The Crucible By Arthur Miller - 1056 Words

Reverend Hale develops from a strong intelligent individual with no compassion, to kind sympathetic as the story matures for example when he is begging women in prison to confess to save their lives. A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a†¦show more content†¦The conversations that Hale has demonstrate the evolution of his mindset. In Act II, Hale is traveling around the town, going house-to-house, searching for accused women to warn them that their names have been mentioned in the court. Soon, Hale finds himself standing at the Proctor home. At this moment, Hale sees a different perspective on the entire situation. â€Å"Proctor: I – I have no witness and cannot prove it, except my word be taken. But I know the children’s sickness had naught to do with witchcraft. Mr. Parris discovered them sportin’ in the woods. They were startled and took sick. Hale: Who told you this? Proctor: Abigail Williams.†(Page 68-69) Originally, Hale was only provided evidence that witchcraft was occurring in the town. Now that he has visited the Proctor’s home, he finds more support for his suspicion of the girls’ claims as he finds truth in the words of John Proctor. â€Å"Abigail Williams told you it had naught to do with witchcraft†¦ Why – why did you keep this? †¦Nonsense! Mister, I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and numerous others that have confessed to dealing with the Devil. Thy have confessed it†¦ And you – would you testify to this in court?†(Page 68-69) No longer believing that Abigail and her crew were correct, Hale finally opens his eyes to the new possibility that those who confessed did it for the sake of not being hung. Hale sees the honesty in Procter