The Crucible - character study of Reverend John Hale.
When we first meet or are introduced to Reverend John Hale, we are told that he, Hale is a scholar from Beverly and feels pride in the work he does. He comes to Salem on Reverend Parris' request to investigate the possibility that supernatural causes are causing Betty Parris' suspicious illness. Hale approaches the situation precisely and intellectually, believing that he can find the cause to her illness. Despite his early enthusiasm for finding the presence of witchcraft in Salem, Hale soon grows disillusioned with the witchcraft accusations and then starts encouraging people to testify so that they would not be hung. In Act II, Reverend Hale starts showing sympathy towards the men and women who have been accused of witchery, for it was he who signed their death warrants. He undergoes an internal crisis, feeling guilty that he might be responsible for all of the accusations. Even though this is the case at the end, at the beginning we found that he enjoyed being called to Salem to fix things. It made him proud that his expertise was finally in demand, (obviously in his mind they were not being fully appreciated). However, he was surprised at hearing about Rebecca and Elizabeth’s arrest, which reveals that Hale is no longer in control of the predicament. Throughout the play there are many accusers and defenders for the witch trials. There is one man, Reverend John Hale, whose attitude to the witch trials immensely changes as he goes through one extreme to the other. Reverend John Hale grows as he moves from accuser, to sympathiser, to defender of the doomed characters of the play. When Hale first comes into the town of Salem, he believes in the witchcraft around the town and starts to accuse people himself. Hale brings Tituba in and questions her, "When the Devil comes to you does he ever come with another person? Perhaps another person in the village? Someone you know." Hale knew that Tituba should confess, should say that she compacted with the devil or she would be hung, but he still accuses her with no proof. Just because one person is accused and confesses, Hale brings in the accusations that other people around town are witches. Another instance is when Reverend Hale says, “If she is truly in the Devil’s grip we may have to rip and tear to get her free.”(39) In the beginning Hale is absolutely positive that witchcraft is spreading throughout Salem. He has come to save Salem and he will not let anything get into his way. " I beg of you, woman, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie." (132) As the play progresses he begins to open his eyes and see that the people being sentenced are good, religious people. Hale then tries to convince the people in jail to confess and have the charges dropped. By the end of the book Hale has changed from a religious puritan to someone who values life more than the puritan way of honesty. Hale undergoes a gradual change of character and belief as the play unfolds. Though a gradual change it is, the change drastically changes his views and ideas of what God’s will is and where his priorities lie. The end of Act One shows the audience what a zealous priest he is, looking for evidence of witchcraft, real or make believe. Most convenient for Hale the town of Salem has more than enough evidence for him to become ecstatic about. Although he does express that, “We can not look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are as definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not precede unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her” (38). It is a merely an empty promise, since before the ending of Act One he already mentally decides Salem is plagued with witchcraft, with or without concrete evidence to support his allegation. Hale uses such thin evidence as Putnam’s death of her first seven children and Giles’ wife reading strange books which keep him from reciting the Lord’s prayer. Ironically, he encounters, Tituba, after hearing that this Barbados slave had been practising voodoo with the afflicted girls. Hale then puts immense pressure on Tituba to proclaim herself a witch. Hale is able to manipulate Tituba to claim that she had used witchcraft on the girls. After declaring herself a witch she accuses the names of four honest and innocent women, thus this started a chain affect of accused witches accusing others of witchcraft, this soon would follow. So Hale, who was manipulated by Abigail’s lies and false fits, started the entire conflict with his aggressive technique to propel Tituba to confess to association with the devil. At the time in Act Two that Hale enters there is a presence of guilt about him, which foretells what his mission in the Proctor’s house is, to question Elizabeth on the suspicion of practising witchcraft on Abigail Williams. So, to begin to further his case in witchcraft he confronts Mr. Proctor about his lack of attendance to church and about one of
his children not being baptised. Proctor answers both of these questions with his disapproval of greed that Reverend Parris exudes. Hale even demands to hear the Lord’s ten commandments form both Mr. and Mrs. Proctor. Hale scrutinises and probes the Proctors his entire visit, for any form of evidence that he could associate with the traits of a witch. That all changes though, something is told to Hale that blows his mind, something he doesn’t scarcely believe at first, that Abigail Willaims told, to Proctor’s face, that there was no such act of witchcraft in Salem, whatsoever. Proctor defends his ...
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his children not being baptised. Proctor answers both of these questions with his disapproval of greed that Reverend Parris exudes. Hale even demands to hear the Lord’s ten commandments form both Mr. and Mrs. Proctor. Hale scrutinises and probes the Proctors his entire visit, for any form of evidence that he could associate with the traits of a witch. That all changes though, something is told to Hale that blows his mind, something he doesn’t scarcely believe at first, that Abigail Willaims told, to Proctor’s face, that there was no such act of witchcraft in Salem, whatsoever. Proctor defends his statement by questioning Hale many times over which in response Hale exclaims that Proctor’s notion was nonsense since Hale himself conducted the examinations with the accused, “There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you ever though of that?” (69). Then this quote follows, “Hale: I-I have indeed. It is his own suspicion, but he resists it.” (69). This remark and even more so this hesitation by Hale reveals that at this point Hale has already started to question his own actions, (to one this could be the turning point for Reverend Hale), but is not yet at the point of knowing if this “witchcraft” is actually just a lofty act by the self-proclaimed tortured children. After this insertion Hale begins to ask both Mrs. and Mr. Proctor if they believe in the existence of witches. Why? Because Hale wants to make sure his accusations and examinations are believed to be proper in accordance to what is justifiable in the eyes of fellow townsfolk. A point comes near the end of Act Two that the audience learns that Goody Nurse, the kindest, most saint-like of Salem, has been taken into custody under warrant of witchcraft. This is the part where the audience really starts to see a difference in Hale’s attitude and belief. For example, during the conversation with Mr. Nurse concerning Rebecca’s imprisonment, “ Hale, turns from Francis, deeply troubled: ...Let you rest upon the Justice of the court...” (71), “Hale, pleading: ...There is a misty plot afoot...”, (71) and “Hale, in great pain: ...until an hour before the devil fell, God thought him beautiful in heaven.” (71). All these quotes magnify, in speech, that Hale is still confident in his belief of the justice of the court, but since this is a play and not a novel, his actions shown on stage assert indecision and hesitation. Another very important factor in Hale learning the truth is John Proctor himself. While Elizabeth is being accused and arrested he repeatedly and aggressively challenges Hale’s belief, slowly destroying Hale’s faith in the holiness of the court. “Hale: Proctor if she is innocent the court-- Proctor: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem-- vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant’s vengeance! I’ll not give my wife to vengeance!” ( 77 ). This single comprehensive quotation summarizes the entire argument Proctor establishes for Hale, the principal Hale believes at the end of the Act, that the girls are not bewitched and are most definitely lying. What finally breaks his defense is Proctor’s exclamation to Hale, “ Proctor, to Hale, ready to break him: Will you see her taken? Hale: Proctor the court is-- Proctor: Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!” (77),. This entire experience is Hale’s Catharsis. Hale is in the courtroom throughout Act Three, but the audience hears and sees little from him besides a few one line insertions and a heated argument with Danforth towards the end. With such wee evidence someone would think that it might be difficult to learn much with so little to go by? The opposite is true, the entirety of Act Three involves Giles and Proctor trying to confront the court and free the innocent, and anything Hale says, are does, is in the support of them. Danforth, Parris and Hawthorne are, in a black and white sense, on one side while Giles, Proctor, and Hale are on another. Hale in defense of Proctor, “ Danforth: Plow on Sunday! Proctor: I-I have once or twice plowed on Sunday. I have three children, sir, and until last year my land gave little. Hale: Your Honor, I cannot think you may judge the man on such evidence.” (91). Hale in defense of Francis, “Francis: Mr. Danforth, I gave them all my word no harm would come to them for signing this [ The petition of belief in innocence of Rebecca and Elizabeth ]. Parris: This is a clear attack upon the court! Hale, to Parris: Is every defense an attack upon the court? Can no one--?”. (94). In both of incidents Hale steps directly into the center of the examination and supports the defendants in accordance with his new belief, that the court is in the wrong. These statements are all inferior compared to the time in Act Three that he confronts Danforth on the court’s conduct and while admitting his own guilt in the due process, “Hale: Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord and I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it. Danforth: Mr. Hale, you surely do not doubt my justice. Hale: I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, your honor. I’ll not conceal it my hand shakes yet as with a wound!... Danforth: Mr. Hale, believe me; for a man of such terrible learning you are most bewildered--I hope you will forgive me.... Hale: But this child claims the girls are not truthful, and if you are not-- Danforth: That is precisely what I am about to consider, sir. What more you ask me? Unless you doubt my probity? Hale, defeated: I surly do not sir. Let you consider it, then.” (100). This plea Hale presents Danforth defends what Proctor is about to do. Hale knows if Proctor presents Mary’s testimony before the court the judges would manipulate the testimony into something of a negative affect toward Proctor and the others accused; the reason for Hale wanting a lawyer present. Then ,what finally forces Hale to “condemn the proceedings of the court”, is Mary’s thrice reversal of her story which now states that Proctor is a wizard and forced her to testify against Abigail in the others by sending his spirit. “Hale: Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more-- private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to heaven, I believe him now, and I pray you call back his wife before-- Danforth: She spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied! [about Proctor and Abigail’s adultery]. Hale: I believe him! Pointing at Abigail: This girl has always struck me false! She has--[then interrupted by Abigail’s chanting].” (114). This is when Hale fully confesses that the people he has condemned to death were probably all innocent. After Proctor is accused as a wizard by Mary is when Hale finally storms out of the courtroom and turns to trying to save the lives of the ones accused of witchcraft in Act Four. Act Four is the conclusion, the final phase of his dynamic characterization. In this act not only does Hale state he believes that the hysteria is false but he acts on this belief by attempting to help the accused. The audience discovers Hale in the prison, where all the accused are being held, along with Parris, who is also now trying to save the condemned, trying to convince the accused to save their lives by confessing to witchcraft. “Hale: Excellency, there are orphans wandering the streets from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots’ cry will end his life...” (130), this outake simply and directly affirms what Hale views as the consequences of his grievous actions, which is the motivation for his efforts. Although Hale tries to lessen the harshness of his previous sins, his method to attempt this is a sin in itself which in this quote he explains to Elizabeth in jail, “Hale: ...I have sought a Christian way, for damnation’s doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie” (132). In the end, in trying to save John Proctor’s life by convincing Elizabeth to persuade John to confess to save his life, he admits what he did wrong, “Hale: Let you not mistook your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my great faith, blood flowed up.” (132). The latter half of this quote displays an entire different theme, “...life is God’s most precise gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it. I beg you, women, prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. Quail not before God’s judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.” (132). This plea is given with guilt. Hale knows he could, and should, have saved Proctor in the beginning, thus putting more pressure on Hale to save John Proctor’s life now, no matter the cost. But, atlas, this does not happen, and when Hale finds the decision of Proctor’s to forgo confession and sacrifice his life for the good of his name he becomes bewildered with confusion. “Hale: Woman [Elizabeth] plead with him! He starts to rush out the door and then goes back to her. Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. ...He drops to his knees. ...What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth?” (145). This is where the audience can now sympathize with poor Rev. Hale. He does not understand how one could not lie to save his one life, even if it were confession to witchcraft. Hale will have to live the rest of his natural life knowing that he had a major part in the deaths of so many innocent people. Does Hale, as a dynamic character, truly change for the better? Does Hale, as a dynamic character, really become more priest-like in his attempt to correct his previous sins? Even if his methods of trying to protect the innocent are sinful, his motive to have them saved is absolutely genuine. In the beginning Reverend Hale comes into Salem feverent, in his desire to discover witchcraft. At that point Hale indeed did believe he was with covenation with justice and the will of God. Then onto Act Two, we discover an even more aggressive man, one who has already signed eleven warrants of arrest which he approved of on the testimony of a few mere schoolgirls as the only form of evidence. Not until he himself witnesses Elizabeth Proctor be taken into custody, his catharsis, on such scant spectral evidence does he begin to believe that hysteria and vengeance are actually all that is taking place and that he is also blinded by the lies of Abigail Williams. Act Three, Hale is now a true believer in the court being unjust, but not yet a fully devotee to the redemption of the innocent. His heart and mind lay in the correct place by leaving the court but has not taken the next step to complete transformation by taking action. The audience sees a complete different man, a man who sees his previous sins for what they truly are in Act Four. A man who needs to assist those he has condemned to death. A man with a moral obligation to protect those lives that he has put into jeopardy with his previous zealous behavior. ...Yes. Yes, there is a immense positive change in Hale from the beginning of the play to the end. Yes, Rev Word Count: 2458 Reverend HaleThe Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a play that takes place in the sixteen nineties during the famous but tragic witch trials. Reverend Hale who is a minister and an expert of the demonic arts and witchcraft is sent from East Hanover to Salem where there is a spreading fear of witchcraft. When Hale arrives in Salem he finds the entire town in total chaos. At the beginning Hale is adamant in believing that they’re where witches and that nothing but good could come of his being there. Near the end when the truth has been exposed, Hale with so much blood on his head pleads : ‘‘ I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!’’ (Miller,131). For Reverend Hale the witch hunt in Salem is the scene of a moral journey as he eventually makes a complete turn around in thoughts and beliefs as he is forced to see certain realities. At the start of Reverend Hale’s metamorphosis he is so sure of himself and of his belief, in witches, that he even inadvertently eases their lying. At this point when he meets Parris and the girls who have been ‘‘ bewitched’’ he encourages them to talk about their being bewitched, and puts some words into their mouths, but he only does this because he really believes in witches, and believes the girls’ stories. This back fires however, and helps the girls with their lies. Soon after the trials begin Hale begins to have doubts in the girls. Hale has been seeing respectable people being charged, and this has flickered a doubt in his mind. After a few days of court Hale visits several households without the courts authority, and goes to John Proctors house to have a few words with John and his wife . At the end of the talks Proctor states : ‘‘ And why not, if they must hang for denying it? There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang ; have you never thought of that?’’ (69). Hale knows that people will confess to anything to avoid being hanged, and he is deeply troubled when he learns of Abigail’s motifs for revenge. Respected people have told Hale that the trials are non-sense. He has tried to find holes in these people’s reasoning, so he can be reassured he hasn’t made a big mistake in his aiding of the conviction of these people, but their reasoning is completely logical. Hale becomes more aware of the truth near the end of Act II, when Giles Corey and Francis Nurse report that their wives have been taken away. Reverend Hale is surprised, but disturbed by the news because he thought of Rebecca as surely being innocent when he met her. He says that, ‘‘ if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole greenworld from burning’’ (71). Hale then tries to explain her arrest by saying (in great pain) : ‘‘Man remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven’’ (71). At this point Hale hopes that the trials are legitimate, and tries to account for unusual happenings, but things just do not add up. The nail is put in the coffin in terms of Hale realizing the truth when Mary Warren appears at the court to testify against Abigail and the other girls who are making up stories. After Mary’s testimony, and Proctor’s eventual confession of lechery, Hale, who has watched the proceedings with increasing frustration, finally must listen to his conscience, and he quits the court. Here is the passage where Hale finally comes to his senses and quits the court, after proctor has been charged with witchery. Danforth: Marshal ! take him and Corey with him to the jail! Hale, starting across to the door :I denounce these proceedings! Proctor : You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore! Hale : I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court! He slams the door to the outside behind him. Danforth, calling to him in a fury : Mr. Hale! Mr. Hale! (119-120)At this point the truth is evident. Hale cannot deny his previous errors of judgment anymore. The reader is aware of Hale’s 180 degree turn of ideas at the end of the play when Hale, is pleading with the prisoners, who will be hung, to confess because he has so much blood on his head. Every time Hale sees one of these realities his original surety lessens until he must consider the fact that the whole thing may have been a hoax, and finally when he realizes the truth it is too late to do anything about it. Hale’s character is still good. He is not like Danforth or Hawthorne who see the truth but do not want to be juste to save their reputations. Hale isn’t afraid of admitting that the deaths will be his fault. He knows he made a mistake and tries to straighten things out because he feels guilty. Hale’s moral journey also helps put in context the fact that the judges’ opinions were unchangeable even with a witch expert to argue them, and also helps emphasize the fact that it was so evident that these people were innocent that even Hale who was so sure of himself, had a complete change of ideas. Of course, everyone changes. It is said that the only item of state that does not change is the fact that state changes. The truth of this maxim is obvious to me when I look around. All the events in the world can only look the same when I have taken off my glasses. The Reverend Hale undergoes a complete change in The Crucible. Hale's transformation, though, is not of the everyday sort, and I think that it is the most interesting and important change in the play, and that it is an example of one of the most important changes the world can see. When Hale first enters the play, he is convinced that he is holy. Those people who are convinced that they are holy are generally the ones that are the farthest from it. A parallel may be drawn between this seeming contradiction and the old Daoist saying quoted at the opening of this paper. The only holy ones are the ones that are humble. When Hale first enters the play, he is convinced that he is well-educated and that he has incredible devil-detection skills. His quip about his books being heavy with the weight of authority is typical of his early attitude, and is easy to criticize. How can the actions off spirits be calculable? Traditionally, it is the spirits that account for the curious events that science cannot explain, rather than science accounting for the spirits. To be more succinct, the Reverend Hale is a flaming hypocrite when he first enters the play. Luckily for the resolution of the play, Hale changes. From the moment he quits the court, he is truly a much better man. He helps the prisoners however he can, and is humbled. Even a bit before then, he questions whether the court is doing anything that is good. He starts questioning on the night when Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor are arrested. At some point, he realizes that the church can be used for evil. This realization is extremely important for any churchgoer, and absolutely vital for a minister. In my humble opinion, it is this realization that causes the biggest change in Hale. Hale does not go out of action once he comes to that realization. Soon, he has quit the court and busies himself with the aid of the prisoners. His aid is not always well-recieved. John Proctor doesn't seem to fully accept Hale's advice on giving a wrongful confession, for his own reasons. This fact does not mean that Hale did not have a good idea--to keep Proctor alive. It merely means that Proctor values his pride above his life. Is he Right in doing so? His decision is truly a religious issue: it is unlikely that anybody will agree about it. I feel that Proctor's decision certainly makes for a good plot, but might not have been very wise. It has been said that immature people want to die nobly for a cause, while mature people want to live humbly for one. Here, Hale comes out ahead of Proctor in my book. Even with their disagreements about the value of human life and pride, Hale probably felt quite a lot like Proctor at the end: "...I am not worth the dust on the feet of those who have hanged." At the end, Reverend Hale is holy. Is it a happy ending? Arthur Miller shows us that people are constantly changing due to different situations they are involved with. He also shows us that people are shaped by their reactions to these situations. Bibliography Sparknotes.com Pinkmonkey.com www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cruc/cructg.html www.novelguide.com/thecrucible www.teachtheteachers.org/projects/AMoore/Crucible