Works Cited: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: The Viking Press, 1971
Cited: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: The Viking Press, 1971
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Coming into the Town of Salem, Massachusetts Reverend Hale illustrates a great deal of confidence with his knowledge and belief of witchcraft in Act I. Hale is known for being an expert on witch craft and as a “spiritual doctor”. Which he thinks very highly of as well when first comes to Salem. He sets his mind to persecuting the citizens…
- 276 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
As the Salem minister in the Puritan era, Parris’s personifications mirror one who possesses a brim-stone and fiery demeanor and one who does not take into account anybody’s suggestions without his affirmation. Thus Parris’ self-portrait evinces a man who possesses a deal of enemies. As a result, after Parris finds his daughter, Betty- seriously ill, having danced in the forest the night before, crowds of people begin spewing accusations that Betty must have cavorted with the Devil. Meanwhile apprehension grips Parris’s mind that it also compels him arbitrarily to blame many townspeople. Parris blames others to divert attention away from himself. He worries that if the townspeople learn that his daughter and niece have fiddled with witchcraft, his position as pastor could be…
- 395 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
At the beginning of the play, Reverend Hale arrives in Salem eager to try and rid the Devil from the town. But in Act 2, his confidence starts to diminish when he goes to the Proctor’s house to investigate without the court knowing. “I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear…
- 836 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There are three characters that are the most responsible for the witch trials in Salem, which are Abigail Williams for trying to avoid punishment for dancing in the woods and for jealousy towards Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Samuel Parris for trying to protect his good name and his daughter and niece, and Reverend John Hale for being so convinced about the devil running loose in Salem and connecting every minor flaw with witchcraft, even though he later has a change of heart. Out of these three characters only two were thinking to fool the others, Abigail and Parris. Hale, on the other hand, was just a confident man that did everything by the book and thought that was the best way to do it, something we find out when he…
- 325 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Reverend Hale is portrayed as a hypocritical man in of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Despite his moral beliefs, Hale decided to bend to the social feelings in Salem in order to gain status. As the community’s accepted expert witness on witchcraft, he contributed to the condemnation of several villagers. Fortunately, Hale eventually realized the error of his ways and took steps to remedy what he had done.…
- 475 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In this story, the quote “ normally the actions and deeds of a man were all that society felt comfortable judging” was included in Reverend Hale’s introduction. This quote is important and significant because it lays the foundation of what the puritans really thought during this time. This quote could be saying different things, one being that during the time of the witch trials no one wanted to judge or get on a womans bad side for they may feel they will be harmed by a woman who has been falsely accused of being a “witch”. Therefore they only feel comfortable with judging the men instead of the women of Salem. Reason two being that maybe they only questioned the external reason behind the men's actions because they were more important than…
- 256 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Readers can interpret The Crucible in many different ways. One of the major foils is Reverend Parris to John Proctor. Parris is a highly respected man in the society and keeps a pure white name within the government system. However, because of his position Parris has become very selfish and cares about his reputation in the community more than anything else. For example, even though Parris questions Abigail about what she was doing in the forest, he does not want to go and deny that there is no witchcraft being taken place because he fears it will hurt his reputation.…
- 1390 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Hale changes-- although he does not lose faith in Puritanism, he does lose faith in the court and the ideals of the society in Salem. Hale arrives as an educated religious scholar who is brought to find the truth behind the witchery. He means well but ends up turning from the court and becomes incapable of stopping the executions. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend Hale was able to use his intelligence to save himself from falling into adopting the perspective of justice of society. By being exposed to the residents of Salem, Hale gained the capability to see the truth, leading to desperate attempts to restore justice in a society full of insensible beliefs. Despite the victims’ innocence they will be seen guilty by society. At the end…
- 948 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Salem witch trials of 1692 caused the deaths of 20 people for suspected witchcraft. With much distress and disturbance of peace in the town, there were few people that had to willingly step up to keep Salem in order. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, distinct characters take part in the uprising of suspects of witchcraft and the objection of the convictions. A specific character, Reverend John Hale, is an expert in demonic arts and witchcraft. He is also one that provides the acknowledgement to both sides in the play. Reverend Hale is called to Salem to ascertain these reports of witchcraft. As an expert, he is looked upon as a savior to the town. Over the course of Miller’s play, Reverend Hale’s viewpoints on the accusations within the…
- 905 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Reverend Parris's self-centered actions are the direct cause of the deathly events in Salem Massachusetts. Parris was respected by many in the church, but did not use this power to stop the events to prevent witchcraft under his own roof. Knowledge and witnessed events were not mentioned by Parris to call the girls at fault until many were sentenced for execution. Reverend Parris's silence, poor character, and weak responses to situations, allows one to accuse Parris for the Salem Witch…
- 469 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Reverend Hale speaks of how so many have been accused that the Devil is in Salem. A simple pointing of the finger has led multiple people to be hung. This power of pointing the finger is abused by Abigail to accuse and incite hysteria in the people of Salem. Her extreme acting overrides the reasoning of the public and causes them to think with emotion and fear. Mary Warren falls prey to Abigail’s antics and betrays Proctor because of it. Abigail with the other girls accused of witchcraft act as though they are being controlled by someone else or feel a cold draft. These anomalies scare the people of Salem driving them to hysteria. The unsuspected accusation of witchcraft towards many townspeople caused Salem as a whole to become enveloped in hysteria. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, hysteria is prevalent in the way Abigail Williams incites the other girls, Marry Warren’s sudden change of sides, and Salem as a…
- 849 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Crucible, taking place in the highly theocratic Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600’s, starts off with the local Reverend Parris discovering several girls from the colony dancing in the woods. His arrival causes fright amongst the girls, panicking them. One girl, Parris’s daughter Betty, takes ill becoming unresponsive to any efforts to wake her up. The colonists believe the girl’s illness is caused by supernatural forces brought about by demonic witches. The colonists summon Reverend Hale to investigate Betty for signs of witchcraft. This leads to several member of the colony being accused of witchcraft and brought to trial. The trials in the Crucible take place against the backdrop of a deeply religious and superstitious society, and most of the characters in the Crucible seem to believe that rooting out witches from their community is God’s work. However, there are plenty of simmering feuds and rivalries in the colony that have nothing to do with religion, and…
- 758 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Although Hale was beginning to think independently, the process was tedious, for he continued to believe the Devil was transparent in Salem. Hale explained, “This is a strange time, Mister. No man may longer doubt the powers of the dark are gathered in monstrous attack upon this village. There is too much evidence now to deny it” (Miller 68). Reverend Hale still clearly believed that the Devil was present in Salem, yet logic started to take hold, due to the fact that he was not as adamant about the presence of witches as before. Hale began to think for himself by gathering his own research and evidence about who was lying and who was telling the truth, instead of automatically believing what the town, the girls, and the judges said. Hale declared, “I am a stranger here, as you know. And in my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court. And so this afternoon, and now tonight, I go from house to house” (Miller 67). Reverend Hale was tired of receiving information from secondary sources, and so he took it upon himself to go throughout the town and ask his own questions. Instead of using ignorance like the rest of the town did, Hale used logic and common sense to impact his decision. Hale contemplated the evidence he collected and gradually began to doubt the truthfulness of the girls’ story. Similar to what occurred in Act III, Hale thought and decided autonomous of the court, and dissimilar to what happened in Act III, Reverend Hale avoided taking action and remained a silent bystander. Although Hale was beginning to use practicality, he was not yet prepared to voice his opinions in court. Given these points, Reverend Hale changed throughout the play by transforming from pretentious in Act I to using rationale instead of relying on…
- 1384 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Entering these trials, Reverend Hale feels as though he is an expert on witchcraft. He is specifically called upon by Reverend Parris to diagnose his daughter and determine whether witchcraft is the cause of her illness (Act I Pg. 33-35). Although ambivalent about the nature of the child’s illness, Hale has a slight feeling of doubt that witchcraft has occurred. He understands that the townspeople are trying to lead him with false pretenses and mass hysteria toward the conclusion that witchcraft has occurred. He begins to see a weakness in the townspeople of Salem and tries not to let hearsay accusations be the support for his verdict.…
- 994 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Samuel Parris and John Hale are the two ministers in The Crucible and were initially alike in their attitudes towards witchcraft. However, their personalities show some striking dissimilarities. Unlike Hale, Reverend Parris is characterized by extreme paranoia and egotism. He is very static- his traits and motives remain consistent from the beginning to the end of the play. Although a religious man and believer in witchcraft like Parris, Hale values human life and is motivated by personal beliefs and his sense of morality, disregarding his best interests. He is a very dynamic character, becoming progressively less confident and trusting of law and doctrine as his faith is tested throughout the ordeal.…
- 860 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays