The Transformation Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Thesis Statement: When Reverend Hale first arrives in Salem, he makes accusations towards the wrong people. He later realizes the truth and unsuccessfully tries to make things right.

The towns’ people accused now are too well known and well respected to be witches. He begins lose faith in the court as the court proceeds to accuse more people. Most of the accusations made absurd. Reverend Hale himself cannot believe that such well respected towns’ people could be

In The Crucible, there are many complex characters who shift throughout the play. Reverend Hale was one of the most complex of these characters. Hale’s changes were a direct result of the trials. Because of this Hale’s changes can be traced through his actions and motivations. Throughout the play, Reverend Hale was changed by his faith, his knowledge of the truth, and by his guilt.

Reverend Hale has extreme devotion to faith. Found on pages 60-71 he was questioning the Proctors why they weren't attending church. Also, when he helps Tituba away from the “devil” once she confesses to witchcraft. This is found on page 848.

People are known to change, whether it is liked or not, there is no way of stopping change, and people know this; what most people don’t know, is how similar character change is to human change. In the wonderfully written play 'The Crucible', by Arthur Miller, many of his characters change in big ways as the story progresses, and three of these characters that changed the most are; John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor. These characters change a great deal throughout this play.

      Reverend Hale is another character that changes during the course of "The Crucible." Upon his entrance in the midst of Act I, he is depicted as a strong, knowledgeable intellect. His intelligence seems to leave no room for compassion. This is evident by his interrogations which took place during Act III, the Trial, as well as the biographical information provided in Act I of "The Crucible." However, his emotions do come out in Act IV. He appears sympathetic and kindhearted while begging the women in prison to confess to save their lives.

Reverend Hale believes in his second thoughts of the devil not being such a thing, and sees that Abigail has been setting this all up and framing John Proctor to have his love. Pointing at Abigail, Hale says, “I believe him!...This girl has always struck me false!...”(Act III, 50) After Abigail over-exaggerates and makes the girls believe the devil is in their presence, and the people of the court believe them, Reverend Hale walks out in frustration. People of the court and town don’t know what else to believe because they always thought the girls were saying the truth about what they saw. Hale begins to see that a lot of people in the town of Salem, are corrupted in result of the witchcraft trials.

One of authority figure in The Crucible, was Reverend Hale. Hale went to Salem in response in need of a “spiritual doctor” to evaluate the town. The reason he was summoned was to diagnose if there was witchcraft was present, then come up with a cure by removing the “infected people”, and the people of Salem will not be satisfied until he does. In result to all the commotion of unnatural events taking in place in Salem such as: Tituba’s ability to conjure spirits from beyond the grave, dancing in the woods, the death of the seven children who belonged to Thomas and Ann Putman, Betty’s illness, the strange book that were in possession of Martha Corey, and so on. Hale starts to become

Some events in history leave such a mark on the past, that they are mentioned and looked at many years later. The Salem witch trials inspired Arthur Miller to write a play called The Crucible, reflecting on this unpleasant time in history. In The Crucible, a witchcraft specialist changes his beliefs because of a long chain of events that occurred over a short period of time. A group of girls take the opportunity to use witchcraft as a way to get out of trouble, by accusing innocent people for making them behave the way they did. Reverend Hale is called into help, and visits the families of the accused to get to know these people better. The family members of the accused try to free their family with clear hard evidence in court, but it is ignored and the innocent people are still convicted. Hale then returns to Salem to try and get the convicted to just tell the lie of witchcraft, so that they will be let off. Instead of belying themselves, the convicted keep their pride and choose to be hung, rather than lie to “dogs”. The accused, as well as their families, were not the only people changed by this string of events. In The Crucible, Reverend Hale first arrives in Salem very confident in his ways of determining witchcraft on those accused, but as trials proceed throughout the play, Hale dramatically changes what he believes about this mass hysteria.

Reverend John Hale is someone who strongly represents a dynamic character in literary work. In the play, he completely changes his point of view about the potential for witchcraft in Salem from the beginning to the end, proving that his character undergoes a major change. When Hale is called into Salem to prove the presence of witchcraft in the girls there, he comes “loaded down with half a dozen heavy books” (34), confident in his knowledge

Moreover, Reverend Hale, who based his morals on the bible made a decision that went against his morals in order to save the community and change their morals. Hale was called into Salem because he was known to know plenty about the topic of witchcraft. However, Hale had a way of deeming a person as a witch. He did this by practicing theocracy. He demonstrated the importance of this principle when he says,

In the beginning of the play, Hale was determined to reveal and exploit witchcraft in Salem and put an end to it. Coming into Salem, Hale is a prideful man, who experiences immense fervor towards his occupation, “he feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe-kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiasts of all churches” (36). Hale’s complacent view of his own character exemplifies his desire to discover whether or not the devil is burdening puritan girls. However, his eagerness to solve the enigma that is the Salem Witch Trials does not cloud his judgment. Contrary to the actions of the other characters in The

In the play,The Crucible Reverend Hale begins sticking up for John Proctor and his wife all the time,but because of what John Proctor admitted he did to Abigail John Proctor’s wife becomes even more in trouble because she lied and said John Proctor and Abigail didn’t do anything.Talk about a character arc.According to a website named shmoop it says “talk about a character arc Hale starts out with a Van Helsing-esque vendetta (against witches, not vampires) and ends up a broken, cynical man” and ends up not having as much respect as he used to have by the end of the play.In the book,Reverend Hale was introduced because there was word of witchcraft and Mr.Parris wanted to know if there was really witchcraft against his own daughter Betty Parris.There was one incident where the Judge brung Elizabeth Proctor out to confirm that she had witnessed her husband John Proctor

The concept of change has affected humanity in both the real world and in various forms of entertainment. Change could be anything: from a change in physical characteristics to a change in moral obligation. Either way, a change in a character’s perspective or characteristics is brought upon by the author to share their views on a specific topic. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, one character who changes throughout the story is Reverend Hale. Hale was a minister of the Beverly who initially was summoned to Salem to analyze Betty Parris’ condition and to see if witchcraft caused it. However, after the many sudden claims of witchcraft in the town, he stays to investigate the many allegations with the court in Salem. However, his quest to deliver justice in Salem leads to his inevitable downfall later in the story. The character of Reverend Hale is used to show Arthur Miller's views on hysteria being caused by false convictions; as it was in the Red Scare during the 1950's with McCarthyism.

Reverend Hale enters Salem in Act I convinced of his role in the theocracy and the commoners’ lives. In the exposition, his goal of “light, goodness, and its preservation” (36) indicates his ministerial viewpoint. Church leaders in a Puritan society, such as Salem, were considered the guiding light, providing interpretation of God’s will and order. When the Devil potentially roams the streets of Salem, Reverend Hale must restore peace. His journey to Salem hinges on the idea that he is obligated to, as God’s chosen voice, but Hale also seems eager to find the truth. He comes with many books, full of confidence in his ability and authority. Though his entrance may seem egocentric, readers can easily see that Hale’s character is