Hale Tragic Hero Essay

Hale as a Tragic Figure
Base of Paper ● Tragic Hero ideas 1 and 2 merged
○ Tragic Hero’s have noble stature
■ Hale is from the church
■ Has a strong educational background
■ Was called in for an important job
● Like Oedipus and the Sphinx
○ Tragic Hero’s are not perfect
■ He is quite naive, and easily manipulated
● Leads him to believe obviously false evidence
○ Causes death of innocent people
● Overly confident in his knowledge of witchcraft
○ obscures the truth to him, up until it is too late
● Idea 3 Peripeteia (hero’s downfall)
○ After all this time of “finding witches”, Hale realizes finally that they are all innocent, and he caused their death.
■ Like when he signs the death warrant of Rebecca nurse
○ Anagnorisis (realizes that he has helped to cause his downfall)
Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy are clearly present as his character undergoes his journey, from start to finish. However, is he the only character who fits Aristotelian standards? After careful examination it is apparent Reverend Hale fits them as

well. He is noble but flawed, has a specific downfall, and gains knowledge from it; he is a tragic hero.

Aristotle’s first two points in recognizing a tragic hero say the character must be of noble stature, yet contain at least a single major flaw in their personality. To begin with, the state of worry which was arising in the town of Salem was overwhelming, and people were desperate for a solution. They turned to Hale, who was then brought in from
Beverly. When he arrives, peoples reverence for him is quite apparent through the way they address and speak to him. Parris says, “ a little scared:
Well, you do come prepared! (Page 34)”, and “It is agreed, sir­ it is agreed­ we will abide by your judgment
(Page 36).” Parris’s observable intimidation of Hale reflects Hale’s importance, especially coming from a man of such high importance in his own community of
The sole fact that Hale was called in to be the leader in the exorcism of Salem during such despairing times demonstrates the amount of faith people have in his abilities. However, Parris and the people of Salem are not the only ones who have complete confidence in Hales knowledge; he does as well. At first all you see in Hale is a truly good man with good intentions, which he is and has. Though after a closer look, his vast amount of self­assuredness is prominent. It is this trait which helps to prove his parallelism to Aristotelian standards, for it is his major character flaw. Hale is an extremely bright person with a sharp mind, there is no questioning it. Miller allows the reader to know, “He feels himself allied with the best

minds of Europe­ kings, philosophers, scientists, and ecclesiasts of all churches. His goal is light, goodness and its preservation, and he knows the exaltation of the blessed whose intelligence, sharpened by minute examinations of enormous tracts, is finally called upon to face what may be a bloody fight with the Fiend himself.” He believes himself to be of the greatest intellectuals in Europe, and he knows that being chosen