It is evidently true that many novels and plays, including The Crucible by Arthur Miller, spend a great deal of time exploring and developing characters journey’s to achieve a greater fulfillment of one’s identity. In The Crucible there is a strong sense of the effect of examining one’s conscience upon John Proctor and Reverend Hale’s own search for their inner values, morals and identity. Reverend Hale slowly undergoes an examination of his beliefs and own sense of identity, through his struggle with his moral conscience where by he questions the very basis of his faith, and life ambitions.
Reverend Hale, initially blinded by the over powering and oppressive sense of authority and position, is unable to see the real basis of the developing situation in Salem. His main ambition and motivation was for the intellectual gain to analyze and expose the “invisible world” of spirits and the devil for medical practices. With his energy and idealist thought concentrated on his practices within the church and social position it left little room for Hale to self reflect, develop and grow within himself.
Upon arriving to Salem he felt the pride and worthiness of a specialist, whose unique knowledge in diabolism had at last been publicly called for. Through his confident attitude that provides approval “of the godly wisdom of the court”, he shows that his intentions are comprised of only good nature and are perpetrated to discover and clean any signs Lucifer in Salem, not for greed or personal gain. Hale resists letting his independent thoughts and primary instincts to get in the way of his better judgement “(the court will send her (Rebecca) home”).
Without realizing and analyzing his position, his presence adds to complication of the situation and plays a part in the interrogation (“you must give us all their names”) of other peoples lives. It is when Hale foolishly contributes to the condemning of clearly innocent towns folk that he is provided the basis of a troubled and guilt ridden conscience that leads Hale into a quest for justice and a sense of identity. As the play progresses, Hale is exceedingly pressured by his own moral conscience to re-analyze and examine his position and beliefs. Hale, through is frustration and sense of guilt, begins to break down the barriers that enabled him to relate with himself by questioning and re aligning his personal views and moral ideals. This is achieved through Hale’s willingness to confront his guilty conscience and try to correct the damage he may have caused upon the town’s people. Hale challenges the authority in the court (“Your honour, I cannot think you may judge the man on such evidence”) as he comes to realize the injustices that are occurring in the courtroom (“private vengeance is working through this testimony”).
In doing so, he challenges and questions the very basis of everything he believes in, thus he is forced to re-construct and re-align himself in order to find a sense of identity. He questions his own morality to discover if he has helped to preserve justice, or if he has coincided with the court interrogation with the town’s people’s rights and also inadvertently with his identity and integrity. His real journey begins when he seeks the truth within himself, and through his conscience and good judgement creates an overwhelming feeling of guilt (“my hands shakes yet as a wound! ) that drives Hale into a new perspective of the meaning of life. His self-reformation subjects a definite change verbally, spiritually and emotionally in Hale that is initially based upon his striving for control in the heating situation and to heal the damage inflicted upon innocent victims. It is through Hale’s struggled attempts in the courtroom with Danforth that we discover his self-discovery and reformation within himself, which begins the foundation of his beliefs and sense of identity.
Hale freely expresses his beliefs and instincts with great passion (“This girl has always struck me as false! ) to the court without fearing that his position or reputation will be tainted. Hale’s free speech intertwines both his outer motive and with his inner morals and integrity, as not only does he plead to seek fair justice (“I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! “), but also exemplifies the truthfulness and belief (“I believe in him”) within himself. In vain, Hale’s frustration over powers his clear thought of judgement and his raw sense of emotion is heightened and displayed (“I denounce these proceedings”) after the court convicted John Proctor for witchcraft.
The denouncing of the court symbolizes Hale’s attempt to abandon all his past false beliefs (“I quit this court! “) and leaves the courtroom scene to self reflect and to rediscover, in a peaceful state his identity, morals, values and calling in life. There is a noticeable change in Hale’s character in, which displays his conversion from a hard headed follower to a more insightful and self-reflective individual. Upon his return to Salem, Hale’s desperate cries to stop the insanity that had over ridden the town’s people were ignored and his influence had diminished.
But through his emotional speech to Elizabeth, we see how Hale has re-aligned himself and thus is able to come to terms with his own sense of identity. In terms change, Hale realises that life isn’t as simple as following instructions from a book “we cannot read God’s will”, thus resorting to the fact that we have to make and justify our own rational decisions. Commonsense is what Hale puts forward to Elizabeth (“it may well be that God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride”), implying that John’s death is a waste of life and “God’s most precious gift”.
Thus Hale’s reasoning with Elizabeth is to let her come to terms with and let her be accountable for the effects of her decision- the life or death of her husband. Hale’s passion to preserve good and justice, highlights that he is both spiritually and emotionally developing for the better and his ambition for self discovery and identity is a journey for Hale just beginning after the events in Salem. In contrast, John Proctor is always consciously aware and is heavily entrenched in a self-motivated journey that constantly examines his own identity and integrity as a human being.
Thus the very high standards of nobility, honesty and integrity that he sets upon himself, leads to a man whose identity and values remains true till his death. It is through John Proctor’s conscience that we see him constantly reanalyzing and evaluating his values to achieve an ultimate level of true identity and moral values. John Proctor’s underlying sense of responsibility for his family, their position in the town, loyalty to his wife, his actions as a role model for his children and the importance of family name are the primary elements that contribute to achievement and ambition in his life.
These aspects are important in the development of John Proctor; however his absolute pride and moral integrity within himself, distinguishes his sense of identity and ability to create his own sense of complete happiness. John puts great emphasis on the value of ones name (“We vote by name in this society, not by acreage”) and more importantly is concerned with his own identity and what his name represents about him and his family.
He believes that his greatest possession in his life is the honesty and respectability in his name (How may I live without my name? ), which leads to his nobility, trustfulness and survival of his true values as a human being. Although a man of inner qualities of integrity, honesty and a good providing husband to his wife and children, John’s conscience is plagued by guilt and over time is disheartened through his affair with Abigail.
John’s dysfunctional marriage with Elizabeth and his “lust” for the young and vulnerable Abigail creates a void of self-denial and justification of the action in John’s personality and identity. He wants to dismiss (“I have forgot Abigail”) Abigail and believes he has the good heart and responsibility to remain faithful towards Elizabeth. In the event of Elizabeth being accused of witchery, John’s only thought in mind was to free and clear Elizabeth’s tarnished name and to expose madness and injustices perpetrated on innocent town’s people injected by Abigail.
Thus, this elemental component is used by Miller to create a situation that enforces John into evaluating and discovering his identity, which evidently enriches his journey towards moral contentment within himself. With his wife’s conviction, John feels that he is apart of the cause of grief and problems (Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all pretence is ripped away”) in Salem and hence his perseverance within the court to try and resolve the matter.
However, the irony of the situation is that his presence in the court undermines his intentions. In a desperate bid to try and free his wife, John confesses his act of lechery with Abigail (“I have known her”) and in doing so is able to confront and analyze his guilt-infested conscience. John is ashamed of his betrayal of his wife (“I wish you had some evil in you so that you might know me”) but this opens the doorway to reconcile his inner guilt and to re-evaluate his position as a human being.
Integrity, honesty and a sense of moral contentment is what John Proctor believes in, and his journey in life has becomes quite clear to him when he is imprisoned for witchery. He realizes that he must stand up to these morals he has set upon himself, and with the strength and noble acts shown from within (it were a fearsome man, Giles Cory”) other town members he knows his fate is death. In John Proctor’s sub conscience he has already made his mind, as he would rather die than to corrupt his family’s name in the town and make them outcasts (“how can I live with out my name”).
His journey in life was to gain respect, pride and nobility for himself and his family, and although he never forgiven his guilty conscience he was able to up hold his moral values to the end of his life. Both John Proctor and Reverend Hale journey through the course of The Crucible to discover their own sense of identity. The search for self-understanding is most important in the development of these characters and Miller has used them to create a sense of how one can overcome inner-struggle through self-reflection and alignment to find a real sense of identity.
