It is proven that John Hale does not believe that witches are real and John Proctor is telling the truth that Abigail and the rest of the girls were lying about the people being witches. Abigail told John Proctor that they were pretending because Abigail did not want her name blackened in Salem. Proctor told Hale what Abigail has told him and now Hale is wondering if he is telling the truth. He then finds out that Proctor is telling the truth and Hale realizes that he has killed innocent people. And so it has been demonstrated how John Hale’s character goes from being a witch hunter and later on how he realizes that witches are not real.
Hale went to the Proctor’s house to interrogate them without the court knowing. He wanted to know about their belief in witches and to question their religious ways. This showed him beginning to change due to his confidence wearing away. We now see Hale doubting the strength of his own conclusions. Once John Proctor got arrested,
This stage first develops when he travels around Salem, personally investigating the people mentioned in the court. The conversation between the Proctors and Reverend Hale shows that he has suspected the girls of lying due to their fear of being hanged. Furthermore, when Giles Corey and Francis Nurse come to the Proctors’ household claiming that their wives have been taken to jail for witchcraft, it becomes evident that Reverend Hale is becoming increasingly doubtful. “Hale, in great pain: Man, remember until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven” (Miller 68). Although he is defending the court’s decisions, the words in italics point out his increasing misgivings and reservations.
When Reverend Hale first enters the story he is depicted as someone with great knowledge and authority. Proctor tells Hale on page 185, “I’ve heard you were a sensible man, Mister Hale - I hope you’ll leave some of it in Salem.” Hale is well known to people around Salem and he is known for possessing great knowledge. The people will listen to what Hale has to say, but know that his presence means that there is suspicion of witchcraft.
Hale is persuaded by Proctor that the witchcraft scenario in Salem is just a hoax. John Proctor even brings his evidence to the court, he is now extremely determined to stop the witchcraft allegations since his wife was accused. He forces Marry Warren, his servant, to the court, who “declares her friends are lying” (44). Reverend Hale also gets involved by trying to convince Samuel Danforth, head of the court, to hear Proctor’s case. He tries to by saving Proctor’s reputation; by expressing his belief that the court cannot “judge the man on such evidence” (41) of committing small actions that goes against his religion.
When trying to save John Proctor, Hale tells Elizabeth, "You know, do you not, that I come of my own Goody Proctor" (Miller 206). Hale did not associate with the courts, he wanted to do what he viewed as
Reverend Hale tells Elizabeth “Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up”(Miller 138). This is when Reverend Hale realizes that he has made an awful mistake by accusing innocent people of being witches. So in the end Hale tells Elizabeth to tell john to just admit he is a witch so he won’t be sentenced to death. Hale tells Elizabeth this to finally do something right and good for once after causing already so much damage in the town of Salem.
(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 the beginning of the act Reverend Hale is defending John Proctor. He knows that John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor are innocent. Reverend Hale says,“Is every defense an attack upon the court?“(2-356.357).
If the accused confess to practicing witchcraft, they will be freed; if they do not confess, they will be hanged. As the trials continue, the list of accused people lengthens. The more people accused of witchcraft, the more John Hale sees that things are getting out of hand. When John Proctor is accused of lying about his affair, John Hale comes to his defense, stating his belief in Proctor and his distrust toward Abigail. This shows that Hale is not only focused on punishing those accused of witchcraft and defeating evil in Salem at any cost.
By the end of the play, Hale was feeling guilty for what he took part in. He claims that your life is the most important gift you will ever have and he was the reason why so many innocent people lost that “gift”. He tries to help save the people who were still alive from being hung by attempting to get John Proctor to confess so everyone else would follow in his footsteps. His plan ends up failing when John Proctor doesn’t confess because he doesn’t want his name to be ruined since he only has one and they all end up getting hung anyway. This change in Hale communicates to the reader that people make mistakes and no matter how much you regret it or learn from it, you can’t go back and fix the mistake and the damage it caused will always be there.
He begins to try to convince Proctor and others to sign documents saying they are witches so that they can go free. Hale has returned to Salem because he feels guilty for signing the death warrants of many innocent people as he says, "There is blood on my head!"(Miller 131). He pleads with the judges again to give him more time or to pardon them as there are orphans walking around Salem, and the judges seem to know they are wrong also. Reverend Hale's last attempt to save Proctor is to try to have Elizabeth convince Proctor to confess. Proctor strongly considers it but tears the confession paper up as he does not want to ruin his family name.
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
As Hale gets to know the people of Salem who are now accused he begins to question the trials and the presence of witchcraft itself. After Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, all highly respected women of the village, are condemned Hale finally comes to his senses about the girls when he says: “I may shut my conscience to it no more-private vengeance is working through this testimony”(1208). Hale comes to the realization that the girls are using the cry of witchcraft to punish whoever they please in the town. He can no longer believe these honest Christian people are conjuring with the devil just based on the accusation of young girls and no real proof. Hale then goes against his practice to convince the accused to confess to save to their lives: Hale goes to Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey and begs them to confess to witchcraft even though he knows they are not guilty of it.
The Boer War The Boer Wars were fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. Conflict arose in 1806 when Britain invaded and took possession of the Dutch Cape colony, the Boers, descendants of the original Dutch settlers of southern Africa, resented the Anglicization of South Africa and Britain’s anti-slavery policies. In October 1899, war began and by 1900, British forces had captured most of the major Boer cities, the Boers retaliated with a series of attacks and pushed back the enemy. By 1901, the British began to systematically destroy the small units deployed by the Boers and in 1902 British had crushed the Boer resistance. On May
