Crucible by Arthur Miller How

¶ … Crucible by Arthur Miller [...] how people behave in times of crisis as evidenced by the character Reverend John Hale in "The Crucible." Crisis can bring out the best and the worst in people, and it can be the impetus for hysteria and paranoia, as this play clearly illustrates. Reverend John Hale is human, and becomes caught up in the hysteria, believing witches populate Salem and threaten Christianity. Reverend Hale is an "expert" in witchcraft, and because of his authority, he adds to the hysteria in the community, and is responsible for the fraudulent confessions and hangings that take place in the community.

At first, Reverend John Hale seems like a minor character in this play, but he is the catalyst that brings the characters together in a frenzy over witchcraft. He adds to the building hysteria by "confirming" the young girls accused of witchcraft are indeed bewitched. He is an expert in witchcraft who the community calls in when it seems that witches have made their home in Salem. He is intellectual and convinced that authority and intellect are the key to understanding the Devil and his ways. He is also quite fond of his own abilities and his books. Early in the play, he describes his books as weighed with authority. He says of them, "They must be; they are weighted with authority" (Miller 34). He is totally convinced of his own authority and superiority, and of his unfailing intelligence when it comes to witches and witchcraft. Because he has the aura and reputation of authority, he quickly convinces the townspeople that Abigail and the other girls are witches. He helps spread the hysteria that is growing in the town, and he is ultimately responsible for the hangings that take place after the women are convicted of witchcraft.

Hale is also incredibly convincing, which helps him convince the town that witches are among them and the courts are the best resource to solve the problem. He tells Francis Nurse, that his wife, Rebecca, will be exonerated by the court. He says, "Let you rest upon the justice of the court; the court will send her home, I know it" (Miller 67). However, Rebecca is convicted of witchcraft by the court, and Hale begins to see the hysteria at work in the community, and begins to feel he is responsible. He tells the judge, "I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honor. I'll not conceal it, my hand shakes yet as with a wound!" (Miller 92). He begins to see how his own actions helped create more hysteria and confusion, and he questions his faith and his conviction that the Devil exists.

By the end of the play, Hale has become disillusioned with the trials and the hysteria. He says, " I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up. Beware, Goody Proctor -- cleave to no faith when faith brings blood" (Miller 122). He realizes his mistakes and his zealous ways, however, it is too late. His actions have set the trials and accusations in motion, and it is too late for him to control the outcome. He tries to get the girls to confess to save their lives, but they will not. His learning and authority have failed him, and he has failed the community.