Who Is Reverend Hale's Arrest For Clouded Conscience

The Crucible's Catalyst for Clouded Conscience Between early 1692 and mid-1693, 19 people were executed as a result of the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is a partially fictionalized story of the event. Among the characters in the play, an important person is Reverend Hale, a minister from Beverly, Massachusetts. Hale symbolizes truth and the ability to change as his mentality shifts from supporting the witch trials to opposing them. Hale's evolving morals underscores Miller's view on the unwillingness of society to change during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Reverend Parris’s daughter has become ill, and some suspect that it is because of witchcraft. As a result, Hale is called into Salem to inspect the matter, and Miller provides details about how Hale takes pride in his profession, in which he states, “This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at

“His goal is light, goodness and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed whose intelligence. is finally called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself” (1.312). Compared to the end of the play, Hale’s goal is a form of irony. The terminology in which Hale has learned has been acquired painfully, or with great work. Despite taking action for goodness and preservation, he contributed to the accusations and punishments of innocent people. However, his goal is somewhat fulfilled, as he acknowledges his mistake and tries to fix it later in the play, but with little success. Eventually, Hale’s mentality changes as he begins to oppose the witch trials and feels guilty about what he has done. In Act III, Mary Warren is being pressured by a group of girls, who are accusing her of