Compare And Contrast Proctor And Hale In The Crucible

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Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible” is about how the characters in Salem deal with the witch trials .The word “Crucible” can mean a severe test or trial that a person must go through literally, mentally, or spiritually. Arthur Miller most likely chose to name this play “The Crucible” due to multiple characters that going through their own trial and having the reader find out if the character passes or not. Three different characters, Reverend Hale, Giles Corey, and John Procter, go through their own difficult task in order to test their faith and morals. Reverend Hale is a man who is an expert on witches, though he means well for the people of Salem, he is suspicious of the people who are accused of being witches. In act three he starts to see that the girls in Salem are lying and starts …show more content…

He gets angry at the court saying that there is enough evidence proving that the accused are innocent. “…From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to Heaven, I believe him now, and I pray you call back his wife before we-,” says Reverend Hale (223). The phase “this man has struck me true”, Hale shows that even if he should have opposed Procter from the beginning, he believed that there may be some truth to what Procter is saying. Hale comes to Salem to investigate on witches and is willing to track them down as long as he has enough evidence of the accused’s witchcraft. This shows that Hale does not want to hurt the accused and will believe them as long they have proven themselves not to be a witch. Hale questioning himself on the faith he has for people shows why this play is called the Crucible. Giles Corey is a courageous man who would rather suffer than pass down the blame to someone else. Giles is seen arguing with Danforth about forcing Giles to tell him the name of the people who say that his wife is innocent. “I will not give you no name I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute,” says Giles