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The Crucible Reverend John Hale Character Analysis

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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 …show more content…

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

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When Hale entered the story he believed that he was going to be the savior of the town ridding them of witches. When Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor were arrested Reverend Hale was deeply shaken with his beliefs. Hale near the end of the story he tells Elizabeth that you should not have religion when it brings you harm but you should keep faith in God. Reverend Hale near ending of The Crucible is the complete opposite of the Reverend Hale that first entered the story, because he came in believing he was the authority on how to find witches, then he was shaken by arrest of Rebecca and John, and finally by him telling others to throw away religion when it brings harm to

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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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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.

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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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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

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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.”

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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.

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Throughout the play The Crucible, there are several transformations among characters. One strong transformation is that of Reverend Hale. Hale epitomizes a very dynamic character. Throughout all of the drama in Salem, Hale changes drastically from a man with intentions to free the world from the clutches of satan to a person who realizes the Salem witch trials were all based on lies and tomfoolery.

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He begins to try to convince Proctor and others to sign documents saying they are witches so that they can go free. Hale has returned to Salem because he feels guilty for signing the death warrants of many innocent people as he says, "There is blood on my head!"(Miller 131). He pleads with the judges again to give him more time or to pardon them as there are orphans walking around Salem, and the judges seem to know they are wrong also. Reverend Hale's last attempt to save Proctor is to try to have Elizabeth convince Proctor to confess. Proctor strongly considers it but tears the confession paper up as he does not want to ruin his family name.

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In act 1 and 2 in the play ,The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Hale was introduced and learned what his role was. Reverend Hale was a man nearing his forties and was a high-status intellectual who was an expert in witchcraft (Miller 155). In this act Hale said that he believes there always will be someone with the devil(Miller 155). Hale was siding with the court in this act and signing death warrants along with believing in these accusations fully as shown in his visit to the Proctors when he said there is too much evidence to deny the Devil is in Salem (Miller 171). Also, Hale almost played as an interrogator when he was giving rapid fire questions to John about his Christian character and if he goes to church in his visit to the Proctor house (Miller 171).

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As the play progress and people confess he starts to notice that what people are saying and accusing people of is not true but just getting to people they do not like. Lastly, At the end of act 3, Hale quits the court. Hale quit the court because he knew that a lot of innocent people were getting killed for not confessing to a crime they did not

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