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Reverend Hale Lies In The Crucible

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Every person has that one person that they believe is completely evil. Now imagine a town full of that person with a couple of good role models thrown in there. That is exactly how Salem, the town in The Crucible, is. The whole witch trials started with people getting revenge on the people they believe wronged them. For some reason, the public just goes along with it and believes their lies. Most characters just believe the lies all the way until the end but Reverend Hale does not. Reverend Hale believes the lies in the beginning, in the middle he starts to question what is really happening, and in the end, he believes the truth and tries to have people confess to being a witch. Reverend Hale first appears in The Crucible at the end of the …show more content…

He has begun to question what is really going on in Salem. At the end of act one, there were 12 people accused. Reverend Hale visits the Proctors to try and find out the truth of this whole thing. He is starting to question what is really going on. He does not know what to believe but he knows something is going on. John gives Hale information that helps urge him to question the court and the truth. What finally puts Hale over the edge to believing is that he finds out Rebecca Nurse has been accused of witchcraft and killing eight babies. “I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court. And so this afternoon, and now tonight, I go from house to house - I come now from Rebecca Nurse’s house and -” (Miller, 198). He has been going house to house to let people know that they have been accused. Right before coming to the Proctor’s house he went to the Nurse’s house to tell them that Rebecca has been accused of being a witch. Rebecca Nurse is a godly woman and everyone knows that she is not a witch. Now that Hale knows the truth, even though he is still struggling to believe it, he urges John to testify in court. Reverend Hale has found out the truth but he is still struggling to accept

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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.

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Reverend Hale is the character that changes the most in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible because his feelings on witchcraft turns from full belief to unbelievable doubt, his thoughts on Proctor changes from thinking that he is evil to thinking that he is a good and honest man, and he switches from doing God’s work to doing the Devil’s. Reverend Hale makes a huge change on his claim of witchcraft. In the beginning of the play when Reverend is called to the town of Salem to see if the reason why Betty and Ruth are unconscious is due to witchcraft he brings with him many books. When Reverend Parris sees this he makes a comment that Hale responds to him explaining his expectations. This shows that Reverend Hale is focused on one thing, finding

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In the play, Hale said, "No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it" (Miller 171). Evidently, Hale thought that it was near impossible to ignore all the signs of evil. In act 2, his view remained the same, and when John Proctor proposed the idea of the accusations being false, Hale stood his ground and dismissed the idea completely. Hale said, "Only this consider: the world goes mad, and it profit nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl" (Miller 178).

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

(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

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405 Words | 2 Pages

Towards the end, Hale changes from a person who carries his heavy written laws to a person who hates the court. During Act III, after Danforth arrested Proctor, Hale is so angry with the court that he yells, "I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (Act 3, 120). The quote might seem really simple, but it is significant because Hale finally figures out that the court system is a failure to the society, and also figures out what he should be go after. As a result in Act 4 when Hale tries to convince Elizabeth to tell Proctor to confess, Hale says, “‘Beware, Goody Proctor –cleave to no faith when faith brings blood.

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865 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout The Crucible, during the Salem Witch Trials, Reverend Hale slowly changes from a ‘confident man with a plan’, to a haggard preacher who seems to be losing himself amongst the chaos of these colonial trials based off of lies. After a life-altering experience, Hale is never again the same person he started out as. In the beginning of

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676 Words | 3 Pages

At the same time he is doing his duty of making her confess. Nevertheless, Reverend Hale knows that John and Elizabeth are innocent, and that Abigail Williams and the girls are guilty of witchcraft.” You are goodwife Proctor”(2. 266-267). He could have done something more than just trying to convince Judge Danforth that they are innocent.

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“Moral Authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, and treating people with respect”-Stephen Covey. With power comes great responsibility, just as authority does. However, sometimes people abuse their power in certain situations. It is also common to see people with power step on the people below them.

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1097 Words | 5 Pages

When Reverend Hale was first introduced into the play, it was that Reverend Parris had asked Hale to come down and assist in the pursuit of the evil that was devouring their small town whole. Hale was cautious at first in accepting situations that people believe have witchery involved. Considering he is recognized for his authority on witchcraft and the devil, Hale initially comes off as arrogant and authoritative. Although Hale never accused anyone of witchcraft, he just asked questions about it, he is more than ready to investigate and rid Salem of any demonic influences. In Act I, Hale arrives with his heavy books of authority.

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970 Words | 4 Pages

Hale, defeated, weeps in prayer as Proctor is sent to hung. Reverend Hale's downfall in the novel was his quick assumption that there was witchcraft in Salem. Everyone's fear of the unknown and the chance of witches being present in Salem caused many deaths due to jumping to conclusions. Although he had the best intentions to bring justice to Salem, he made an improper call. He realizes his error and tries with all he has to make it right, but fails.

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1095 Words | 5 Pages

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

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560 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning acts, Hale was trusting the court more than John and was a big part of handling warrants of the accused individuals along with having much confidence in himself, his knowledge of witchcraft, and knowledge of witches in Salem. In Act 2 and 3 in the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was changing a lot. Throughout the first act of this play Reverend Hale had much of his trust in the court and fully believed the devil is in Salem but as the trial begins and goes on things start to change when Hale starts to question the court shown when he pleads

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819 Words | 4 Pages

Hale went to the houses of those accused because he was starting to worry that they were actually innocent. He acknowledges, “No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it” (II.469-473.). Hale tells John and Elizabeth how the accusations are attacking the village, and how there is more evidence making it more difficult to not believe Abigail’s lie. Hale is worried that innocent people are being accused, but he also feels obligated to agree with the court.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

The witches are on the hunt for the innocent souls of Salem with Hale stating, “The Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points” (Miller 1251). Hale is determined to use God’s mighty hand against the “evil witches”. This shows that Hale is faithful to Abigail’s accusations against the common people of Salem. At first, Reverend Hale is eager to prosecute, but as more innocent people are condemned, his compliance turns into distaste. His dissatisfaction eventually turns into rage when Hale shouts, “I denounce these proceedings!”

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525 Words | 3 Pages

To begin, when hale arrives in salem his books show how much he knows about witchcraft. As the play progress he starts to notice that the events in salem are not witchcraft. He notices that it is just people accusing other people they do not like. Next, Hale goes into salem confident it is witchcraft. When hale arrives in salem, he believes the girls and what they are saying about witchcraft and the people they are accusing.

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