Hale, meanwhile, is undergoing an internal crisis. He clearly enjoyed being called to Salem because it made him feel like an expert. His pleasure in the trials comes from his privileged position of authority with respect to defining the guilty and the innocent. However, his surprise at hearing of Rebecca’s arrest and the warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest reveals that Hale is no longer in control of the proceedings. Power has passed into the hands of others, and as the craze spreads, Hale begins to doubt its essential justice.
The revelation of Reverend Parris’s greed over money and material goods that he, as a priest should have given up any thought of, must of come as another shock to him. John told him about the gold candlesticks, ‘… for twenty week he preach nothing but golden candlesticks’. The golden candlesticks have not been mentioned before in the book but there are other occasions which show his greed. It also comes as another shock to him to find out that everything Abigail has envisioned was all a fai?? ade. John tells him, ‘Mr Parris discovered them sportin’ in the woods.
They were startled and took sick’. Hale was obviously deeply shocked, and the audience would notice it too as if you look down the page you’ll see it says: (His eyes wide): Abigail Williams told you it had naught to do with witchcraft! If the actor of Hale is a good one, he will show the audience how shocked he is to find out his new piece of information through his facial expression and his tone of voice. This scene is the turning point in the book this is when John decides to show his fury upon the ‘court of justice’, like an ocean falling upon the rocks is how he will fall upon the court.
Hale realises what really is going on in the village of Salem is not witchcraft but Vengeance. John sees how much of a manipulative bitch Abigail can really be. This is the scene where everything takes a nosedive into the pit of Gehenna. Hale summed it up earlier when he said on page 58 ‘If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning. ‘ Hale’s meaning was that if Rebecca was convicted of being a witch then nothing in the world would stop hell taking over earth.
