In
the Crucible, Reverend Hale (John Hale) is a witch hunter that was called in by
Parris to examine his daughter, Betty. He enters in Act I with his stack of
books for witchcraft. Over his course in the book, his character transforms
more than any other character. He believes that John Proctor and Mary Warren
are telling the truth while on the other hand he thinks Abigail is lying. When
the time came for the trials, it was too late for Reverend Hale to help because
it was no longer in his hands but rather in the hands of Danforth and
theocracy. In his failures to help them made him feel down. His belief in witchcraft
fades and so does his faith in the law. He is the one who told the accused
witches to lie in order for them to save themselves. Hale realizes that the
witch trials are evil and shouldn’t exist.
Reverend Hale’s character stands out
the most for me in this story. We learn that he has the ability to understand
the accused witches and see that they are truly innocent and shouldn’t be held
accountable. His character changed over the course of the story. The once witch
hunter now believes it is wrong to kill innocent women.
From the very beginning where Reverend Hale enters he is very sure that they should not look to superstition for the answers. He has character and values and carries his beliefs through his works. He tries to maintain that the best he could through the drama and trials caused mostly by Abigail. I think that throughout this time it is hard to think against the crowd like during the witch trials.
ReplyDelete