Hale’s Personal Struggle
Is there a clear difference between right and wrong in this world? Arthur Miller explores this question in The Crucible with Hale, a minister that thought of himself as a doctor of the supernatural. He came into the town with his books that were ‘’weighted with authority’’ (Miller, page 36) and he believed that with these books, any wrongdoings of people who worked with the devil would become transparent, and those people could be brought to justice with ease. Hale was a key component in sparking the mass hysteria in Salem. This is because of his belief in the beginning of the story that there was an indisputable difference between right and wrong, thus leading to his assistance with condemning anybody that was accused of being a witch. …show more content…
We see this when he says: ‘’...We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone’’ (Miller, page 38). This quote describes his confidence in his ability to find where the Devil has been and how to differentiate between the wrongdoers of Salem, and the people who are good. When Hale makes the girls confess other witches, this sparks the mass hysteria and results in many people being accused as witches. This causes Hale to not know what to do since Hale also says: ‘’Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small’’ (Miller, page 67). Since Hale believes in this idea, it forces to him to arrest any person that the girls confess as a witch even if he may doubt it. The people who are accused are referred to as cracks in the fortress, this is because any person who is accused of being a witch must still be taken to trial and treated as one, even if they seem innocent. The confusion that this caused with Hale internally shows us that Hale is having issues now in deciding if what is happening is right or
Is there a clear difference between right and wrong in this world? Arthur Miller explores this question in The Crucible with Hale, a minister that thought of himself as a doctor of the supernatural. He came into the town with his books that were ‘’weighted with authority’’ (Miller, page 36) and he believed that with these books, any wrongdoings of people who worked with the devil would become transparent, and those people could be brought to justice with ease. Hale was a key component in sparking the mass hysteria in Salem. This is because of his belief in the beginning of the story that there was an indisputable difference between right and wrong, thus leading to his assistance with condemning anybody that was accused of being a witch. …show more content…
We see this when he says: ‘’...We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone’’ (Miller, page 38). This quote describes his confidence in his ability to find where the Devil has been and how to differentiate between the wrongdoers of Salem, and the people who are good. When Hale makes the girls confess other witches, this sparks the mass hysteria and results in many people being accused as witches. This causes Hale to not know what to do since Hale also says: ‘’Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small’’ (Miller, page 67). Since Hale believes in this idea, it forces to him to arrest any person that the girls confess as a witch even if he may doubt it. The people who are accused are referred to as cracks in the fortress, this is because any person who is accused of being a witch must still be taken to trial and treated as one, even if they seem innocent. The confusion that this caused with Hale internally shows us that Hale is having issues now in deciding if what is happening is right or