Examples Of Hysteria In The Crucible

As he is busy accusing other people of their superstitions, Hale tried to keep his wits about him, “Have no fear now-we shall find him out if he has come among us”(43). This shows the reader and the other characters that Hale is very confident in his job and that he is not willing to give it up for anything. Hale seems to be very arrogant as he goes about his work in the beginning of the text. “We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise..”

At the beginning of the book, Reverend Hale was called upon to go to Salem, Massachusetts where he was assigned to help find witches because, he is an ordained minister who “feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe- kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiast of all churches.” (Miller 34) This is a description of him that is used to show how he has a narcissistic personality and show that he is a man that believes that the word of God is the only way to truly prove one’s innocence. Towards the beginning of the book Reverend Hale comes into Salem with a stack of books he is struggling to carry. He says that the books are heavy because “They must be; they are weighted with authority”(34)

He has taken notice of the large amount of witchcraft which that is present from act one and begins taking accusations against others for granted and does not investigate their legitimacy to bring justice. Since Reverend Hale is not looking for evidence when he investigates people, this allows Abigail to manipulate him. She makes it appear that Elizabeth used witchcraft to stab a needle in her stomach, which results in Elizabeth being wrongly accused. In this way not only has Reverend Hale changed by not looking for evidence but he has also changed the

The moment Hale enters the town of Salem, he brings about him an aura of sophistication and intelligence. He was called to the town to investigate the murmurs of witchery having previously encountered witches in his own town of Beverly. When the townspeople of Salem first see him “he appears loaded down with a dozen heavy books” (478). The presence of Hale and his books puts many town members at ease because of the implied intelligence that he must have.

Reverend Hale’s Character Evolution “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance” (Alan Watts). Change, the only constant in this universe, the thing a community needs the most to thrive in modern day society, the thing people of Salem cannot accept. In Arthur Miller's the Crucible we see how when the court and the townsfolk get dead set on the idea of witchcraft being rampant in the Village, they are imminently unaccepting if Reverend Hale’s change of no longer believing the devil was in Salem. In the start of the play Hale is seen as a man of god, he is the “spiritual” doctor sent to evaluate Salem and banish Satan from the region.

Can you hear me? I am John Hale, minister of Beverly. I come to help you dear”(41). If Betty has the devil in her body then something odd will happen in her room. Hale is talking to them like he is a great master of witchcraft and talking to them, like if they did not have him no one would know what to do.

The amount of hysteria that Aruther Miller expresses through his characters in the crucible is more than relevant to what was going on at the time. Aruther Miller shows hysteria through many characters throughout the story. The characters I choose to focus on are Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor. The ways that he includes hysteria helped show the public how they were treating people at that given time. One of the characters Miller chooses to cause hysteria is Abigail Williams.

After word spreads about the devil being among the citizens of Salem, Reverend Hale, an exorcist of witchcraft, is called upon by Parris. Hale starts to get information by interrogating the girls to see if they are associated with the devil. During the interrogation, Abigail feels the heat of the conversation as Hale asks her questions. Knowing her faults, she lies by putting blame on Tituba. Hale turns back to Tituba and asks her if she loves God.

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.

The people of Salem are curious to know if the devil is present in their village so they call Reverend Hale to check their daughters for signs of witchcraft. Hale has a strong belief of witchcraft and that the devil is present in the village of Salem. When questioning Tituba about witchcraft, Hale truly believes that she has seen the devil and that she can see who has conjured with him: “ You are God’s instrument put in our hands to

Salem calls Reverend Hale into the town because he has a history of helping with witchcraft. He is determined to find the source of the problem and save the town. “The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her.” (Miller, pg. 38) Reverend Hale fully believes that the devil is present in these ailing children.

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).

Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.

Reverend Hale - Grandiose to Guilt When Reverend John Hale of Beverly arrived in the secretly psychotic town of Salem, he was carrying books “weighted with authority” (Miller 844). In the progressing scenes, the Reverend quickly made icy contact with the citizens of Salem, starting with the revered Rebecca Nurse and then the general public of Salem (Miller 844). Thankfully, Arthur Miller (the author of The Crucible) wrote Hale as a dynamic character. In this essay, I explain how Reverend Hale changed drastically over the course of the play; how he turned from a pompous exorcist to a guilt-ridden condemner. Hale, at the beginning of the play, has a pompous air about him.

As Hale deals with demonic arts and works with exorcisms he knows that these trials are false and that the village will deny to avoid hanging there is a lot of lives that are depending on Hales investigation. But Hale cannot succeed at pursuing a way to find false accusations on the people and to expose Abigail's wrong evil revenge. When Hale settles in and starts to find the truth it becomes a little too late to prove that there has been no evil demonic possession of the