Little White Lies In The Crucible

Terry Goodkind once said, “Once you place the crown of a liar on your head, you can take it off, but it leaves a stain for all time” This old adage rings true for many characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Many of them lied, cheated, omitted, and manipulated their way through the court and their own neighbors for the good of their own personal agenda; and the effects of those dishonest actions affected them for the rest of their lives. My whole life I have heard it said that little white lies do not matter. But they do, they matter a lot. They build on top of each other, snowballing into much bigger lies with much larger consequences. However, although the actions of all the characters varied, they followed similar patterns. In other words, the character’s motivations behind their actions generally fell under four separate categories: vengeance on others, self-preservation, protection of loved ones, or hunger for power.
Characters like Abigail

People who were motivated by this were Reverend Parris and Thomas Putnam. As brought up before, Parris occupied a job that Putnam believed should belong to his candidate. If Parris was fired from his position, Putnam could again refer his kin, which would, in turn draw more political power for himself. It is also evident that Parris was hungry for power. One instance of that is in the beginning when Betty is sick, and could not move or wake from her sleep. He would not let anyone into his house, for he didn’t want rumors of witchcraft spreading concerning him. However, when Goody Putnam arrives, Arthur Miller describes Parris’ reaction having a ‘certain deference’. “No-no, I cannot have anyone… Why, Goody Putnam, come in” (Miller 1105). The Putnams have power in the town, and the last thing he wants is for them to dislike him. In fact, he wants people of consequence to respect him, and if he turns them away from his door, that is unlikely to