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Examples Of Lying In The Crucible

Decent Essays

Many themes are prevalent throughout Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Throughout the play, Miller has made it clear that lying and deceit have corrupted even the best person. Characters such as Abigail and John fall victim to this compulsive force at one time. Miller writes and gives examples of how people can fall prey to this force. Throughout Miller’s play The Crucible, through the characters of Abigail and John, he conveys his message that lying is used in order to save oneself regardless of moral consequences. Abigail lies in order to save herself from being executed and passes the blame to many others. After Abigail ‘confesses’ about what she was doing in the woods one night, Betty approaches her and tell her that she “drank blood” …show more content…

Danforth interrogates him, and he lies and says that he practices witchcraft. As he is continuously interrogated, Danforth asks him if he “ever saw her [Rebecca Nurse] with the Devil?” and he denies and replies “no” (Miller 244-246). John Proctor is willing to lie and let others hear what they want to in order for himself to be set free; however, his honesty prevents him from getting others in trouble. He will not let others be jailed to free himself, and Danforth keeps listing names and John Proctor keeps denying that they meet with the devil. It is important to notice that Miller incorporates these details into his play to demonstrate that some people’s moral values can help them stay honest. This can relate to the history of the United States when the people began realizing that slavery was morally wrong. Dr. Martin Luther King wrote in his famous document Letter to Birmingham Jail, “One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (King). This is describing how people must morally make the correct decisions in their life. Abigail in The Crucible makes morally wrong decisions and is just playing along with

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