Analysis Of Reverend Hale In The Crucible

Conflicts take time and questioning to unfold the hidden truth behind a problem. In the course of a lifetime, confidence in a belief continues to grow until a roadblock stops it and changes the way of thinking. Confronting a problem that contradicts a popular belief is presented in Arthur Miller’s character, Reverend Hale, from The Crucible. Reverend Hale has been called to Salem to examine Reverend Parris’s daughter, Betty, for precise signs of the devil. As the play draws out, Hale’s stance on the problem changes and contrasts his initial thought on the matter. Hale is called to Salem to help the people determine the reasoning behind the witchcraft hysteria. He is ideally summoned because of his credentials and knowledge of the world that is invisible to the eye: the
Reverend Hale arrives in Salem with authority and confidence in his passion for freeing people of the devil. Hale believes and holds his studies close to the fact that, “ The Devil… is a wily one, and, until one hour before he fell, even God thought him beautiful in Heaven” (1147). Hale’s belief that the devil was beautiful before he fell shows that he is not being judgemental or quick to make assumptions while investigating the cause of the girls’ troubles. He is unfamiliar to the town and walked in with no background of the people that live there. Upon arrival in Salem, Hale truly believes that the girls are being tormented by the devil, and that he had to fix the situation soon. Hale later travels around to the houses, in which the wives have been mentioned to the court, to ask some questions pertaining to their activity in the church. As an outsider, Hale does not know these people well enough to judge them, “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” (1169). After questioning the Proctors, Hale determines them to be good people that would