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.