Reverend Hale
1. Reverend Hale to me is a major character. Without Hale the "hype" of witchcraft most likely would have died right when it started. He came into Salem and lit a fire underneath everyone about the act of witchery. Without this character there would not be more accusations towards people, he gave the "afflicted" girls the power to accuse civilians in Salem because he created this idea that the girls had the right to accuse anyone they wanted.
2. Reverend Hale is that guy in your school that thinks he's the shit. That believes he is just a world beater and that anything he says or does, should be taken as "holy". He is motivated by his so called fame. He thinks so highly of himself, but maybe rightfully so. People treat him as if he is this meiah and that he knows everything about witchcraft. He thinks so highly of himself, and to me it seems like maybe he even knows he doens't know all that, but convinces himself with a load of crap that he is right.
3. Reverend Hale's conflict within the story is that he helped bring it upon the story. If Hale doesn't show up prancing around Salem with talk of witchcraft, then maybe the girls faking their "illness", give up and Salem stays as normal as it possibly can. He shows up in the beginning of the play and his presence alone adds to the conflict, then he goes and interrogates Tituba and the girls and eventually all of the accused and many of the town.
A good start about Hale. By this point in the play, Hale does play a major role. While he's important, I'm not sure he's really ever the actual focus. His actions do lead to changes, but ultimately they are somewhat in the background. The focus falls more on the girls and some of the other people more directly related/accused (Elizabeth, John Proctor, etc).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assertions about Hale, particularly in act 1 of the play. I'm not sure he stays quite as arrogant in act 2. He spends his night going to people's houses, not by the order of the court (which he points out on page 198) but on his own accord to make up his mind about the innocence and guilt of the town.
Is this conflict internal or external? By act 2, he seems to have some internal conflict, wondering if he is doing the correct thing.
Lacks quotations from the text. 8/10