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.