Reverend Hale Changes in The Crucible

Reverend Hale's Journey in The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s play, "The Crucible," dives into the madness and fear during the Salem witch trials. It shows how these events wrecked lives. Reverend John Hale, a well-known expert on witchcraft, is central to this chaos. At first, he arrives in Salem totally sure that witches are real. But as the play goes on, he changes a lot. Let’s look at how Reverend Hale shifts throughout the story and what causes these changes.

Hale: The Confident Expert

When we first meet Reverend Hale, he’s confident and in charge. In Act 1, Hale rolls into Salem respected and ready to investigate witchcraft claims. He’s got his books and is determined to find out what’s really going on. Early interactions show his strong belief that he can clean up the town from evil.

But then things start going sideways. Innocent people get accused and executed, and Hale begins to doubt himself. A big turning point comes in Act 3 when he sees how unfair the trials are. He confronts the court saying, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” This moment marks when he starts questioning everything rather than just accepting accusations blindly.

Growing Doubts

Another thing that pushes Hale to change is his growing doubts about the evidence and testimonies during trials. At first, he buys into all accusations and wants to find witches. But as he watches how manipulative the girls are and sees there’s not much real evidence, he gets suspicious. In Act 2, when talking to Elizabeth Proctor about her faith, she can’t recite all Ten Commandments, which shakes his faith in the court's ability to see truth clearly.

This makes him rethink everything—the trials, his beliefs—everything!

The Impact of Seeing Innocence

Seeing innocent lives destroyed also plays a big role in changing Hale. At first, he thinks he's saving Salem from evil. But witnessing firsthand how awful the trials are for innocent people brings out his empathy and compassion.

By Act 4, he's urging those accused to lie just so they can live because he finally gets how tragic their sticking-to-truth stance is in such injustice times. He says something like: “It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice.” This shows Hale understands now that human life matters more than some misguided pursuit of justice.

From Believer to Skeptic

All told Reverend Hale goes through major changes in "The Crucible." He starts off super confident believing witches exist but gradually questions trial validity entirely due mainly to doubts over testimonies/evidence plus encounters with accused folk themselves highlighting blind faith dangers requiring critical thought amidst mass hysteria situations like this one here!

In conclusion (and isn’t it quite something?), Reverend Hale’s character takes an important journey throughout Miller's play - evolving from fervent believer initially trusting court actions wholly towards eventual skepticism regarding same actions/trials driven largely by increasing disbelief surrounding testimonial/evidential claims & personal interactions w/accused/families involved therein; serving cautionary tale reminding us destructive power within hysterical mobs necessitates scrutiny/questioning authority alongside genuine care/empathy preservation against injustices faced daily today still even now huh?!

References

1. Miller, A. (2003). The Crucible. Penguin Classics.
2. Smithson, J.A., & Robbins, M.L. (2010). Understanding Hysteria: From Salem Witch Trials To Modern Times.
3. Greenblatt S., Cohen W.A., Howard J.E.. (2017). Modern American Plays & Their Influence.
4. Westbrook T.M.. (2015). Historical Contexts Of Arthur Miller's Works.
5. Browne R.J., Danvers L.C.. (2020) Behind The Curtains: Analyzing American Theater.