Crucible Essay

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Subject]

[Date]

Crucible Essay

Reverend Hale is described in the Crucible as a very faithful and respected man. He has both strengths and weaknesses that have been shown in the play. Hale summarized as a dynamic character in the crucible. In the whole play, Hale grow from a man with intentions to free the world from satanic influence. He realizes that the Salem witch trials are based on lies. In the start, Hale appears as authoritative and arrogant, although he never charged someone of being a witch he is ready to investigate Salem and get rid of his devilish influences (Martin, pp.280).

In Act I, Hale arrived with his authority, where he met several of characters in the night in the forest of naked dancing whose name were Abigail, Betty, and Tituba. He was introduced with some of the popular people in the town who were Proctor, Rebecca, the Putnams and the Coreys. Proctor decided not to visit church and Hales asked him a question to repeat the name of Ten Commandments. Proctor was named almost all, but he forgot adultery, which was the one he braked.

In Act II, Hale wants to find all the witches and take legal action against them. He is willing to declare guilty anyone who appears to have a demon within him/her. He believes that:

“Powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence to deny it.” (Miller, pp.53). As the investigation processed against these demons, Hale was able to see some kind of pietism on the part of the court. He always believed that people who are good have nothing to fear because God will protect them. He knows judges still don't give a fair hearing to people who provided proof that they are not witches.

In Act III, When Danforth was not able to give a fair trial to Proctor, Hale doubts that trials are not fair and he took a very critical decision in which he signed seventy-two warrants of death. When Proctor was sentenced to death, Hale criticize the court and left the Salem. After some months Hale came back on the day of Proctor's execution to save Proctor from being hanged. He tried a lot to save the life of Proctor, but at the end, Danforth refuses it because he thought it would make the court look bad. Hale talked to Elizabeth to speak with Proctor who was her husband to save himself. She also refused to help Hale, and he realized that he is having the guilt of hanging many innocents like this.

Hale central conflict at the beginning of the play was to find out the evidence of sorcery in Salem, then to find those who are involved in sorcery. After some time, his conflict began with court and Danforth because he thought that the trials are not fair and are based on false proof. He was also having continuously conflict with the Proctor, but later he realized that Proctor was right and Abigail lied to him (Marino, pp.491). Hales belief that the charges were false and people died because of him. He was regretting his decisions at the end and was having guilt that why he trusted Abigail blindly. In the end, he expressed his guilt by saying: “there is blood on my head! Can you not see that blood on my head?” (Miller, pp.105).

Hale learned through interviewing other characters that the stories Abigail and girls told him are false. He was feeling guilty because he was the reason for many executions of innocent people. Hale thought that he should not have trusted in the stories of Abigail. He was described as a character which includes a sense of fairness and practicality. Hale was able to read people very well and was never got trapped so easily. He tried to fight hard to save Proctor because Hale knows that he was innocent and tried many ways to provide justice to Proctor. In the end, Hale got the lesson that never trusts in anyone's stories blindly.

Work Cited

Marino, Stephen. "Arthur Miller's" Weight of Truth" in The Crucible." Modern Drama 38.4 (1995): 488-495.

Martin, Robert. "Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Background and Sources." Modern Drama 20.3 (1977): 279-292.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: Revised Edition. Penguin, 1996, pp. 50-60

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: Revised Edition. Penguin, 1996, pp. 100-110