ipl-logo

Reverend Hale's Dilemmas In The Crucible

754 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Salem witch trials mini q essay

The witch scare of 1692, caused by a group of young girls, created insanity in the town of Salem leaving two hundred people arrested and twenty dead on the charge of witchcraft. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, many peoples beliefs on witchcraft change and develop over the course of this time due to the persecution of hundreds of people in Salem. Reverend Hale is among these people, originally coming to help the people of Salem as a master in the study of witchcraft but overtime changes his thoughts on the matter. Reverend Hale 's views on witchcraft are altered over the course of the play.
Reverend Hale 's beliefs in witchcraft are strong in the opening of the play. In the beginning of the play Hale travels to Salem to help identify the …show more content…

As Hale gets to know the people of Salem who are now accused he begins to question the trials and the presence of witchcraft itself. After Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, all highly respected women of the village, are condemned Hale finally comes to his senses about the girls when he says: “I may shut my conscience to it no more-private vengeance is working through this testimony”(1208). Hale comes to the realization that the girls are using the cry of witchcraft to punish whoever they please in the town. He can no longer believe these honest Christian people are conjuring with the devil just based on the accusation of young girls and no real proof. Hale then goes against his practice to convince the accused to confess to save to their lives: Hale goes to Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey and begs them to confess to witchcraft even though he knows they are not guilty of it. Hale knows if they confess they will serve jail time but at least they will not be hung (1222). Hale explains to them that if they lie and confess, God would not be as upset with them as he would if they gave up their lives for being honest. Hale’s doubt of witchcraft is present because he knows the women are not guilty but wants them to confess. He feels very guilty for being apart of the deaths of so many people and will do anything to save anyone he can. In a way, he has abandoned his practice in an attempt to try to save people 's

Show More
Related

Similarities Between The Crucible And Reverend Hale

885 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible takes place in Salem in 1692 where Reverend Hale is sent to help a local family and townspeople. He is supposedly someone who is going to summon spirits that occur to a girl in Salem. Reverend Hale is very faithful to himself and his job. His job being to identify the witchcraft that is happening and spiritually change the sinfulness into the state of being right. Reverend Hale had good intentions to help defeat the situation which motivated him.

Read More

How Does Reverend Hale Change In The Crucible

273 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More

Who Is Reverend Hale Responsible In The Crucible

806 Words | 4 Pages

In the year of 1692, 19 innocent people were forced to slowly walk towards a rope that in a matter of seconds would end their lives. These horrific events are something portrayed in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. In Salem, Massachusetts, a mass hysteria violently spread the fear of witchcraft amongst the Puritan village. Reverend Hale, a so called “expert” in demonic arts, was brought in by Salem's most spiritual figure Reverend Parris to demolish any sign of witchcraft from his home. Yet, Hale is overall culpable for the tragedies that struck Salem because of his false accusations and narrow point of view.

Read More

Reverend Hale A Dynamic Character In The Crucible

469 Words | 2 Pages

He said, "I dare not take a life without there be a proof no immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it" (Miller 188). He did not want anyone to hang for a crime they did not commit, and he did not want any guilty conscience of it afterward. He started to realize that people are accusing others for their own gain, and when no one would listen, Hale quit the court. In Act 4, Hale tries to save people's lives by convincing them to confess. He doubts his own Puritan faith and pursues the falsely accused on his own.

Read More

Similarities Between Hale And John Proctor

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

Read More

Danforth And Hale In The Crucible

533 Words | 3 Pages

Knowing all of this, Hale becomes desperate to have Elizabeth save her husband and even wishes for him to sin in order to continue living as a role model for the people of Salem. Hale recognizes the significance of each accused on a personal level and he cannot bear to see them suffer for a crime they did not

Read More

Analysis Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible

865 Words | 4 Pages

Hale no longer believes in the witch trials. Everything Reverend Hale came to Salem for now no longer means anything to him. By this point Reverend Hale, among others, has become fed up with the pretense and falseness of ‘The Salem Witch Trials’ and wants nothing more than for it to be over. (page 84, act four, Miller, Arthur The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts, Viking Press 1953) “ HALE, quickly to Danforth: Excellency, it is enough he confess himself. Let him sign it, let him sign it.”

Read More

Was Hale Justified In The Crucible

676 Words | 3 Pages

In the book Crucible written by Arthur Miller took place in 1692. Some may believe that Reverend Hale is not to blame for all the deaths of innocent people in Salem. The only reason Reverend Hale is involved in this case, is because he is pushing his limits to get the truth. Also, to not let any guilty doers off the chain, for the reason that they will keep repeating their dirty crimes. There has been many witch trials taken place in salem, of which many people have been accused and persecuted.

Read More

Character Analysis Of Reverend Hale The Crucible

970 Words | 4 Pages

Reverend Hale, from the play The Crucible, is a dynamic character who was involved in determining the guilt of convicted witches in the Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller is based on the true events that occurred in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1953. Reverend Hale enters Salem with the assumption that there is witchcraft in the colony due to many unexplained events. Hale's character change can be traced in events that occurred throughout the story. He seeks to convict and condemn the witches in the beginning of the play, but by the end, he realizes the corruption of Salem in the convectors, judges, and witnesses and seeks to change the fate of the accused.

Read More

The Role Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible

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

Read More

Reverend Hale From The Crucible Analysis

798 Words | 4 Pages

¨Hale, continuing to Elizabeth: Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.¨. Hale recognizes the way he had first acted when he was introduced in the play he had false confidence, was falsely assertive, a title of the best witch hunter in that region meant nothing and being a reverend, he had failed miserably to bring justice to the town of Salem. Along with being a failure he has realized that those that he had convicted were innocent and the girls that had played the system were the actual ones guilty and had escaped their well deserved punishment. The whole point of Hale being the tragic hero was that Hale would have been able to prevent all of these things onto the town but having a title does not mean you are qualified for the

Read More

Fear In The Crucible

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.

Read More

Examples Of Heroism In The Crucible

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!”

Read More

How Did Reverend Hale Change In The Crucible

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.

Read More

Inequality And Discrimination In America

279 Words | 2 Pages

In a world that everyone would be able to come together to come up with a conclusion to resolve the conflicts going on in this world. Unfortunately, a large amount of people are either to closed minded to understand the reality or give you a chance to talk and listen but continue having the same mentality. Since you did mentioned inequality and discrimination as one of the issues going on in our country. There has been plenty of groups forming, killing innocent lives, without really truly seeing the consequences from their actions. Racism has been around since the 1600 's in America, as we can all notice, it is still going on.

Read More

More about Reverend Hale's Dilemmas In The Crucible

Related Topics

Open Document