The Crucible Reverend John Hale Character Analysis

In The Crucible there are many noble characters like Giles Corey and John Proctor, but there is one character that stands out from the rest. That man is Reverend John Hale. Hale is one of the most noble and most dynamic characters in the play. Hale goes from being a reverend just doing his job(ego) to a man that helps and defends those accused for the greater good(superego). In the beginning, Hale was just your average reverend who was called down to salem by Reverend Parris to see what ails his niece and to make sure she was not under the spell of a witch. Hale suspects that Betty may be afflicted given the information he is given. While talking Giles talks to Hale about his wife and how he was not able to pray while she had her books open

At the start of act 4 Hale asks Judge Danforth for more time with the prisoners to get them to “confess”, but to no avail. He then tells Judge Danforth that if he postpones the hangings he could get more confessions and lower the chances of riots. Hale says he feels horrible that he doomed so many people and now has to make them lie to save their lives. He tells Elizabeth to try to save Proctor’s life by convincing him to sign a “confession”, for if Proctor dies he would feel personally responsible. Hale then tells Elizabeth “cleave to no faith when faith brings blood” and “life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.¨(Miller, pg 1350).
As the play ends he begs Elizabeth to make Proctor change his mind about not “confessing” in hopes to have him live. Reverend John Hale is one of the Noblest characters in The Crucible. In the beginning Hale is just a man who is doing his job, his job being to find out what is causing all the trouble with the children of the village. He showed no signs of greed but no signs of guilt either meaning he was ego. By the end Hale became a man over encumbered with guilt from dooming so many to be hanged and tries to save anyone that he can. His actions at the end proved he changed from ego to