Zach Jones
Mrs. Sullivan
AP Language
23 January 2023
The Evolution of Reverend Hale Miller depicts a transition in Hale’s perspective to demonstrate the importance of applying reasoning. Throughout the play, Reverend Hale is one of the few characters that understands the true cause of the witch trials. His character is much more dynamic compared to others. At the beginning of the play he firmly believes that witches are attacking Salem, but by the end of the play, he takes part in trying to free the accused. The plot models a situation similar to a problem that existed during Miller’s lifetime. The play was written during the Red Scare, when people were being wrongly accused of spreading Communism throughout the United States. The Crucible
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When Reverend Hale evaluates Betty at Parris’s house, some of the girls reluctantly confess to doing a ritual in the woods. People instantly assume that the ritual is the cause of Betty's strange behavior, and Tituba is seen as the culprit. Tituba immediately confesses her sin, and Hale, who was leading the accusation against her, praised her for confessing: “You are selected, Tituba, you are chosen to help us cleanse our village,” (Miller 46). Hale firmly believes that Salem is under attack by witches, and that the town needs cleansing. A person from the era of the Red Scare would read this and believe that Reverend Hale is right to jump to the conclusion of reasoning. Hale’s behavior shows a lack of reasoning and endangers the lives of the accused “witches.” In the second act of the play, Hale still firmly believes that witches are behind the strange events happening in Salem. However, the situation continued to grow, and people started bringing more evidence to Hale’s attention.The new evidence makes Hale question the legitimacy of the accusations. When Hale is questioning the Proctors, more people appear at the house. Rebecca Nurse is one of the more elderly and …show more content…
Even though the play does not directly show it, this is the moment that Hale starts to question the legitimacy of the accusations. He realizes it is unlikely that Goody Nurse would take part in witchcraft. This moment of the play is important because it shows a shift in Hale’s character. When someone from the Red Scare would read this, the unfair accusation against Goody Nurse would make them question their stance on Communism. By the third act of the play, even more people have been arrested and charged with witchcraft. At this point in the play, Hale seems to be uncertain about whether or not witchcraft is being used in Salem. The scene at the court is the tipping point that finally makes Hale realize that the accusations are false. Marry Warren tells Judge Danforth that she made the poppet found at the Proctor’s house. She does this in an attempt to prove that Elizabeth is innocent, and that Abigail is a liar. Danforth begins to listen to their argument, but other characters begin to point out Mr. Proctor’s sins regarding his church attendance. The claims made against Proctor turn Danforth against him. Proctor then presents a
(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
In Act 1 of the play Reverend Hale was brought to Salem by Reverend Parris, the minister of Salem’s church, to see if there was any witchcraft in Salem because Parris’ daughter became suddenly ill. Throughout the play, John, Elizabeth, and Hale gained insight about themselves and others. The characters learned about self- love, forgiveness, self-respect, and pure intentions. To begin with, Elizabeth Proctor was seen as vindictive early in the play after attempting to destroy Abigail’s reputation. However, Elizabeth tries to let go of the anger and forgive her husband.
What transformation does Hale have as the play progresses? Do Salem-like witch hunts still happen in the world today? What are the major themes of the play?
Callie Kendrick Mr. Reid English III 15 February 2023 The Change Of Man In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, John Hale is a dynamic character; although he starts out as a confident, and a somewhat ignorant man, he later shows a strong change of bravery, and shows he’s truly a good man. Reverend Hale gets brought into the story in act one as a knowledgeable man to investigate the possibility of witchcraft in Salem. Although he begins his investigation thoroughly, he later becomes disgusted with the witch hunt and quits the courts that are jailing or hanging supposed witches or people who have committed the act of witchcraft.
Arthur Miller's character, Reverend Hale was a prime example of an internal severe test or trial executed. He is referenced shortly after the play begins. When people start to worry that there might be witchcraft going on in the community, Reverend Parris sends for him to examine his daughter, Betty (Miller 1279). Throughout the play Hale experiences his own struggles as he works to make up for the errors committed by the Salem court. He considered being a witch hunter a beloved task, and when he was asked to come to Salem to look into witchcraft, he felt a sense of pride because he was having his special expertise openly requested in public(Miller 1276).
When Hale entered the story he believed that he was going to be the savior of the town ridding them of witches. When Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor were arrested Reverend Hale was deeply shaken with his beliefs. Hale near the end of the story he tells Elizabeth that you should not have religion when it brings you harm but you should keep faith in God. Reverend Hale near ending of The Crucible is the complete opposite of the Reverend Hale that first entered the story, because he came in believing he was the authority on how to find witches, then he was shaken by arrest of Rebecca and John, and finally by him telling others to throw away religion when it brings harm to
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
In the middle of the play, Hale realizes that innocent people are getting killed because they apparently committed witchcraft. He feels responsible for sentencing
In the beginning of the play, Hale was one of the people investigating the accusations of witchcraft, and he was the one that suggested witchcraft might be involved. He believed Abigail’s lies, and he believed Betty’s “illness” to be true. However, he began to disapprove of what was happening in the court once he learned of everyone who was accused. During a trial, he angrily shouted before he walked out the door, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!”
In the play, Hale said, "No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it" (Miller 171). Evidently, Hale thought that it was near impossible to ignore all the signs of evil. In act 2, his view remained the same, and when John Proctor proposed the idea of the accusations being false, Hale stood his ground and dismissed the idea completely. Hale said, "Only this consider: the world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl" (Miller 178).
Zach Quigley 1/24/2016 Ms. Hempstead English 12 everyday, people's thoughts change. For example, politics, people's thoughts on politics can change. in the play, The Crucible, Reverend Hale's Thoughts over witchcraft in salem changed. To begin, reverend Hale in the beginning of the play, reverend hale was determined to get to the bottom of what's going on in Salem.
In the beginning, he believes the girls and the accusations they are making, but then he becomes doubtful. He first questions himself when he delivers the news to John Proctor about his wife being mentioned in court. He says, ““God forbid such a one be charged” (64) because Elizabeth was a very honest and uptight woman. He had also just been to Rebecca Nurse’s house to warn her she was accused of witchcraft, which was appalling to some people because of her caring, generous persona. Many innocent seeming people were being accused, and Hale didn’t know whom to trust; he couldn’t trust that he was making the right decisions for these people in
In the beginning acts, Hale was trusting the court more than John and was a big part of handling warrants of the accused individuals along with having much confidence in himself, his knowledge of witchcraft, and knowledge of witches in Salem. In Act 2 and 3 in the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was changing a lot. Throughout the first act of this play Reverend Hale had much of his trust in the court and fully believed the devil is in Salem but as the trial begins and goes on things start to change when Hale starts to question the court shown when he pleads
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!”
In the meantime, Reverend Hale is going through changes in his character as well. Hale is a dynamic character that at first believes in witches and the fact that he will be the one to save Salem, but that soon changes. “Excellency, if you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are stirring for their confessions that speak mercy on your part, not faltering,”(120) said Hale wanting to stop the hangings. Rev. Hale changes his idea and feels guilt for the innocent deaths because he realizes that the whole trials are based on lies and are fake.