Maria Carias

Period 4
11/14/15
1090 words

Hales Development Throughout The Crucible

A crucible is a trial, a severe test of patience and beliefs that forces
people to make difficult decisions. The play The Crucible, written by Arthur
Miller provides an insight of the journey through trials triggered by the
superstitious belief of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts during
colonial America. The author demonstrates the outlooks and views of the
townspeople and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the
characters to progress and to change their views on whether the people they
prosecuted and condemned were guilty of witchcraft. On of the most
notable cases of a dynamic character is that of Reverend John Hale,
who changes his views more and more drastically as the play advances. A
man who initially signed the deaths of hundreds of potential innocents
eventually had an epiphany realized the innocence of all those convicted and
hung.
Arthur Miller weaves countless events into the story that contribute to
the alteration in Hales mindset. In the middle of Act 1, Hale arrives in town
with a vendetta against witches. The townspeople perceived him as The
truth seeker. Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft, if any,
is occurring. Hale arrives admired by the people, who all want him to confirm

the circulating rumors of witchcraft and the Devils work. Although slightly
full of himself, as seen in the line He feels himself allied with the best minds
of Europe - kings, philosophers, scientists (Miller, pg. 36), it is evident that
his intentions are good; as Miller also writes that Hales goal is light
goodness, and preservation. (Miller, pg. 36)
In Act II, Hales former confidence begins to erode. This is
demonstrated by the fact that travels around the town, going from house to
house, searching for accused women to warn them that their names have
been mentioned in the court, and eventually shows up at the Proctor house
of his own accord. He shows up without the knowledge of the court to try to
obtain an idea of who the Proctors are for himself. At the Proctors, Hale sees
a different perspective of entire situation. When questioning Proctor, he
states I have no witness and cannot prove it, except my word be taken. But
I know the childrens sickness had naught to do with witchcraftMr.
Parris discovered them sportin in the woods. They were startled and took
sick. Hale: Who told you this? Proctor: Abigail Williams.(Miller, pg. 68).
Hales independent action hints that he is beginning to doubt the validity of
his own conclusions. Although unsure, he understands he is being led
toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the towns false pretenses and mass
hysteria. He begins to see a weakness in the position of the townspeople and
tries to not let common accusations be the support for his diagnosis.
In Act III, Hales suspicion of the girls deception increases. No longer
believing that Abigail and her friends are correct, Hale opens his eyes to the

new possibility that the townspeople who confessed did it for the sake of not
being hung. Hale sees the honesty in Procter and believes he is able to
trusted. However, he becomes frustrated with the mass hysteria of the town
and is fed up with the girls lies. He begins to notice the lack of truthfulness
in all of the testimonies and court appearances of the girls. He even stands
up for his belief in the innocence of the victims even though they have been
forced to admit their guilt, and calls out Abigails lies. As Abigail continues
with her theatrics, Hale, his voice heavy with desperation, begs the court not
to believe her, replying with I see nothing your Honor! (Miller, pg. 117). In
addition, he starts to realize that the court although, apparently truthful and
fair, was forceful and misleading in finding the guilt or innocence of a person
depending on what it desires. Due to Abigail's transparent machinations,
Hale's confidence is shattered. He quits the court and storms out in anger.
After having done some soul searching, Hale returns during Act IV. This
time, he has made it his mission to save as many lives as possible. He
councils those who have been convicted to confess in order to be spared.
Although he is aware he is condoning lying, which initially was against his
beliefs, at this point he has lost all faith in the law, and perhaps even in God.
Hales final efforts to attempt to wash the blood off his hands fail. He does
not convince anyone to confess. Hale now sees that many have died without
cause and that those who have been hanged, even Giles Corey who died via
stoning, were innocent. . As Hale stands and awaits Proctors march to his
martyr death, he knows that Proctor is innocent. He stands before the man

who opened his eyes to more than pretense and lies. He is now looking at
the one man who changed his belief in the existence of witchcraft. Hale now
has a great feeling of regret that he didnt help save the town from the
childish lies that killed so many. He pleads with his wife Elizabeth, imploring,
Be his helper! - What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall
the worms declare his truth? (Miller, pg. 145). In his powerful statement,
he is saying how he does not want Proctor to die for nothing. Trying to make
a statement does him no good, as only the worms and the dust will know the
truth.
Entering these trials, Reverend John Hale felt s as though he is an
expert in witchcraft. He is specifically called upon by Reverend Parris to
diagnose his daughter and determine whether witchcraft was the cause of
her illness. From the beginning, Hale tried to not let the pressure of the
hysterical town influence his decision. But, due to the increase in activity of
the witch trials, Danforth and others are sent to step in and Hale quickly
loses his authoritative position in the town. As he watches the trials and the
hangings of the townspeople, Hale comes to see that the entire witch trial
was a hoax, simply a means of scapegoating and seeking revenge, such as
Abigails case with Elizabeth. He regrets not being able make more of an
impact, on the well being of the community. The most tragic part is that
Hales epiphany came too little too late and he ended up a cynical and
broken man.