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Post by stephaniemi116 on Oct 1, 2012 17:58:40 GMT -5
So do the characters have anything against Hale? Or are we as readers supposed to see something that the characters don't?
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Post by gemmala116 on Oct 1, 2012 18:46:36 GMT -5
I think that since Hale truly does believe in witchcraft as it is written in the Gospel, he has a hard time defending Proctor and Elizabeth despite the evidence in their favor. In that sense, I think that Proctor and Elizabeth hold something against Hale for not making more of an effort to defend them when Cheever comes to take Elizabeth to jail. Prior to that action, I think there is conflict between Hale and Proctor because Hale strictly follows the teachings of God and the Puritan people, whereas Proctor doesn't really buy into the Puritan ideology which offends Reverend Hale.
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Post by agathama116 on Oct 2, 2012 22:18:03 GMT -5
I think that Hale is definitely more of a positive character then a negative one, largely because he is the complete opposite of Parris; he uses kindness instead of cruelty. Hale has pure intentions and wants to help the community, not himself (unlike Parris, who is very self-centered), so in that way, the community respects him more. Especially in comparison to Parris, Hale seems like a much more trustworthy and likeable character. Miller describes him as a "eager-eyed intellectual" (page 32), which seems to be a compliment, and his studies of the Devil confirm his belief in God, because one cannot exist without the other. I slightly disagree with what Gemma said about Hale strictly following the teachings of God, because since Miller called him an intellectual, he would be questioning and flexible and not very rigid about the Puritan ideology. But, I do agree that Proctor may have a problem with Hale, because he could have done a better job defending Elizabeth against the accusations.
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Post by juliana112 on Oct 3, 2012 5:50:57 GMT -5
I agree with Gemma on the fact that Proctor dislikes Hale a little since he did not prevent Elizabeth from being taken to jail, even after they'd had the conversation in which it became evident that the witchcraft was being faked, to a degree.
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