Arthur Miller’s The Crucible Essay

A crucible is defined as a severe trial or a container in which metals are melted at very high temperatures. Much like how metals mold to a new shape at very high temperatures, people change when severe trials and challenges present themselves. When innocent lives are lost, a person will realize the wrongs and attempt to make things right again. The character John Hale must forget his old teachings and way of life to try to return the town of Salem to a peaceful community. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend John hale transforms from a prideful prosecutor of witches to a humble defender of the accused because of the guilt he experiences over the innocent lives lost during the Salem witch trials. Reverend John Hale arrives in Salem as a prideful man with intentions of persecuting the accused of witchcraft and ridding the town of all evil. Author Arthur Miller says of Hale, â€Å"This is a beloved errand of him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for.†(Miller 1252) Miller explains that the reverend has great pride in having the opportunity to show off his skills to rid the town of Salem of witchcraft. His skills in the beginning of the trials come from his books instead of from his own intuitions. Reverend Hale brings many books into the town in order to use their knowledge to persecute the accused. He believes these books to be infallible, and they cause him to believe that he will solve all of the town’s problems with them. Along with the knowledge from his books, he speaks, â€Å"with a tasty love of intellectual pursuit.†(Miller 1257) These stage directions imply that Hale thirsts to be the all-knowing savior of Salem. In his early days at Salem this thirst and his faith in the judicial system guide him to find the suspected witches and deal with them accordingly. The reverend’s early thirst for heroism soon vanishes as the trials pursue and more unexpected people in Salem are accused of witchcraft. Hale travels to the Proctor residence by his accord, without the court’s authority, to learn more about them because Elizabeth Proctor has been mentioned in the court. Learning about the faith life of Elizabeth, Hale starts to question whether all of the accused participate in witchcraft, and doubt of the infallible judicial system starts to arise in him. This doubt grows as he says to Judge Danforth about the trials, â€Å"But is does not follow that everyone accused is part of it.†(Miller 1300) He realizes now that the accused are given no chance to plead innocent without the sure fate of death. Hale sees flaw in the judicial system that he has lived by, and wonders if the many he has condemned to death had no opportunity at all to seek innocence. Knowing that the accused have no chance for survival but through confession of witchcraft, Hale proclaims, â€Å"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 1301) He knows that Rebecca has a good life of faith, and she will most definitely be condemned to death by the so called infallible judicial system because of him. Hale shows the feeling of guilt by signing away the life of Goody Nurse, and realizes that he must try to defend the accused because the court will not. Hale loses all motivation to condemn the accused and no longer holds pride in himself or his judicial system. With his motivation to seek out witches now gone, Hale believes many of the accused to be innocent and tries to convince this to the court. He tells Judge Danforth, â€Å"I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may not shut my conscience to it no more—private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to Heaven, I believe him now.†(Miller 1311) His guilt pushes him to defend the accused in front of the judge so that their blood will not be on his hands. Hale knows his association with the courts will result in the loss of innocent lives, and he cannot live with himself knowing this. Knowing now that the court operates with error, he quits it and denounces its proceedings. John Hale no longer want to participate in the court’s murdering of the innocent, and feels guilty for the lives that he has already condemned through the judicial system. Hale now knows that he needs to think for himself rather than following the laws and rules of the judicial system he has lived by his whole life. Working separate from the court, the reverend says, â€Å"I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves.†(Miller 1325) Hale knows that the only way to rid the guilt from his mind is to convince the accused to lie and confess so that their lives may be saved. He has lost faith in the court system that will condemn innocent lives, and, throwing away his pride, puts out one last effort to save some of the lives he has condemned. His motivation has changed from condemning the witches in the town to attempting to save the accused. As his efforts are about to fail, he drops to his knees and says, â€Å"What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!†(Miller 1334) His efforts to defend the accused fail, and guilt overwhelms him. Reverend John Hale cannot live with the innocent lives he has sentenced to murder and is humbled as the accused are led to their death. â€Å"Cleave to no faith when faith brings blood†(Miller 1326) says a transformed reverend as the Salem witch trials come to an end. Reverend Hale loses not only his faith in the judicial system, but also in the God who he believed to be too perfect to allow these tragic events to happen. He humbles himself because the pride that he once had leads to the death innocent lives in Salem. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Reverend John Hale changes from a prideful prosecutor of the witches to a humble defender of the accused because of the guilt that overwhelms him due to the innocent blood shed at his hands during the Salem witch trials.