How Does Hale Change In The Crucible

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Reverend John Hale was among some of the most powerful people in his day and age. Because of his education from Harvard and his relationship with God, he was armed with all he would need to get people on his side. However, throughout The Crucible a dramatic change is seen in his character and it throws everything that he believes into question. Once a man who believed in the fact that Satan was taking control of his town of Salem, turned into a man who believed that there's no way that can happen and realized that everyone who had said that was lying. Although Hale has forged a strong relationship with God, he learned that sometimes it’s better to take a step back and to look at something for what it is and not to take everything as an intervention …show more content…

He chose to ignore the fact that emotional and personal involvement were some of the main sources of their problems in the village. When Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse are accused of witchcraft, Hale’s first response was: “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court- the Devil is alive in Salem” (Miller, 1304). To Hale there was no other logic that he could come up with, besides, these are practically the moments that he had trained and studied for his entire life. By doing so, Hale had shown that he puts more faith in the court system to judge the townspeople’s fate, rather than dealing with personal emotions and opinions by suppressing them. John does not yet see that the true evil resides in the accuser, rather than the …show more content…

The Proctors are known and loved by almost everyone one in the town, and they know that they are honest people and pure of heart. However, what they do not know is the fact that John had an affair with Abigail, the leader of the afflicted girls. Abigail then accuses Elizabeth of sending her spirit and stabbing her with a sewing needle. The court's proof was the fact that Elizabeth had a poppet with a sewing needle still inside of it. This is when John Hale begins to realize just how ludicrous these witch trials are and offers to help testify for Elizabeth to be set free by saying “Charity, Proctor, charity. What I have heard in her favor, I will not fear to testify in court for her”