The Crucible: Reverand John Hale

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Reverend John Hale “The Crucible” is a tale of witches, death, greed, lies and infidelity. In “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, it plays out the events of the witch hunt trials in Salem, Massachusetts, during the spring of 1692. Led by seventeen-year-old Abigail Williams, a group of young girls claim to have been bewitched by members of the town. With only the testament of the “afflicted” girls, people are accused and forced to either confess to witchcraft or be hanged. By the time it is all over, countless numbers of people are accused and nineteen men, women, and children, are hanged. Reverend John Hale, who specializes in dealing with witchcraft, is called into town to help. The existing question is, was Reverend Hale a sympathetic character in this play? In act one Hale shows no amount of sympathy, nor does he appear unsympathetic. Reverend John Hale of Beverly is in his forties and is experienced in dealing with witchcraft. He has come to Salem to seek the truth in finding out whether or not the Devil is roaming around in Salem. Since he is relatively new to Salem and its people, he is unbiased and has no choice between being sympathetic or not. Reverend Hale is a well-respected man in the town, much more so than Reverend Parris. When Hale first arrives, he tells Rebecca, “Its strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverly” (Miller 1037). This shows that Hale has great respect for people and that he knows Rebecca is a good person. Operating in such a respectful manner explains why he is so well respected amongst the townspeople. In act two Hale starts to show himself still to be undecided as to being sympathetic or unsympathetic. Things have gotten more hectic and stressful over a very short period of time. People are now being wrongly accused of
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