The Crucible Group

Question:

lovesashley
lovesashley
Student
High School - 11th Grade

In "The Crucible", who requests the postopnement of the hangings? Why is this ironic? What is his motivation for making this request?

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Posted by lovesashley on Tuesday October 21, 2008 at 8:38 PM and tagged with danforth, hale, hangings, irony, the crucible.

Answers:


  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Ironically, Reverend Hale requests postponement of the hangings. He has been one of the chief judges in the cases against alleged witches and was the expert first called in by Reverend Parris to confirm the finding of witchcraft. However, Hale has become disgusted with all of the hangings that have occurred. The final straw seems to be the confrontation between John Proctor and Judge Danforth over Abigail's true motives. Hale believes that Proctor and Abigail committed adultery and therefore, all of her testimony is suspect. Danforth is more concerned about the reputation of the court than justice. So, in an effort to save lives, Hale requests that the hangings be postponed, a request that Danforth denies.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/crucible

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    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Tuesday October 21, 2008 at 8:45 PM