Crucible
The Evolution of a Truth Seeker A crucible is a severe test as of patients or belief, a trial. The play The Crucible is a journey through the trials of many townspeople caused by the superstitious belief of witchcraft. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller progresses and evolves the outlooks and views of the townspeople of Salem and shows how events, people, and catastrophes cause the characters to change their views on whether the people prosecuted were guilty or innocent of witchcraft. Reverend John Hale changes his view, more and more drastically as the play advances, as a result of the events that he underwent and the experiences he had. Soon he had total belief in the innocence of all those convicted and hung in Salem. Arthur Miller weaves many events into the story that contribute to the alteration in Hale's mindset. In the middle of Act 1, Hale arrives and is perceived by the town as "The truth seeker". Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft, if any, is occurring (Page 33-35). Hale arrives admired by the people, who all want him to claim it was witchcraft that has occurred. Although unsure, he understands he is being led toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the town's false pretences and mass hysteria. He begin
Hale stands before the man who opened his eyes to more than pretense and lies. Hale: Who told you this? Proctor: Abigail Williams. "Postponement means a floundering on my part"(Page 129). Parris discovered them sportin' in the woods. As Hale stands and awaits the death of Proctor, he knows that Proctor is innocent (End of Act IV). There is no doubt in his mind that witchcraft has not occurred in the town of Salem. Soon, Hale finds himself standing at the Proctor home. Nonsense! Mister, I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and numerous others that have confessed to dealing with the Devil. "Abigail Williams told you it had naught to do with witchcraft. In Act II, Hale is traveling around the town, going house-to-house, searching for accused women to warn them that their names have been mentioned in the court. Later, Hale stands up for his belief in the innocence of the victims even though they have been forced to admit their guilt (Page 130). Due to the increase in activity of the witch trials, Danforth and others are sent in and Hale quickly loses his authoritative position in the town. Hale begs Elizabeth to plead with Proctor to save him, but Elizabeth cries, He have his goodness now.
Common topics in this essay:
Abigail Williams,
Arthur Miller,
Reverend Parris,
Devil Thy,
Soon Hale,
John Hale,
Salem Hale,
Truth Seeker,
Rebecca Nurse,
Originally Hale,
witchcraft occurred,
belief innocence,
hale stands,
reverend john hale,
townspeople salem,
john hale,
total belief,
innocence convicted,
reverend john,
hale arrives,
total belief innocence,
belief innocence convicted,
witchcraft occurring,
|
Acceptance Essays
