Arthur Miller once said “The job of the artist is to remind people of what they have chosen to forget.” The Crucible, or the time period in which The Crucible takes place, should not be forgotten. Twenty people were killed during the Salem Witch Trials; nineteen people were hanged and one was pressed to death. The members of the court at that time were unwilling to say that they were in the wrong, but one man tried to save the accused by getting them to confess so they wouldn’t hang. Reverend John Hale was a hero to some and a nuisance to others. Reverend John Hale saved some people from hanging during the trials by getting them to confess to performing witchcraft. People thought that dying a known Christian would be better than living with
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He was very swayed by the afflicted girls in the first acts, but as the play went on he changed for the better. He tried to get the accused men, woman, and some children to confess to witchcraft so that they wouldn’t be hanged. He tried to persuade the judge that he should postpone the trials when he states, “Excellency, if you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are stirring for their confessions, that speak mercy on you part, not faltering.” (Miller 1109). He is being realistic now; he has realised that the afflicted girls are not telling the truth. He knows that they are lying about seeing spirits or being attacked. He saved lives by being realistic in his approach to the girls. He is brave as well as realistic and open-minded. Reverend John Hale is an honest man. He tries to defend the people in jail when he says to Judge Danforth, “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscious may doubt it.” (Miller 1092). John Hale has signed seventy-two death warrants in his life as a minister; he never signed a warrant unless there was any doubt that the guilty person did not do the crime. Even with his weaknesses, Reverend John Hale overcomes his weaknesses to help others. Al Capone once said “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone
He was very swayed by the afflicted girls in the first acts, but as the play went on he changed for the better. He tried to get the accused men, woman, and some children to confess to witchcraft so that they wouldn’t be hanged. He tried to persuade the judge that he should postpone the trials when he states, “Excellency, if you postpone a week and publish to the town that you are stirring for their confessions, that speak mercy on you part, not faltering.” (Miller 1109). He is being realistic now; he has realised that the afflicted girls are not telling the truth. He knows that they are lying about seeing spirits or being attacked. He saved lives by being realistic in his approach to the girls. He is brave as well as realistic and open-minded. Reverend John Hale is an honest man. He tries to defend the people in jail when he says to Judge Danforth, “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscious may doubt it.” (Miller 1092). John Hale has signed seventy-two death warrants in his life as a minister; he never signed a warrant unless there was any doubt that the guilty person did not do the crime. Even with his weaknesses, Reverend John Hale overcomes his weaknesses to help others. Al Capone once said “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone