At the end of Act 3, Reverend Hale quits the court in Salem out of frustration because he sees that irrationality and hysteria have taken over the proceedings. Hale quits the court in Act 3 because he no longer believes that the girls are telling the truth and feels that the judges are blind to the lies that they are telling.
Reverend Hale is a tragic hero because throughout the play the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, Hale comes to the realization that this case was not based off of witchcraft, he tries to appeal his verdict, and he slowly starts to doubt his purpose. Hale realizes the evil nature the court has taken.
Once he realizes that the girls are lying and that there never was any real evidence of witch craft, he removes himself from the court.
He tests Proctor and Elizabeth because at that time he was still an agent of the court. The behavior he exhibits in the opening Act is that of a crusader or savior. Hale finally removes himself from the proceedings and denounces the Court after John Proctor and Giles Corey are sent to jail. Hale realizes the evil nature the court has taken. In some ways, Hale does not change from act 1 to act 3. The difference is that Hale no longer believes there is actual witchcraft going on in Salem. He was pious, adherent to the laws and beliefs, and a good Puritan Christian.
However, in Act 4, we learn that he has returned to Salem to speak with the prisoners and convince them to confess. This is a bit confusing - why would he return to Salem to convince people to confess if he believes that they're innocent? As I'll explain in the next two sections, Hale has shifted his moral compass slightly to accomodate his own guilt. Guilt and its counterpart, concern for reputation, are both common themes in The Crucible , which makes understanding the answer to this question important for an effective reading of the play.
His goal is to persuade the condemned prisoners to sign their names to false confessions. Hale has managed to convince himself that lying is a lesser evil than throwing away one's life for the sake of maintaining a spotless record of integrity. This is a somewhat selfish viewpoint, although it's the only one he can accomodate psychologically.
If he gets the prisoners to save their own lives, his positive self-image will not be marred by their executions. He fails to fully consider the negative impact a confession would have on the self-image of the confessor, which is why no one responds to his efforts.
He chooses to do this because he is tormented by guilt. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see there is blood on my head!! Note that when Hale says he comes to do "the Devil's work," he is being sardonic. He knows that what he's doing is technically not befitting of a man of God, but he feels that promoting lies is better than the alternative of allowing innocent people to go to their deaths because of him.
Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis May 2, How has Reverend Hale changed in Act 2? How would you account for the way Reverend Hale has changed since the beginning of the play? What changes do we see in Reverend Parris?
What does Reverend Parris do in Act 4? What happened in the crucible Act 4? What does Elizabeth do to protect John? How does Elizabeth feel about Abigail? How does Elizabeth feel about Proctor wishing to confess to save his life?
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