Hale Begins to Help

During Act IV Hale has given up on trying to find witches in Salem. He knows that the entire witch hunt going on is simply people trying to get back at others whom they wanted revenge on. However, when he was searching the town for witches he came upon a startling discovery. He realized that those accused that admitted to being witches were eventually set free to live, and that those that denied the witchcraft charges were hanged. Knowing that the accused were not really witches but if they admitted to witchcraft they would live, he came back to town to warn the accused. He told them that choosing life over pride was a much smarter choice. He begins to tell Proctor that nothing could be greater than his life is he isn't there to enjoy it. Hale is beginning to think more as a regular person than someone hunting witches. Although against all of his wishes, Proctor chooses death and a good name for his children over his life. As Proctor is walking to the gallows to be hanged, Hale watches with both confusion and envy. He has no idea how someone could choose death over life but he is still jealous as to how someone could give so much to the ones they loved.

Hale's Turning Point

Act III begins with Giles accusing Putnam of trying to get more land. Giles says that Putnam is getting his daughter to accuse others of witchcraft so that he can take their land. Hale is called in to help get to the bottom of it. In Hale's mind, he knows that Putnam is an egotistical man who only wants more land and more money. He knows that Giles is telling the truth, but has no proof so he can do nothing to help. This greatly helps influnce Hale's decision later on in the play. He starts realizing more and more that what's going on is wrong and injust. Later on in the act, Abigail and her group of friends are all called in to the courtroom. They begin to pretend to have a vision of a bird attacking them. This annoys Hale greatly, because he know's that the girls are faking but the judges all believe in the girl's act and he can do nothing to change this. Abigail ends up accusing Proctor of being the devil's man and trying to get her to join the devil's forces. Danforth, believing that she is telling the truth, orders the arrest of Proctor. This is the last straw for Hale. He knows that Abigail and her friends are only pretending about everything having to do with witchcraft. He knows that Abigail is lying about the entire thing and he can no longer take all these false accusations. Hale denounces Proctor's arrest and quits the court.

Reverend Hale Changes His Mind

In act two, Reverend Hale begins to investigate the accused families in order to try and find a witch in them. He goes from house to house to try and find witches. Hale eventually ends up at the Proctor house. Hale ends up asking John to name his commandments but he can only name nine. The one he can't name, ironically, is the one he has committed with Abigail. Within a few minutes, Elizabeth is arrested for accusations of witchcraft. During Hale’s encounter with Proctor, Proctor said two things that affected Hales belief in the presence of witchcraft. He said that if the accused did not confess, they would always be hanged, but if they did confess, they would not be hanged. He also tells Hale that vengeance is walking through the town of Salem. By John saying such, Hale comes to believe that that the accusers may in fact be guilty themselves. He is beginning to realize that the people accusing each other may simply be finding a way to get back at someone. However, by now Hale also understands that the decisions of the trials are out of his power, and he may not be able to influence the decisions the court makes.

Hale during Act I

At the beginning of Act I, Reverend Parris was looking for someone to help find witches in the town so he called upon the new graduate of Harvard, Reverend Hale. When Hale arrives in Salem there are already plenty of accusations towards people in the city. When Hale arrives in town he is told of the women and girls caught dancing in the forest which, at the time, was believed to be a clear sign of witchcraft. Hale doesn't want to jump to conclusions and accuse the dancing women of witchcraft, but other people deliberately state that the witchcraft has obviously affected many people. Paris continually tries to persuade Hale of the presence of witchcraft by showing him his daughter Betty, who seems to be stuck in a coma-like state.
At this point in the novel, Hale is a very proud Reverend. He is full of knowledge due to the fact that he just graduated form Harvard. Hale appears to be a very intellectual man and doesn’t seem to be easily convinced. His approach to finding the bewitched is finding evidence of their terrible actions, which he is currently having trouble with. He doesn't want to outright accuse the dancing girls but he does want to find witches in the town. Hale is not quick to judge, for he believes that the court will make just decisions in the proceedings.