Good morning fellow members, today I am going to reveal my analysis of the character of Jon Hale. The Crucible was a trying affair on the small town of Salem. During this event a man came to the town of Salem, this man was Reverend Hale. Hale was crucial in the interpretation of these “satanic” works. He was the one of the first people to openly believe the witchcraft and one of the few to end up openly opposing it as well. Where the whole town fell to mass hysteria, believing that the devil, Hale was one of the few with the resolve to oppose this madness.
Reverend Hale is a just and composed man who has pure and right intentions, he arrived in Salem with an unbiased perspective. It was this view that brought the idea that the evidence would be as clear and “definite as stone” within the town affected due to the evidence supported that it. The character’s ideals are shown in the physical representation, the scales show his belief in the judicial system with the books indicating how and why he persecutes the witches. This representation is designed to show Hale’s structure and composition he tries to display throughout this affair.
However, due to the lack of solid evidence much of Hales ideals fall to McCarthyism. I primarily chose the use of scales and books to represent John Hale due to his belief structure in justice. It was put together wood and painted the colours to show the true ideals of Hales convictions. This supports the ideals and representation of Hale due to him being a structured and just man who had faith in the judicial system. After he talks convinces Procter to let Elizabeth go to court he states “Let you rest upon the justice of the court; the court will send her home, I know it. This is to better represent Hale’s judgment, via said scales. These scales signify Hales love and faith in the judicial system, where solid evidence and justification will bring justice to the perpetrator. Hale initially came to Salem with thoughts of righteousness and justice, to pursue and persecute those who dealt with the devil. Hales judgement rests upon such scales. However, due to the circumstances, the evidence and lack of, permanently tilting the scales in the way to favour those who accuse rather than those who are accused.
Primarily due to “witchcraft being ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime”. “Weighted with authority” was how Hale described his books when he first arrived in Salem. He intended to utilise these books to expose the devil within their midst by forcing him to be “stripped of all his brute disguises”. These books symbolise Hales power and intelligence as an educated man over the villagers of Salem. He doesn’t not necessarily view them in contempt but rather just less informed equals.
I chose their positioning upon the right hand side of the scales to signify Hales orientation as being on the “right” side of the law. Where he believed that his books would be able to help unearth the secrets that plagued Salem. The books were coloured in a darker purple as purple is known to signify nobility and royalty throughout the ages as well as give off the essence of inert authority. This power and authority is what Hale believes he can utilise to expose Lucifer to the town but is ultimately used by the wrong people for malicious intent.
Upon said books are people, these people are some of the malicious characters who have decided to take matters into their own hands with due to a “private vengeance working through this testimony”. People manipulate their position to kill who they see fit. This piece is to show how despite being a puritan society, many people will still use methods to gain what they desire. In this case by using Hale’s witch-hunt as a method to kill off anyone deemed an obstacle. Upon the opposite side of the scales hangs the bodies of the innocent.
Their heads stuck forevermore in their nooses with no way to escape the position they were put in by their persecutors. The hanging of innocent as seen in Hale’s scales was brought up by the books and blame that was enable, led by them from the alternate agenda of some of the town folk. These characters are painted white, not due to their souls being untarnished but rather being innocent of the witchcraft that Hale had claimed to take the town. White is a symbol colour of cleanliness, of innocence.
This representation shows Hale’s character as a whole. He started being a resourceful and composed character who believed in the power and effectiveness of the law. He was a crucial part within the story as it was his initial call to arms against the witchcraft in the town and subsequent persecution of innocents that the plot revolves around. However at the end of the story, his beliefs are squandered as they are used and manipulated to be a means to an end. Thank you.