Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, illuminates a community’s mass hysteria due to the commencement of the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials, or simply put, the test. Stringent pious and ethical beliefs fueled the colony’s dramatic upset when a seventeen year old girl, Abigail, and her companions accuse a plethora of innocent people of performing witchcraft. Each character that is accused by the girls who are attempting to avoid hanging, as they originally committed the devilish act, are forced to endure the test of The Crucible. The word “crucible” does not appear anywhere within Miller’s dramatic play, yet this noun remains the underlying reason of each characters triumphant or defeated conclusion. A crucible is a metal container (Salem) in which

In Miller’s The Crucible, it is Reverend Hale, Rebecca Nurse, and Abigail Williams who truly prove that one’s willingness to embrace a severe test will determine whether or not one overcomes or is overcome.
Reverend Hale, a dynamic character, originally abides strict laws and enforces the death of innocent victims, yet eventually transforms into someone who acknowledges the absurdity of the trials, only to be defeated by the test of The Crucible. Hale enters the play and is described as an “eager-eyed intellectual,” (Miller 32) someone whose goal is “light goodness and its preservation” (36). He enters Salem as a witchcraft expert, someone who assists in the process of uncovering witches within the community, representing a vital portion of the court. Hale participates in the confirmiration of the execution of twelve innocent victims. However, as the trial progresses, so do Hale’s views, exemplifying the cliche “change of heart.” Hale acknowledges that Abigail and her friends are accusing people in a matter of self-interest and the court is solely convicting witches to validate their purpose and power. This leads Hale

From the beginning of the play, Miller clarifies Nurse’s purity, writing, “Gentleness exudes from her” (24) in the stage directions. When Nurse is accused of witchcraft, a sense of disbelief exudes the community, causing Hale to experience his first sense of doubt in the court. Additionally, Rebecca is one of, if not the main woman to possess authority prior to the witchcraft trials. The woman who was appealed to by Parris in an effort to clarify what is happening to Betty responds with “I think she’ll wake in time. Pray, calm yourselves” (27). Nurse is a woman of power, honesty, and piety, and her arrest causes an uproar within the community because people begin to realize that if a woman of status like her can be accused, everyone is at risk. Nevertheless, disbelief continues to permeate the community, as even Elizabeth scoffs at the notion of Nurse committing witchcraft, “...never believe… that Rebecca trafficked with the Devil” (64). Throughout her conviction, she is still considered the “mortar of the church.” Nurse’s accusation is a turning point in the play, signifying a detrimental impact caused by Abigail and her companions. Her condemnation highlights the negativity and downfall that is bound to immerse Salem. As Hale begins to acknowledge the lies that are being proclaimed, he