Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

During The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, suspicious girls go dance in the woods and stir up talk of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. This leads to false accusations of witchcraft and innocent people getting sentenced to death, under Governor Danforth and Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale is the most dynamic character. He is motivated to do good and to get people to confess to their sinful ways and to come back to God, but gets caught up in false accusations and lies, and his guilt forces him to try to undo his actions; unfortunately, it is too late and many innocent people die. Reverend Hale is an expert in witchcraft from the neighboring town of Beverly, he comes to Salem in hopes to rid the town of witches. He is in

He states, “Aye. But the Devil is a wily one, you cannot deny it. However, she is far from accused, and i know she will not be. I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if you’ll permit me” (1300). He asks them these questions to outlaw if they are a witch or not, Puritans are supposed to be godly people, so if they show any signs of ungodliness they are arrested. Reverend Hale makes choices which he bases on false accusations, he signs the death sentences of Elizabeth Proctor, Martha Corey, and Rebecca Nurse. He states, “... I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse. Your Honor. I’ll not conceal it, my hand shakes yes as with a wound!” (1325). Then Mr. Proctor comes to the court with signatures of people declaring their good opinion of Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Martha Corey. However Reverend Hale had already signed the death sentences of them. After this he quits the court, and returns to try to save the people's lives, because he is motivated to do good. He says, “Man you will hang! You cannot” (1357). Explaining how he tries to get the people to lie so they can live, but unfortunately he is unable to save them, many people die due to his decisions and poor