The Transformation Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In the blink of an eye, an entire society can be gripped by fear and hysteria. In the play, The Crucible, the author, Arthur Miller depicts the town of Salem, Massachusetts in which the public is riveted by a whirlwind of witchcraft controversies. During this time, even the smallest actions or remarks are blown out of proportion. Being renowned for his extensive knowledge in dealing with witchcraft, Reverend John Hale from nearby Beverly is called in to “cure” those possessed by the Devil. Hale’s transformation demonstrates the shift from hysteria and narrow-mindedness to rationality and open-mindedness, which emphasizes the development of Miller’s message, which states that nothing in the world is as black and white as it seems. In the beginning, Reverend Hale’s extreme confidence in himself masks the irony of his judgments. The town is in a state of pandemonium

However, there is irony within his logic because in reality, the Devil is not as black and white as he believes it is. Signs of evil are not necessarily extremely obvious or completely nonexistent. There is a possibility that they can be muddled, yet existent at the same time. Unfortunately, Hale’s obscure intuition hides the underlying fallacies found within his words. He has a closed mindset and his confidence pushes him to be ignorant towards reality. Similar to Miller’s message, society is perpetually swept up in an all-good versus all-evil mindset. Fear, like the fear of witches in The Crucible, causes a person to lose sight of reality and condemn anything that shows any hints of evil. However, such a bare-minimum type of evidence alone is not enough to determine right from wrong. These faulty actions are a dangerous injustice to the innocent citizens of a society, and Hale perfectly portrays the detrimental mentality that can lead to irreversible