john hale
Brianna M. Marshall
26 April 2012
English III
2a
Throughout the Crucible there is evidence that the character Reverend John Hale undergoes evaluation within his own beliefs and those that others tell him. In Acts I and II he strongly believes everything that the court, the girls and Reverend Parris tells him. But as the play continues his belief in what those in the village says starts to deteriorate, and his own beliefs start to arise. Throughout Acts I and II the reader sees Reverend John Hale’s firm belief that there are witches in Salem. When he is first introduced into the play he is examining Ruth, the Putman’s daughter, looking for marks of the devil. He makes it clear that his top priority is to “..find him out if he has come among us.” He even says he “means to crush him utterly if he has shown his face.” When Rev. Hale arrives at The Reverend Parris’s home he greets Parris with an armful of books. “We shall need hard study if it comes to tracking down the Old Boy”, says Hale. Hale has brought along these books with him because he is certain that these books will surely help him. Later on that night at the home of Rev. Parris, Giles Corey comes forth to ask Rev. Hale a question with the concerning of his wife, Martha Corey. Giles states that his wife reads strange books, in which while she is reading them he cannot pray, but the moment she stops he is able to pray again. Hale, who has just witnessed the giving of names my Abigail, Betty, and Tituba, suspects her of witchcraft. Martha is later arrested as charged and put on trail. In Act III we start to sense a change in belief within Rev. Hale. It has been said in front of Judge Danforth that John Proctor does not attend church but once a month because he plows his fields on the other Sabbath days. Proctor, who has brought Marry Warren to court to confess that the girls are lying, does not deny the allegations. Here we experience Hale’s first doubts. On the night Hale visited Elizabeth and
26 April 2012
English III
2a
Throughout the Crucible there is evidence that the character Reverend John Hale undergoes evaluation within his own beliefs and those that others tell him. In Acts I and II he strongly believes everything that the court, the girls and Reverend Parris tells him. But as the play continues his belief in what those in the village says starts to deteriorate, and his own beliefs start to arise. Throughout Acts I and II the reader sees Reverend John Hale’s firm belief that there are witches in Salem. When he is first introduced into the play he is examining Ruth, the Putman’s daughter, looking for marks of the devil. He makes it clear that his top priority is to “..find him out if he has come among us.” He even says he “means to crush him utterly if he has shown his face.” When Rev. Hale arrives at The Reverend Parris’s home he greets Parris with an armful of books. “We shall need hard study if it comes to tracking down the Old Boy”, says Hale. Hale has brought along these books with him because he is certain that these books will surely help him. Later on that night at the home of Rev. Parris, Giles Corey comes forth to ask Rev. Hale a question with the concerning of his wife, Martha Corey. Giles states that his wife reads strange books, in which while she is reading them he cannot pray, but the moment she stops he is able to pray again. Hale, who has just witnessed the giving of names my Abigail, Betty, and Tituba, suspects her of witchcraft. Martha is later arrested as charged and put on trail. In Act III we start to sense a change in belief within Rev. Hale. It has been said in front of Judge Danforth that John Proctor does not attend church but once a month because he plows his fields on the other Sabbath days. Proctor, who has brought Marry Warren to court to confess that the girls are lying, does not deny the allegations. Here we experience Hale’s first doubts. On the night Hale visited Elizabeth and