Why does Reverend Hale visit the Proctors?

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, had many of the main characters that had their ups and downs, including Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale, the man always with good intention, tries to correct his mistakes of the witch trials twice and this ultimately raises questions about him being a man of God. He first quits the court and refuses to be involved in any of the decisions, but then he realises that he needs to try and save lives to correct his mistakes.

Hale, like a lot of people in Salem, wants to be a man of God and to act in God’s image. He was called to Salem to find any trails of witchcraft so that the town can be cleansed for the reason he lives for: he wants to act in God’s image. He is very enthusiastic about finding witches but that hunger was ultimately one of the reasons for his downfall. In the book on ,page 36, we can see Arthur Miller expressing Hale’s character, stating that “his goal is light, goodness”, meaning that his aim in life to bring goodness and light into people’s, which is what most men in Salem wanted as well.

He went to Salem to revive the light and goodness in the village but that hunger led to people taking advantage of it, and one of those people are Abigail. An article from www.cliffnotes.com, a website containing study guides written by real teachers and professors, expressed that “his zeal for discovering witchcraft allows others, particularly Abigail, to manipulate him” and this was the reason there was chaos in Salem.

Once the chaos erupted in Salem, Hale found himself in a situation that brings him to the realisation that he was wrong but the court weren’t going to agree with his arguments. He made decisions that showed his loss of faith and his biggest decision sparks the questioning of him being an image of God. Hale first quit the quote, shouting, on page 120 in the book, “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” This was after he pleaded to the court multiple times about Proctor actually telling the truth but they did not accept his judgement.

He quit and then left Salem. After a few months, he went back to Salem to do something he could never dream of: to promote a lie. A man who always favoured goodness and truth was telling everyone in jail to sin, stating, on page 131 in the book, “I come to do the Devil’s work, I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves.” He was trying to rectify his mistakes by telling everyone to lie so that they can live, but with a consequence of possibly tarnishing his name as a man of God.

Reverend Hale, a good hearted man, went to Salem to cleanse the village, only for others to cause him to turn his and other’s world upside down. He later tried to fix his mistakes, and in the end he turned to the one solution that he despised. The character development of Reverend Hale goes through negative obstacles that later changes his life forever. Ultimately, he was trying his best to save lives that weren’t guilty but the way he did it leaves a debate of whether he is a good man or not.