Examples Of Lies In The Crucible

“You’re pulling down Heaven and raising up a whore!” (Act 3) The Crucible is a play written in the late 1600’s by Arthur Miller. The play is based off of the Salem Witch Trials, in which a bunch of people accused others of being witches. There are many types of propaganda and also many examples of these types of propaganda in The Crucible. Some types of propaganda found in The Crucible are fear, testimonials and bandwagon.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a historical play set in 1962 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. As you may know, you've all placed your trust in the words and actions of someone close to you. And what do they do? They betray you! It's rarely justified, and can happen to the best of us. Based on authentic records of witchcraft trials in the seventeenth-century this play explains how a small group of girls manage to create a massive panic in their town by spreading accusations of witchcraft. These rumors in turn are the causes that many citizens are hung for. This essay will show how the lies and betrayal of a few individuals eventually leads to the downfall of Salem and its society.

“The Crucible” is full of sins that are committed by indirect thoughts/actions and direct statements/commentary of specifically the characters John and Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend John Hale. These characters exhibit at least one or more virtues as they undergo or may possibly overcome a dilemma.

In society, we are blind to lies that are taking place around us everyday. Small lies, big lies, lies right in front of our face, and we are oblivious to almost all of it. This is shown really well in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Throughout the play, which takes place during the witch trials that took place in Salem, lies make up a big portion of the plot. Some of these types of lies that are used are described very well in Stephanie Ericsson’s essay The Ways We Lie. These variations of lies amplify the outrage created, through McCarthyism, and the Salem Witch trials that take place in the play The Crucible.

Imagine this, what would it be like to end up in jail because of a rumor? That is what happened during McCarthyism and the Red Scare, people were arrested for rumors of being communist and put in jail when they really weren't. The authors of USHistory.org mentions how the government steps up in the investigations. In this article the authors are talking about how they stepped up their role in the investigation. It states, “The U.S Congress created a committee that sought to find “Un-American activities” in the hollywood film industry” (USHistory.org). The U.S Congress thought there were “Un-American” things happening in the hollywood industry so they created a committee to investigate more. The people who were accusing others of being communists were allowed to go free. With all of this happening it caused others to get fired from their jobs in local governments. Another article states, “McCarthey later gave Congress the name of the State Department employees the he claimed were traitors” (McCarthey). McCarthy used this to scare the people, he then took advantage of it, and turned in the traitors to Congress. Not long after the government acted on the list of traitors which led people to getting fired or jailed. These articles are very similar because of the many rumors causing deaths, and problems with other people.

“The arrogant are wise in their own eyes, but the wise will recognize their lies” (Anonymous). This quote accurately describes how the events in the Salem Witch Trials unfolded. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, places the reader into the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Arthur Miller tells a fictional story based on real events of how people who were wise in their own eyes used others to better themselves in a community based on honesty. Three characters from the story stand apart in their arrogance. Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Parris were conceited and cared only about their personal gains. These characters used their power to blame, but not to be blamed or accused of alleged witchcraft which resulted in the deaths of several townspeople. Arthur Miller used these characters to illustrate how simple lies and rumors can spread and become an unstoppable force. With these simple but powerful accusations, well respected citizens soon became the targets of these characters manipulation.

“Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies” (Dorothy Allison, Bastard out of Carolina). In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem is being held together by false truths, and the people of the Salem witch trials are to be prosecuted for it. Lying is to blame for the Salem witch trials because it lead to the deaths of many innocent people.

The Crucible has a variety of themes within it. One example of lies and deceit is when John

“One lie is enough to question all truths” Anonymous. In the Crucible, Arthur Miller expressed lying All throughout the story. Girls dance in the woods and are accused The witchery and they lie and say they dealt with the devil.That way since witchery was big in the 1600s was believed over every other person's truth, they lie and lie to try to get out of Their own lies people get accused and die because the truth is not believed over the lies people.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller mainly focuses on the obnoxious behavior that resulted from dark desires and hidden agendas. Lies are told multiple times which causes people to be hung. If it weren’t for Abigail being so deceitful, the proctors wouldn’t be in a situation. The themes fear and deceit are connected through Abigail in Arthur Miller’s the Crucible. Abigail from the crucible demonstrates that fear and deceit work together to give her power.

Lying In “The Crucible”, Where the Line Is Crossed Lies are a basic aspect of human nature, even children begin lying from age three. But, when a lie is taken too far, people can get hurt. Throughout “The Crucible”, Arthur Miller continuously returns to the theme of the damage that lying for self gain wreaks. This can be seen from the beginning, where Abigail shifts the blame to Tituba, to the very end when judge Danforth refuses to postpone hangings in order to save face. This aspect of “The Crucible” is not to be overlooked, as selfishness turns out to be the drive of a great majority of characters within the play.

Everyone makes mistakes, and how a person reacts to their mistake may depend on how big of an error it is. Many guilty criminals, for example, will do whatever they can to prove their innocence. Similarly, in The Crucible by Arthur Miller many characters embody this same idea. The Crucible is a story about the events of the Salem witch trials. After a group of girls are caught dancing in the woods, the suspicion of witchcraft starts uproar in the city. The girls point fingers at innocent people to avoid their guilt. Unjust people, out of fear, shame, or pride will perpetuate and defend their mistakes. Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, and Judge Danforth express this idea throughout The Crucible.

No matter what you may do to stop yourself from lying, you’ll never get away. Lying is just an characteristic of human nature that is always going to happen. In the play, The Crucible, many of the characters lie and are very dishonest, each of them having a different reasons. The straight forward Puritan idea often makes the characters to bargain their honesty because they feel like the only other thing they can do is lie.

Reverend Parris Logical Fallacies… NAH! In the play “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, the character Reverend Parris desires to secure his position as the minister, by showing the biggest logical fallacies which was limiting choices for the towns folk. Reverend Parris has been seen treating people badly and only caring about his well being. For him to limit someone's choices so he can get his way.

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller there's a lot of sin and guilt throughout the play. An example is John proctor has committed adultery with Abigail Williams while he was married to his wife Elizabeth proctor. Now John Proctor believes his affair with Abigail Williams ruined his relationship with God and his wife Elizabeth. John had told Elizabeth that he had not been alone with Abigail and he knows that is a lie. In this play John, I think, is the biggest character and changes throughout the play.