The Crucible Reverend Hale Analysis

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In Act One of the Crucible, John Proctor is analyzed by being juxtaposed to Reverend Hale. Both men are good people but have distinct reasons for making the town better. The differences in their levels of religion cause the variation in their characters. They are Christians, but John is a loose Christian compared to Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale immediately believes the case has to do with witchcraft. He would do anything for the church because he does not like to be involved with sins, sex, or the devil. He tries to make himself out as the expert in identifying witchcraft and tries to cure the people who have been affected. He tries to help the town people by freeing their children of these so called “demons.” Hale says, “We cannot look …show more content…
John Proctor does not only do acts of goodness for his religion, but he does it for his ethical views too. He is an honest man and has a good judge of character, but his affair makes him seem like a hypocrite to readers because they go against his ethical views. The affair with Abigail makes him feel guilty for Elizabeth, God, and himself. However, John says, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby,” he is trying to right his wrongs by forgetting about the situation and restricting himself from ever letting it happen again. That conversation proved that he is not a horrible person. He just made one mistake that causes his character to have troubles. Reverend’s reason for goodness was to save the town; however, John’s reason for goodness was to save the people that are being accused of witchcraft. Therefore, he has a conversation with Abigail even after the affair. He constantly tries to forget the past, so he believes Abigail’s words when she says it is not witchcraft. He is not the kind of man who would automatically assume the situation was caused by witchcraft. Although the two are on opposing sides, that does not mean either side is bad. They are both following what they believe to protect a group of