at he is less sure of himself. At the end of the play he has been completely crushed: he, a minister of the light, has "come to do the Devil's work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!"It's hard to imagine going through a more horrifying experience than the disillusionment of the Reverend Mr. Hale. All those years of dedicated, loving study made worthless by a band of hysterical and not-at-all innocent girls. Made worse than worthless--his learning ends up sending nineteen people to the gallows. And worst of all, he is helpless to stop it, having started it in the first place.Is there evil in this man? Perhaps. According to Christian doctrine, one of the seven deadly (or damnable) sins is pride. In a way it's the worst one, because it was pride that made the devil rebel against God. And Reverend Hale, when he first appears, feels "the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for."He certainly gets his comeuppance.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: REVEREND SAMUEL PARRISAt the beginning of the play, when his little girl Betty lies sick on her bed, Reverend Parris is less worried about her condition than about what the neighbors will think if it turns out Betty is "witched." Like a lot of selfish people, he feels persecuted: anyone who disagrees with Reverend Parris is his enemy, part of a conspiracy that's out to "get him." He is convinced that John Proctor is the leader of this conspiracy, because Proctor's always criticizing him. Proctor doesn't come to church anymore because, as he says, Reverend Parris can talk of nothing but hell and damnation--"Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more."Parris also seems to be greedy. Proctor tells Reverend Hale in Act II that Parris can't "pray to God without he have golden candlesticks upon ...
