Although he first enters Salem determined to seek out the Devil and "...crush him utterly if he has shown his face," he sees the injustice being done to those accused of witchcraft, ultimately denouncing the trials and even sacrificing his orthodox faith. Hale is a highly educated intellectual who applies reason even to the pursuit of Satan. It is natural, therefore, that he should see the glaring errors in logic at the Salem trials. He first resists his reasoning, but later cannot possibly fail to see that the trials are a sham. At the play's close, he tries to convince the condemned to confess to what he knows are lies, reasoning "cleave to no faith when faith brings blood. It is a mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice... Life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it." Despite the eloquence of his pleas, the prisoners are not swayed, preferring to die honestly than to live a lie. Hale's own change is readily apparent, however, as he turns from the blindness of faith to reason and an individual spirituality. He now embodies a more modern, liberal…