Literary characters such as Macbeth or Professor Moriarty, while typically portrayed as “evil,” are morally complex characters that view themselves as protagonists, similar to Reverend Hale. In Arthur Miller’s seminal recreation of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, a group of Puritan farmers, landowners, and priests collide in a tale of desperate fear and hysteria. Reverend Hale, is a minister with what appears limitless knowledge of the supernatural, thrust into an event that his expertise could never prepare him for. While Hale’s intentions to eliminate all Demonic presence from Salem appear noble, the outcome leads to the deaths of many innocents and the greater spread of hysteria. Hale creates chaos by placing himself into a leadership position and refusing to acknowledge his pride, but is not a typically “evil” character. When he realizes his mistakes, Hale attempts to right his wrongs and stand against the court using his words to defend the accused as a form of redemption. When Reverend Hale enters the county of Salem, he brings with him the demeanor of a respected authority figure. When Reverend Parris remarks about the weight of Hale’s bags, he responds that “they are weighted with authority” (Miller 34). The bag is weighed by the authority of God, who through Hale as a conduit spreads his justice upon the wicked and mercy upon the poor. Hale sets himself up with false authority, believing that his collection of books and artifacts will fend off the demons making their home in Salem. By placing himself in a position of power, he causes the citizens to believe that his word is truth, which eventually leads to the spreading of the witchcraft accusations. Next, when Thomas Putnam tells him that Betty Parris can not stand to hear the Lord’s name, he demands that the citizens listen to him as the sole judge of the affliction: “The devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stones, 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 36). The dramatic irony is that the “marks” are not as “definite as stones” as Hale truly thinks. Yet, he uses his position as an “expert” to compel the
Reverend Hale admits to himself that he may have started the witch trials in Salem, feeling guilty Hale strives to save anyone that he can from being hung. After some time, Reverend Hale realizes that the witch accusations are driven by ulterior motives. He feels guilty because he is the one who confirmed that the presence of the devil is in the town of Salem, causing fear to overcome many people. Hale exclaims, “There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!”(Miller 131). He believes that because he started the unjust trials he is the one to blame for the execution of innocents. Hale is convinced that if he had never gotten involved then the witch trials may have never occurred. In an attempt to fix the problem he created,
The towns’ people accused now are too well known and well respected to be witches. He begins lose faith in the court as the court proceeds to accuse more people. Most of the accusations made absurd. Reverend Hale himself cannot believe that such well respected towns’ people could be
In Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" the most powerful character out of all of them is Reverend Hale. He has the most power because it is not possible for him to be a witch at all. This fact is proven because he is the minister and he even said himself " I cannot be the witch I am the minister (pg.36). This quote is him saying he cannot be accused of witchcraft because basically he gave his soul and heart to God because he is a minister. Another reason he is the strongest character is because he knows the most about witches and has the most knowledge about the witches. He knows how they act, speak and smell. "HALE, quietly—it has impressed him: Proctor, let you open with me now, for I have a rumor that troubles me. It's said you hold no
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, many characters were drastically affected by the traumatic trials and executions happening in Salem. One such character was Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale began as a well-respected and confident witch hunter but ended as a disillusioned man filled with guilt over the death of innocent people.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the village of Salem filled with paranoia and fear as a result of the accusation of witchcraft traveling through their town. One after another, the people fell into the trap of believing in witchcraft—conforming to the belief of witchcraft appeared safer than questioning it, for they knew that voicing disagreement would result in being accused as well. Miller used Reverend Hale as an example of this, showing a character arc that exhibits how his inward questioning gradually affected his ability to outwardly conform to the belief in witchcraft. Upon Reverend John Hale’s entrance at the end of Act I, Arthur Miller introduced him with thorough detail on who he was and what he believed, saying: Mr. Hale is nearing
Everyone makes mistakes in their own lives. If you’re honest, you’d admit to making one of your own sometime in your life. Depending on the mistake it can possibly make a chain reaction of continuous problems, just like dominos falling. Once an action like this happens, it can be very difficult to fix it and make everything more preferable for yourself.
"I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it." (Miller 92). Reverend John Hale enters The Crucible as a character of intellect and justice. Initially Hale is eager and proud to be of service, to finally be applying his knowledge to expose witch craft and bring the people of Salem to God. Although he begins as one of the biggest driving forces of the witch trials he later becomes one of its largest antagonists.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, an arrogant and proud Reverend Hale waltzes into Salem with a strong belief in his ability to eradicate any force of the Devil. Using his books that are heavily “weighted with authority,” he can promulgate and ascertain anyone who has any association with the dark arts and sentence them to the rope. However, Reverend Hale realizes how dire and serious his mistakes were and comes to forgive himself and correct his blindly immoral actions to the people of Salem. Miller’s use of irony, symbolism, and spoken dialogue clearly show the transformation of the initially conceited yet ultimately sympathetic character himself: Reverend Hale. Arthur Miller uses irony in The Crucible to show the change of Reverend
In the early 1962’ through 1963’ cases as “Salem witch trials” were taken place in Province of Massachusetts Bay in where Reverend Hale in “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller was brought forward to Samuel Parris for assistance. This is where the proceedings and deceitful tragedies occur. Where Reverend Hale will be manipulated, deceived, praised, and exalted of his actions. But the will of this man will be changed during his whole experience in Salem.
When Hale arrives in Salem, he presents himself as pedantic, confident, and slightly arrogant. Hale shows his superiority over the normal townspeople by saying: “They must be; they are weighted with authority.”, when referring to his books. (34). Hale’s interaction with Proctor shows that Hale is extremely eager to ferret out the demons that have been terrorizing Salem through his superior methods. As the witch trials become more intense, Hale begins to show doubt surrounding the fervor and reasons of the trials and questions if the accusers are innocent. Hale shows his fear of the trials when he states, “We cannot blink it more. There is a prodigious fear of this court in the country-.”(90). When Hale disagrees with Danforth it divulges that Hale is having a serious internal conflict surrounding his guilt of cleansing the town. As the show finishes, Hale develops into an entirely new man who recognizes the wrong he has committed. “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” states Hale as he shows a full figure transformation (111). Hale eventually completes his transformation when he rejects the court and dedicates a large portion of his time to trying to save those in jail. Ultimately, Hale undergoes a positive change when he recognizes that the Salem witch trails went too far and tries to undo the bedlam he
In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale is characterized as a man of strong certainty and an unwavering dedication to every one of his beliefs. At first, Miller establishes Hale as a respected authority figure with a deep purpose: to root out the evil of Salem. When Hale first appears, we hear that his goal is “light goodness and its preservation” (18). Miller shows that Hale sees himself as a beacon of righteousness, committed to preserving innocence and morality throughout the town of Salem. Another way Miller makes choices to characterize Hale is his use of precise and formal language to show Hale’s unwavering dedication to his mission of ridding Salem of evil.
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
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 The Crucible, there are many complex characters who shift throughout the play. Reverend Hale was one of the most complex of these characters. Hale’s changes were a direct result of the trials. Because of this Hale’s changes can be traced through his actions and motivations. Throughout the play, Reverend Hale was changed by his faith, his knowledge of the truth, and by his guilt.
In Arthur Miller’s play: The Crucible, Reverend John Hale was the most moral character. Before coming to Salem, Hale investigated witchcraft in his own town, he concluded that the accused woman was just “a mere pest” (Miller 33). This shows that he was a sensible man, and this caused the citizens of Salem to trust him to fix the conflict in town. Also, Hale’s kindness and his dedication to religion are more reasons why the citizens of Salem respected and trusted him. Miller writes about Hale when he conveys "His goal is light, goodness, and its preservation" (Miller 36). This tells us of his true intentions when entering the town of Salem. Hale dedicates himself to his work and his religion, and has the genuine aspiration to help the afflicted. Hale has read all the books about witchcraft, and his main ambition is to use his knowledge to annihilate the Devil in Salem. Hale was the most moral character because he had good intentions for Salem, wanted to deliver justice, and was fair and respectful to the citizens of Salem.