“Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Speak your mind even if you are a minority of one. The truth is still the truth, ” said Mohandas Gandhi. The word, truth, can mean countless different things to countless different people. There are so many different aspects and ways to look at it, but to me, truth and honesty are two of life’s most important virtues. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, portrays truth in a variety of ways, and he does this through many of the main characters. The play centers around a farmer named John Proctor and his fight against the witch trials. Proctor had an affair with his servant, Abigail Williams, and as a result his quiet farm …show more content…
In the beginning of the play, Hale was one of the people investigating the accusations of witchcraft, and he was the one that suggested witchcraft might be involved. He believed Abigail’s lies, and he believed Betty’s “illness” to be true. However, he began to disapprove of what was happening in the court once he learned of everyone who was accused. During a trial, he angrily shouted before he walked out the door, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (Miller, 126). In a short time span, he went from supporting the court to strongly disagreeing with it. Even though this is not said directly in writing, I believe that his mindset changed because he knew that most if not all of these people were innocent. He knew the truth, it just took a little while for him to truly accept it. Also, before they hung Proctor, he desperately tried to save him and the others that refused to confess. The trials opened his mind to the possibility that he might be wrong. He had a change of heart, and he knew that what they were doing was wrong and that they were hanging innocent