Religion is a fundamental part of life. This especially holds true to John Hale from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. When Hale first arrived to Salem he has the intention to cleanse the village of all evils and to bring it back to its former peace. When the courts of Massachusetts comes to serve the King’s justice, they would do so only by accepting evidence that the people favored. This caused Hale to question the credibility of the court. The final straw came when John Proctor, a wealthy land owner, was convicted for witchcraft. John Hale is an interesting character because he evolves throughout the play from a gullible Reverend, to a skeptic of the Puritan justice system, and finally altogether quitting the court.
John Hale first came to Salem as a young, naive Reverend who was determined to cure Salem of all its ailments. Rev. Hale hanged a woman for witchcraft in another village before coming to Salem. Because of this, he thought he
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When Mary Warren breaks under the pressure of the courts and accuses Proctor of being a witch Hale, is pushed to his final straw. Hale yells at the top of his lungs, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (199). This shows that Hale has had enough of the court’s shortcomings and decides ultimately to leave. Several months after leaving Salem, Hale returns because he wishes to save the people he damned. When asked about Hale’s reappearance in Salem, Parris recalls, “ Hear me. Rebecca have not given me a word this three month since she came. Now she sits with him, and her sister and Martha Corey and two or three others, and he pleads with them, confess their crimes and save their lives” (125). This shows that Hale is trying to save the people he condemned because he is going to them and trying to convince them to confess to their charges so they won’t be hanged. Hale quits the courts and helped the people he