In the Crucible, Hale is described as ‘a tight skinned, eager eyed intellectual’, and is one of the most knowledgeable people in Salem on witchcraft and thus is one of the main characters in the trial.
He is very confident in himself and has a somewhat informed knowledge in witchcraft until that confidence is eroded by the fact that the books are turning out to be wrong and the so called bewitched are not behaving as the book says they should.
Once he sees that the defendants are not guilty of witchcraft, this is when he loses his faith in the law. The lost confidence in the law that he experiences is because even though the supposed witches are not guilty they are being forced to admit to the crime in order to save their lives.
Salem is what you would call a theocratic society, it was bound by strict codes of behaviour and belief, where the Bible was slavishly followed and any deviation would usually lead to prosecution. Moral and state laws are in no way different to any individuals in the community. Differing views would be stamped out and the sinner would be seen as being a threat to society. The society must be kept pure and if one person is seen to be threatening they will be dealt with. Some see Salem as a very intolerant community and anything to keep that purity will be done.
Hysteria plays a big part in the crucible, particularly in the Salem community where people who thought they were living next to God loving people, are actually committing what were seen to be the most awful crimes.
Characters in The Crucible seem to want to keep their reputations intact, for example, Procter seeks to keep his good name from being ruined. He even goes to the point as to not admitting a false confession even with his life at stake “ I have given you my sole leave me my name”. John is still fighting for his identity.
The behaviour of Hale in act 1 is of a confidant nature, he seems a contently knowledgeable man and this can be seen when Betty had first found to be ill. He is an outsider coming from another of town to see this girl, he carries books ‘weighted with knowledge, and as soon as he enters the room, he immediately stakes his claim to a position of authority by the way he strolls confidently and eagerly over to they bed where Betty is lying. However, he seems to be blinded by the authority of the books and fails to go deeper into the subject. We can see the impression of eagerness that Hale seems to give in the conversation between Parris and hale where Parris states ‘My there heavy’ and Hale replies ‘They must be there weighted with authority’. Also very simple phrases such as ‘Ah’ and the way they are pronounced show that he thinks he has a solution or a diagnosis to the problem, others in the room would see this as comforting, and further place their trust in him and his knowledge. As soon as he has opened his book, he immediately backs up the theory of witch craft, ‘I cannot tell if she is truly in the Devils grip we may have to rip and tear to get her free’. This phrase shows his belief in witchcraft.
When Hale tries to wake Betty, he says ‘ Now Betty Dear will, you sit up? Can you hear me I am John Hale minister of Beverly, I am here to help you dear, this previous quote further strongly backs the idea of his confidence and attitude in the belief that he not only know what is wrong with Betty but can also help cure her too.
In act 2 when Hale arrives again he seems drawn, suggesting a major difference in the character we met in Parris’s house. This guilt may be his dawning realisation, that surely all the people cannot be overtaken by witch craft,
We can see that Hale is torn between compassion and the strict laws of the court in act 2, because he goes to see the proctors without the courts authority ‘I come of my own, without the courts authority’. This reveals that he has lost some faith in the court and the proceedings, they are not to his standards. Hale is a stranger to the community, wants to carry out some investigation of his own away from the hysteria of the courtroom. When he is at the Proctor’s house, he asks questions on the suspicion that Elizabeth and John are witches, he doesn’t directly ask them this question by doing this he makes them feel less threatened by him. Instead he asks questions such as ‘I note that you are rarely in church?’ And ‘you have three children how come only two are baptised? And finally he get John to recite the ten commandments and when he fails to do so, Hales suspicion rises
Before Hale leaves, John tells Hale that Abby had mentioned to John that Betty being ill had no connection to witchcraft whatsever. This sparked suggestions that people confessed to witchcraft and other crimes so as not to hang. This is a big turning point in ‘The Crucible’ and Hale can see the logic in this and maybe it is here where he is beginning to change his mind?
Act 3 is where we see the major change in Hale, by the end of this act almost all his views are changed, he can see the evil in the court and shows this by denouncing the courts proceeding and walking away from it altogether. This act is where the court case takes shape, it is dramatised by the imitating of Mary by the group of girls who claim to have had a spell cast on them. The girls continually repeat Mary in a dramatic way. Also John Proctor confesses adultery and tells tails of him and Abby, Elizabeth is called in to the court and tells the court he is a faithful man. Their blatant difference in story gives the opportunity for the court to accuse John of lying. Hale states that ‘it is a natural lie to tell’ in favour of Elizabeth. Salem was a very puritan society and lived by rigid rules of God and for Hale to say it is a natural lie is totally against all common beliefs. No longer able to shut out his conscience indicates his anguish at the way witch hunts are being carried out. Seen in this context we can see how much Hales views have changed since act 1
Hale now having had a total change of heart believes John but he is taken away in chains and Hale quits the court ‘’I denounce these proceedings. I quit this court’
‘I quit this court’ is when Hale has lost all faith in the court and show this by leaving the court altogether. This statement is the full change of view of Hale in the crucible.
In this final act, Hale is totally fighting for John and his wife. He visits people in Jail and gets them to confess in order to save their lives. Hale gets Elizabeth to make John confess but he is defiant. Hale is no fighting for what is right and just wants justice to be done. His efforts fail and John is hanged.
Throughout the play Hale is one of the characters that changes the most, we can see in act 1 that he is very confidant about his knowledge and understanding of witchcraft but as the book develops he becomes slightly subdued in his views because he starts to see the evil in the court, this gains him more sympathy from the reader as the play progresses. He realises that people in jail are mostly innocent and all they have to do to alleviate the pain of hanging is confess. From Act 1 to Act 4 he has a 360 degree viewpoint change from when he arrives to quits the court at the end of act 3.
Looking at hale as a character reveals the misconception of justice that people had of the law then and one man, Reverend John Hale, changed his life for what is really right.
