At the beginning of ‘The Crucible’ Hale also seems to be a proud, authoritative figure in touch with the latest religious theories. “He feels himself allied with the best minds of Europe”. Hales intelligence is portrayed through his books; “loaded down with half a dozen heavy books…weighted with authority”. This makes Hale seem very young, but with a nieve feeling of self-importance. These books appear to carry all of the answers to Salem’s problems. The reference to Hale being like a book, reminds me of the cliché; ‘like an open book’. I think this portrays Hale well as easy is easy to read and honest – not in any way deceitful.
Towards the middle of the play we begin to see signs in Hales appearance that show that the trials are clearly having a wearing effect on him. “He is different now – drawn a little, and there is a quality of guilt, about his manner now”. Also the language Hale uses changes. It becomes much more emotive making us feel sorry for him, and empathetic with Proctor and his wife. Miller has given Hale terms such as “crying out”, “my oath to heaven”, “and pray” and “I beg”. However I think this language gives the audience a sense of the change in Hales character. He is seeing life in much more human terms, instead of everything he does/and says being based on his books. He now feels that humans have more significance than his learning, as he is using his judgment. Up until this point he has only believed in the power of the court.
Hales view to Judge Danforth appears to dramatically change by the end of the play. At the start, Hale held such respect for Danforth, this reversal of feelings is extremely prominent. In the scene where Proctor is trying to demonstrate Abigail is manipulating the court, Hale begins to challenge however is silenced by one word; “peace”. When Hale again begins to go against Danforth, he speaks in much longer bursts. A small paragraph from Hale followed by only a few words by Danforth. Although you might think this is because Danforth is giving up, it is deliberate. Danforth is deliberately letting Hale speak on, so Hale says as much as possible to weaken his case. When Danforth re-enters he speaks for a long time. He patronizes Hale; “such terrible learning”, “much bewildered”. Hales certainty turns to panic and this is emphasized by the stage direction “defeated”. Hale knows he can’t stand against Danforth so gives up completely.
By the end of the play Hale attitudes towards the court are completely reversed. At the beginning he showed extreme respect for it however now he is openly criticizing the court and rejecting its authority. “I denounce these proceedings!...I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” The repetition of this emphasizes Hales views and shows his anger over the situation. Hales not only verbally criticizes the court but he physically criticizes it to as he “slams the door”. This event coincides with the ending of the scene to heighten the drama and increase the tension. This ending is important as it shows the change of power dynamics. Danforth is left completely powerless. Following this, Miller uses contrast to show the difference between Hale at the start and Hale at the end. The man who originally wanted to defeat the devil is now acting as its servant “I come to do the Devil’s work”. Although he is being sarcastic, we realize that he is becoming aware of his guilt – he even feels his guilt should be physically visible “can you not see the blood on my head”. This produces imagery similar to the hanging, and therefore parallels the hanging of many innocent victims. I think that Miller is trying to explore the ideas of justice in recognizing the injustice of the court.
Hale is a key character, and his first emotional followed by mental change is how his character is developed. Miller used language, stage directions and the setting to help emphasise this. I think that by the end of the play, Hales character is a lot deeper with greater feelings and opinions. His books are no longer the most important thing.