Reputations Have Been Demolished In the play The Crucible the importance of someone’s reputation is crucial to their peaceful state of mind and others views towards them. The Crucible is a play written by the playwright Arthur Miller in 1953, the play is a nonfictional plot of the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Arthur Miller supposedly had a hidden message of McCarthyism within The Crucible. The characters within The Crucible their reputation is tested during the witch trials because one’s reputation could be destroyed by one untrue accusation. Before the witch trials many people walked with their names feeling confidence because they have worked their whole life to uphold their good name but once the witch …show more content…
Reverend Hale tells 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”(Miller 138). This is when Reverend Hale realizes that he has made an awful mistake by accusing innocent people of being witches. So in the end Hale tells Elizabeth to tell john to just admit he is a witch so he won’t be sentenced to death. Hale tells Elizabeth this to finally do something right and good for once after causing already so much damage in the town of Salem. John Proctor tells Salem “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(Miller 140). At the end of the play The Crucible John is confused weather or not if he should admit …show more content…
John Proctor admits to practicing in the art of witchcraft “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it (Miller 141). John Proctor admits to being part of the hysteria known as witch craft. Although John does not through others under the bus with him when he’s admits to being a witch. This shows how honorable a man John Proctor is because he doesn’t bring down people with him, even though his name is ruined he doesn’t feel the need to abolish any others. Reverend Parris explains to his niece Abigail “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character” (Miller 36). Reverend Parris explains to niece Abigail that she cannot lie to him about what happened in the woods because if it comes out that Abigail was lying his good name could be jeopardized. Reverend Parris says how hard it was to get the respect from the people of Salem and their respect for him could be demolished by this thing coming
Either you confess to being a witch and soil your name and disgrace your family, or you plead not guilty and hang for your alleged crimes. So knowing which ever position he held they would both hold life altering affects from there on out, he chose what he thought was right and showed everyone to stay true to yourself in life. Proctor says he could not sign his name away because it would show a bad example for his children “I have three children--how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends” (Miller 143)? Proctor was caught in a catch 22 scenario where either he lives with his kids knowing he was convicted of witchcraft and sold out his friends, or he dies and leaves his children without a father completely. But John Proctor does not take his whole family down with him and decides that just he should suffer the consequences of his own mess.
From the trials, proctor and others were judged. It is evident that the rumors of witchcraft were started up as a way to take revenge and maintain power. Abigail for one only named Elizabeth as a witch because she had an affair with Proctor and in naming the wife she hoped that Elizabeth would be executed and in that case, she would have Proctor to herself. The reason why Elizabeth fired Abigail in the first place is because of the affair, and so this was revenge for her. As Proctor goes to court to fight for the release of her wife, the court accuses him of not honoring the church and implying that he may be part of the witchcraft saga.
Hale no longer believes in the witch trials. Everything Reverend Hale came to Salem for now no longer means anything to him. By this point Reverend Hale, among others, has become fed up with the pretense and falseness of ‘The Salem Witch Trials’ and wants nothing more than for it to be over. (page 84, act four, Miller, Arthur The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts, Viking Press 1953) “ HALE, quickly to Danforth: Excellency, it is enough he confess himself. Let him sign it, let him sign it.”
The Crucible A writer may use ways of showing the audience what a character’s personality is like. These may include the following: giving the character’s own words, describing how the character looks, telling what people say or think about the character, and showing how people behave toward the character. Show how these items are used in the development of John Hale.
Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.
¨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
In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was a man of great integrity and knew he did nothing wrong. He was given the choice to confess and lie or be hung. Being the honest and stubborn man that he was, he decided his name was more important than his life. John struggled both internally and with others while trying to fight for what he thought was right.
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.
Knowing all of this, Hale becomes desperate to have Elizabeth save her husband and even wishes for him to sin in order to continue living as a role model for the people of Salem. Hale recognizes the significance of each accused on a personal level and he cannot bear to see them suffer for a crime they did not
The Salem Witch Trials were fueled by fear because no one wanted to be punished or killed. In Document B, Act 1 of The Crucible, Reverend Hale arrives to see who is behind all of the witchcraft. When he asks the girls to give him, the names of the people they saw with the Devil. “Abigail: I want to open myself. I want the light of God; I want the sweet love of Jesus!”
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).
John Hale known as the witch hunter in Salem inspires fear when his name is spoken ,instead John Hale was a good person because he didn’t really want to kill anyone ,just wanted to save them before they fully went to the Devils side and sign his book ,and he did whatever he cool to help save the accused. John hale wasn 't really the killing kind of person. He was the if u confessed that you where dealing with the devil the he did what he could to save them not go straight to hanging them. When he found out that Tituba was dealing with the Devil and that she wrote her name in his book he worked to help her become holly. from the story "The Crucibles" John Hale stated after they found out that Tituba was dealing with the Devil if she would "let him cleans her from all her sins".
He begins to try to convince Proctor and others to sign documents saying they are witches so that they can go free. Hale has returned to Salem because he feels guilty for signing the death warrants of many innocent people as he says, "There is blood on my head!"(Miller 131). He pleads with the judges again to give him more time or to pardon them as there are orphans walking around Salem, and the judges seem to know they are wrong also. Reverend Hale's last attempt to save Proctor is to try to have Elizabeth convince Proctor to confess. Proctor strongly considers it but tears the confession paper up as he does not want to ruin his family name.
John is also conveying through his words that he believes the situation is his own fault/ he would rather die than deal with living a lie for the rest of his theoretical life of having confessed which is a form of self preservation. Along with the other reasons for his words he goes along with the execution to keep what’s left of him untarnished. or pure in the way he never was. The next character that has actions for the sole purpose of their self preservation is Reverend Samuel Parris. Throughout the majority of the crucible parris is shown to only care about his power and his image towards the other people of salem.
At the same time he is doing his duty of making her confess. Nevertheless, Reverend Hale knows that John and Elizabeth are innocent, and that Abigail Williams and the girls are guilty of witchcraft.” You are goodwife Proctor”(2. 266-267). He could have done something more than just trying to convince Judge Danforth that they are innocent.