Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, a small Puritan community in Salem, Massachusetts comes into question regarding their witchcraft accusations on young girls. A crucible, by definition, is “a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures,” or “a severe, searching test or trial” (Dictionary Reference). The title fits the story so well because in the midst of the witchcraft problem, a man named Reverend John Hale comes originally save Salem but ultimately makes the situation worse. Throughout the play Reverend Hale goes from a potential rescuer of Salem, to an inquisitive minister, to a conscientious man of God. In Act 1 of The Crucible, Reverend John Hale has been called into Salem to investigate

When Hale is told by Parris, Reverend of the town’s church, that the Proctors are not coming to worship on Sunday, then there must be some secret as to why. Hale’s first thought is that they are allegiance with the Devil and his witchcraft, so when he goes to their house he starts to question them about their faith. In the middle of the questioning Ezekiel Cheever comes in to take Elizabeth Proctor to jail for apparently performing witchcraft on Abigail Williams. When John Proctor tries to explain to Hale that Abigail is faking, Hale says, “Charity, Proctor, Charity. What I have heard in her favor, I will not fear to testify in court. God help me, I cannot judge her guilty or innocent- I know not. Only this consider: The world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl” (Miller 78-79). In these lines, Hale is trying to be “realistic” about the witchcraft trials and is taking it very seriously. He does not believe the girls are faking. In this scene since Hale is not listening to the Proctors about the girls faking he becomes the opponent of all the people in

He also realizes all of the mistakes he has made about signing innocent people’s death warrants. During the court trial Hale says to Danforth, “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there is proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (Miller 99). Reverend Hale is trying to say that with now realizing the behind the trials, he had made a mistake about accusing and hanging people that did not have anything to do with witchcraft. He is a man of the God, and he will not take an innocent