Reverend Hale Monologue – The Crucible

I have always been a man of God, and I used to believe with all my heart that what I did was for him. I took it upon myself to find impurities in the world and banish them, whether they be cursed spirits, demons or, most common, witches. I was good at it as well, where I went, witches died, but let me tell you now; every single man or women hung by my order had evidence that they were evil so thick that it could not be ignored…their deaths don’t bother my conscience.

Salem, however was a different matter altogether. From the first minute inside that town I could sense evil and corruption so thick it felt as if it was in the very air! People were scared to talk aloud in-case someone yelled witch. Lucifer stalked the streets, that I am certain, but people used the suspicion for their own good, their own benefits, and in payment good Christian people died, all in the name of God.

What hurts my heart most however, is that it may of been my own vanity and confidence which started it all. Through years of training and experience, I had believed that I had grown to be the best witch-hunter there was, and yet here I had fallen for the lies of the true witch Abigail, who led the town by the nose by condemning anyone who opposed her. If I hadn’t been so quick to call Tituba a witch, then maybe, just maybe, the process of hanging, of murdering, so many in that town may of stopped altogether and my heart would be at peace.

When I think back on it all I wonder if we even caught a single witch, or just fell for Abigail’s’ lies. She is a witch, and my heart burns with hatred and shame to know that she still walks the lands God himself made for us, which begs the question; how can God let good Christian people die and still let someone as evil as her live? I cannot answer that question, however I do know that Gods word and judgement is given to the people of Salem through the courts of Massachusetts…the very same court that is willing to sign the death warrants of 72 men and women unless they confess to witchcraft. It rips up everything I have ever believed that something so impure can happen in Gods name.

I have some choices to make, choices which will challenge my faith, choices which will change who I am, but choices which I have to make all the same, because even after all of this I am still a man of God, and God is telling ME to put a stop to this.

But if I am to stop this madness I will need to go against the court, to go against Gods spoken law on Earth, which means I will be opposing Him and therefore be doing the Devils work of making good Christian people break His laws..in this case to make them lie. How can a man serve God by doing his sworn enemies work? Yet, how would it look in Gods eyes if a man had the power to stop evil but chose not to? I can not see an answer but I do see what path I will take, I am not a man who who stand aside while the Devil walks Gods lands.