Reverend Hale In The Crucible

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Reverend Hale evolves from a pompous man to a more cynical mad being. He enters Salem with extreme confidence in his belief that witches are present in Salem. As the trials go on, Reverend HAle begins to notice just how ridiculous and false the girl’s accusations were. In a short period of time, Reverend Hale loses faith in witchcraft and evolves into a more cynical man. In the beginning of the play, Reverend Hale is a pompous and knowledgeable man who seeks to end any type of witchcraft in Salem. In Act 1, “His goal is light, goodness, and it’s preservation” (Miller 30). This gives the reader the impression that Hale has trained to be the best witch hunter ever, and his trip to Salem is his opportunity to test his new skills. His belief in witches is soo powerful he tells the people of Salem, “No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark gathered in monstrous attack upon this village”(Miller 64). He even goes as far as to falsely accuse Tituba of witchcraft. Violence is the first action used on Tituba, rather than looking for evidence against her, Hale decides to listen to Abigail’s claim with no regrard for Tituba’s side of the story. Hale is so blinded by the idea of witches that he does not consider the possibility that it may not be a supernatural force that is causing havoc in Salem.
He is becoming more cynical and reasonable that he begins to interview the people of Salem to discover the truth. Reverend Hale goes to question the Proctors without the knowledge of the court because Goody Proctor is the ideal christian woman, but is still being prosecuted by the court on accounts of witchcraft. He confronts John Proctor to ask him if he has “ no belief that there may even be witches in the world” (Miller 40 ). This shows that Hale is worried and curious about what truly is going on. When John Proctor gets convicted in Act III due to Abigail’s transparent schemes, Hale’s confidence in witches is completely shattered. He is completely fed up with the situation and tell Judge Danforth that he will not “dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (Miller 214). He quits the court and storms out of the scene in pure anger. Knowing the misjustice going on in Salem Reverend Hale begs John Proctor to sign the statement that is a lie, but will save his life. As the novel progressed, Reverend Hale began to be more reasonable and open to other’s opinions leading him to become a vague man who is fully against the