris does not care about the truth but just wants what is best for
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.
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
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.
Reverend Hale’s morals drive him seek him to seek and reveal the truth at first, but as he comes to new realizations he finds that it is better to lie and avoid the killing of innocent people. His morals are what led him to Salem, to help the town in their time of crisis. Since Reverend Hale is motivated by strong morals, his decision to challenge the legitimacy of the court results in him convincing the falsely accused to confess at the end of the play. Reverend Hale starts out seeking the truth.
In act 1 and 2 in the play ,The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was introduced and learned what his role was. Reverend Hale was a man nearing his forties and was a high-status intellectual who was an expert in witchcraft (Miller 155). In this act Hale said that he believes there always will be someone with the devil(Miller 155). Hale was siding with the court in this act and signing death warrants along with believing in these accusations fully as shown in his visit to the Proctors when he said there is too much evidence to deny the Devil is in Salem (Miller 171). Also, Hale almost played as an interrogator when he was giving rapid fire questions to John about his Christian character and if he goes to church in his visit to the Proctor house (Miller 171).
“Character Analysis over The Crucible” Arthur Miller is a commonly-known playwright, most famous for his 1953 play, The Crucible. The basis for The Crucible came from the witch trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts during the puritan era. Miller even uses some of the same characters in his dramatized play that were a part of the original witch trials in Salem. However, Miller made a few alterations to the historical members of the Salem society in order to suit his dramatic purpose in The Crucible, particularly Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Samuel Parris.