In 1692 there were the Salem witch trials where many people were accused of being witches and
were hanged for it. Many people lost their lives due to the church being in power, the amount of
people that died caused a massive effect on the town’s daily life. There is one character however
who stands up to the church but did not always have the thought to help others from the church’s
wrath. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a dynamic character who evolves from
a man in search of witches, to a man who wants to find truth, to a man who wants to save lives at
a great personal cost. This character's development is drastic and goes through many changes
throughout the play.
Reverend Hale is shown to be a man in search of witches with great determination.
In act I of the play Reverend Hale is shown to be a cold man and will do anything to find
witches, he reveals to Abigail that he needs to find the source of Betty’s comatose and is willing
to do whatever it takes. ”If she is truy in the Devil’s grip we may have to rip and tear her
free”(Act I, Pg. 30 ) This shows his determination in finding witches and how he is willing to
harm or injure the accused to get them out of the devil’s grip. With how determined and fixated
Hale is on finding witches, he will not give up easily and is willing to let the accused witches be
hurt or hanged.
Reverend Hale is shown to be a man in search of witches however now there seems to be some
change in his character. Continuing his questioning of Abigail he seems very desperate to find
the truth. He wants to find the truth at all costs because he has care and concern for the people of
Salem. ”Abigail it may be that your cousin is dying. Did you call the devil last night?”(Act I, Pg.
32) He seems slightly afraid for what might happen to the abigail and the others if they did call
the devil. In his search for the Devil’s conjuring he seems very desperate to find the truth, he is
genuinely concerned for her life. This shows his change from a man in search of witches, to a
man in search of the truth, he is trying to know if what he is doing is right.
Reverend Hale is now shown to be a man looking to help people, he is trying to help the people
of Salem instead of hanging or injuring them. Near the end of act III Reverend hale is in court
and the court is trying to use people. ”I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” He slams
the door on his way out. (Act III, Pg. 32)This shows his full change from his determination to
find witches willing to do whatever necessary to searching for the truth desperately to finally
standing up to the church and saying that what they are doing is wrong. This matters a lot
because it shows that people can stand up to the church and fight for what’s right.
Reverend Hale is a dynamic character who starts off as an antagonist who is desperately
searching for witches which seems very bizarre but as the story develops he turns into a man
who is searching for truth. And finally he was trying to help everyone as best as he could.
However, though the damage to the community was already too much for anyone to repair, many
people were killed and the community will not recover from this. All communities that go
through tragedies like this take a long time to recover. Hale tried his best to save the community
but in the end the damage the church did was irreversible. Many people put too much power into
the church and as a result they went on a wild goose chase for witches when in reality there were
no witches and that is why people should be more proactive in their community and speak up for
what they believe is right.