The Moral Transition of Reverend John Hale
Generally speaking, if given the opportunity to express their greed, people take out their greed on other people. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale is an expert on witchcraft and is summoned to Salem to determine whether the Devil is present. In Salem, greed allows the personal agendas of some people to conflict with the good intentions of many of the other citizens. Reverend Hale is called to reveal the truth and help calm the fears of Salem. His education and desire to help the afflicted motivate him. The character of Reverend Hale in The Crucible, transforms from a self-confident witch hunter with good intentions into a disillusioned, broken man who has lost faith in the law and religion.
Hale is summoned to Salem to evaluate the community and investigate the possibility of local residents practicing witchcraft. He informs the townspeople, “No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is
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Hale underwent a metamorphosis from accuser, to sympathizer, to defender. As hidden agendas and subsequent behavior play out, the consequences of dark desires condemn people before they go to trial. The Crucible highlights the tendency in America to witch-hunt. During the McCarthy era, witch-hunts for communists were prevalent. If people allow themselves to be carried along with the crowd and caught up in the moment, they act in an irrational manner. The witch hunts of Salem and the McCarthy era serve no purpose, instead cause paranoia and fear. As a society, we are encouraged to stay vigilant, avoid witch-hunt mentality, and use caution when considering the condemnation of races of people such as those of Arab descent, lifestyles of people such as gays and lesbians, and profiling of people such as police officers targeting African