FOLLOWING ACT FOUR
The accommodation in which Hale is staying during the trial.
The simple room is small, and lit by a single flickering candlestick that will surely burn out soon. Lightening and thunder rage outside, and rain whips against the unadorned window.
HALE is sat at a simple timber desk, slumped down in the wooden chair. His expression is that of a broken man, and the racket of PROCTOR exclaiming his innocence still plays over and over in his head, slowly driving him insane. The cows have quietened now, for the storm outside has forced them to seek shelter for the night. The townsfolk that either chanted or cheered in mobs on the streets have all retreated, in favour of their homes. The country sleeps now, but HALE cannot, for …show more content…
[anger, increasing] That man, that judge, that court! When I first arrived, oh how innocent I was. I thought I could identify the marks of the devil in that girl, but what I missed was the evil standing next to me. Rebecca Nurse told me that it was foolishness, and that the girl was not bewitched, but I took her - for a fool. I thought – [sigh] I thought that I was helping those girls, by being the one to give them a diagnosis, [regretfully] But my knowledge didn’t save those people – [pause] it killed …show more content…
But what lies it were! How could I be fooled? [pause] How could it be that an educated man like myself, a man of the church, were to be fooled by a child? That girl has blackened this entire town with her fiery tongue. But she were not alone in this, there were others who conjured up lies. The Putnam’s, they supported Abagail’s accusations. But what were the motivation of it? [confused] Were it for land, for pride, for those dead babies? Did it have any rationale or were it purely for the destruction of others? Did they know of the dark damage they were causing? [settled] There must be no token of God in those people, for they caused innocent townsfolk to die.
And Danforth, did he have no reason? [recounting] People pleaded their innocence with him, but he took no mercy on their souls. He would not even take my word into account when I testified that he were wrong! In the meeting house, Danforth said that he must rely on the victims to accuse the witch, but the decision that there are “victims” is the problem! The point of the trials is to see whether or not a crime has been committed. Danforth assumed that because of the ipso facto nature of the crime, that there had! [becoming clearer] That is the issue, isn’t it? Witchcraft is
The accommodation in which Hale is staying during the trial.
The simple room is small, and lit by a single flickering candlestick that will surely burn out soon. Lightening and thunder rage outside, and rain whips against the unadorned window.
HALE is sat at a simple timber desk, slumped down in the wooden chair. His expression is that of a broken man, and the racket of PROCTOR exclaiming his innocence still plays over and over in his head, slowly driving him insane. The cows have quietened now, for the storm outside has forced them to seek shelter for the night. The townsfolk that either chanted or cheered in mobs on the streets have all retreated, in favour of their homes. The country sleeps now, but HALE cannot, for …show more content…
[anger, increasing] That man, that judge, that court! When I first arrived, oh how innocent I was. I thought I could identify the marks of the devil in that girl, but what I missed was the evil standing next to me. Rebecca Nurse told me that it was foolishness, and that the girl was not bewitched, but I took her - for a fool. I thought – [sigh] I thought that I was helping those girls, by being the one to give them a diagnosis, [regretfully] But my knowledge didn’t save those people – [pause] it killed …show more content…
But what lies it were! How could I be fooled? [pause] How could it be that an educated man like myself, a man of the church, were to be fooled by a child? That girl has blackened this entire town with her fiery tongue. But she were not alone in this, there were others who conjured up lies. The Putnam’s, they supported Abagail’s accusations. But what were the motivation of it? [confused] Were it for land, for pride, for those dead babies? Did it have any rationale or were it purely for the destruction of others? Did they know of the dark damage they were causing? [settled] There must be no token of God in those people, for they caused innocent townsfolk to die.
And Danforth, did he have no reason? [recounting] People pleaded their innocence with him, but he took no mercy on their souls. He would not even take my word into account when I testified that he were wrong! In the meeting house, Danforth said that he must rely on the victims to accuse the witch, but the decision that there are “victims” is the problem! The point of the trials is to see whether or not a crime has been committed. Danforth assumed that because of the ipso facto nature of the crime, that there had! [becoming clearer] That is the issue, isn’t it? Witchcraft is