Reverend Hale Dynamic Character

A Dynamic character is a character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude. In the play The Crucible the character Reverend Hale changes from a dedicated Puritan, who supports the court and their decisions, to someone who supports the people, and had total belief in the innocence of all those mconvicted and hung in Salem. At the beiging of the play reverend john hale was strict with accusations made from the court. When he entered salem he was faced with the accusation of tituba conjuring. Instead of being logical and understanding hale trusts the courts word and says to tituba “You have sent your spirit out upon this child, have you not? Are you gathering souls for the Devil?”(act

Hale shows up at the Proctor's house of his own accord. Without the court's knowledge, Hale tries to get an idea of who the Proctors are for himself This independent action shows the beginnings of his doubt towards the validity of the courts conclusions. After Hale talks to the proctors, Reverend Hale develops his own opinion about them (that they are good people) he starts to worry for their safety and tells john and elizabeth proctor “God keep you both; let the third child be quickly baptized, and go you without fail each Sunday in to Sabbath prayer; and keep a solemn, quiet way among you.” (II.277-292) Reverend Hale urging Elizabeth and John Proctor to adhere to the external rituals of religion for their own safety shows that he hopes to prevent an inevitable outcome: an accusation of witchcraft because he starts to trust in the good of the people. The failure of his attempts to turn the tide renders the once-confident Hale a broken man. As his belief in witchcraft falters, so does his faith in the law. Reverend Hale's turning point of changing is in the courtroom where he fights with Judge Danforth about the trials and says “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it.”(III.239-243) Reverend Hale