the evil of fear

In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, the strict Puritan
community of Salem is bombarded with the hysteria of witchcraft. It starts
when five young girls of Salem are caught dancing in the forest. Instead
as mere children playing, this behavior is viewed upon by the Puritans as
the work of the devil. As the hysteria builds momentum, more and more
accusations radiate. Reverend Hale, a well known expert on witches, is
brought into Salem to 'cleanse' the town of it's evil. At the beginning of
the play, Hale leads the onslaught of punishment for the accused; but by
the end, he radically changes his views, denouncing the court and its
proceedings. At first, Hale believes that the witch trials are necessary,
and stands by them unconditionally. When he first comes to town, he
concludes that Satan is at work. "And I mean to crush him utterly if he
has shown face!" (p.39) Hale shows his strong abhorrence toward evil.
He is willing to follow the church's authority to do anything to put a stop to
it. While he is talking to Abigail, a girl who was caught dancing in the
forest, he yells, "You cannot evade me " (p.43) Hale expects to find
evidence of witchcraft. This expectation leads him to early, not fully
thought out conclusions. Hale is determined to end the alignments these
witches have with the Devil, and he knows the court is too. Later, Hale's
views on the courts change and he becomes less obedient to it's
decisions. When the judge finds out that John Proctor, an accused witch,
plows on the Sabbath, he becomes disgusted; but Hale questions his
authority. "Your Honor, I cannot think that you may judge the man on
such evidence." (p.78) Hale is slowly starting to see how much authority
the judges have that they do not deserve. He is becoming doubtful in
their decisions. Hale, seeing the danger Mr. Proctor is facing, begs, "In
God's name, sir, stop here; send him home and let him come again with a
lawyer-" (p.85) Hale realizes the lack of representation that Mr. Proctor
has. He does not want to see an innocent man be put in jail, or even
worse, hanged. Hale is starting to lose his alliance with the courts.
Finally, Hale becomes convinced that the trials are wrong, and he wants

to end them. When he is counseling Elizabeth Proctor, he pleads, "Let
you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own." (p.110) He knows that
he has played a major role in the trials by instigating them. He does not
want her to allow this mistake to continue, so he begs her to confess to
the charges. When the Judge does not listen to Hale's request to end the
trials, He exclaims, "I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!"
(p.101) Hale knows the grave error these trials have caused, possibly
innocent people being hanged. He does not want his name to be part of
it. Hale willfully declares himself against the court. The Puritan's strict
way of life, and the rules the religion places on it's society, leads to the
fear that evil is thriving in Salem. Reverend Hale is caught in the middle,
and while he thinks he is helping the Community with their problems, he
is actually making them worse. Eventually, he discovers his terrible
mistakes, but by then, it is too late.