In the well-known play The Crucible, the themes of lies and deception are strong and always present, and it even shows the radical argument that no kind of deception can ever be ethically justified. At the heart of the play is the idea that lies and deception can be used to manipulate and control others, leading to tragic consequences. The characters in the play, whether knowingly or unknowingly, engage in acts of deceit, concealment, and seld-deception, highlighting the destructive power of falsehood and the importance of telling the truth. Through its portrayal of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible raises important questions about the nature of truth, justice, and morality, and highlights the dangers of allowing fear and hysteria to cloud one's judgment. But what even is the definition of a lie? Within a lie, one “must believe that they are saying something that is not true” (Mahon). Although this sounds simple, things get more difficult when focusing on deception. Deception, as opposed to lying, is not restricted to statements. Kantian ethics, a set of universal moral principles …show more content…
They all do in some way. The judge, lieutenant governor, and ministers lie to themselves and everybody else in the town by saying that they serve the cause of God's justice. John Proctor lies to himself about the nature of his relationship with Abigail Williams, initially believing that he can put his affair with her behind him and move on with his life; similarly, Elizabeth Proctor also lies to herself about the state of her marriage and the extent to which her own suspicions and doubts may have contributed to John's infidelity. Abigail lies to herself in the first act and tries to convince others that while in the woods, they only danced and did not partake in anything similar to witchcraft, and Reverend Parris lies about his knowledge of Abigail’s actions and his own involvement in order to protect his reputation and
J. Blackledge 27 January 2023 CCR English III Block 4 In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there is an abundance of dishonesty. In a time of deception, there are many characters blind to the truth. Some people were informed of the truth but denied it. One example of this is the judge of Salem.
Honesty is something we all want. Honesty describes person’s nature and builds more trust. Abigail gets affected by the witch craft and they try to find who is behind all of this. Honesty is a key to describe your nature. The crucible has a really unique story.
PRESENTATION, POWER > LIES In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, conflict arrives when a group of girls teams up with the leader Abigail Willams. Abigail Williams starts the accusation that there are witches in the town of Salem and tons of people take advantage of the situation and start accusing people of being a witch. Towards the middle of the novel, before the scene, John Proctor uses his final card to try to overpower Abigail in the court which works but then Elizabeth gets called into the courtroom for reassurance for Judge Danforth and so is being interrogated by Judge Danforth, to see if she would ever lie.
Janae Wimbley Mrs. Agee English 102 13 February 2023 People Can Be Easily Fooled In 1692 the Salem witch trials took place in eastern Massachusetts where multiple innocent women and men were arrested and hung on accounts of pursuing witchcraft. Miller based The Crucible off the events of the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy Investigations of the 1950s. He wanted to write a play considering the cultural and political events that were happening in the U.S. around the time of the government seeking to conceal communism. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses dynamic and static characters to display how people value their reputation, obtain justice, experience judgement, and are intolerant to one’s views or beliefs.
“The Crucible” is a timeless play whose ideas can be applied to nearly every time period in history. Arthur Miller’s writing contained insights into human nature and displayed the dangers of hearsay and abuses of power. Those dangers were very present in Arthur Miller’s depiction of the Salem Witch Trials and even in more modern times. Through his fictionalized depiction of the events of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials Miller painted a vivid picture that’s allegories can be compared to even modern events. The events of “The Crucible” are comparable to both the Red Scare and the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Fear, anger, and distrust are feelings that all humans face on a daily basis. In Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible, Abigail Williams’s actions opened Pandora's box in her small town. The story takes place in Salem, a puritan village, and it’s a tale of how a single person can bring havoc to the ones around them. The Crucible acts as a morality play by illustrating how manipulation and panic can cause false accusations that lead to death. Miller shows this through symbolism and characterization of good and evil.
Twenty-five men and women died of false accusations against themselves in the 17th Century Salem Witch trials. Two hundred five leaders in the US government were accused of being communist by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Both historical events make a negative parallel to each other, thus exposing the detrimental effects of fear and selfishness on humans. Author Miller in the play, “The Crucible”, uses a jealous and destructive tone that draws striking similarities between the witch-hunt that took place in the 17th Century Salem and the communist hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Miller uses the tool of allegory to reveal the dangerous consequences of falsely accusing individuals and exposing the motives of those in power who use fear and manipulation to maintain control.
Dorothy McCoy once popularly said “Manipulation is a contagious disease. Much more dangerous than the flu because it can endure for a lifetime”. This quote embodies the fact that all it takes is 1 lie, 1 exaggeration, or 1 myth to ruin a person’s life-or-many lives in the case of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In this play, one lie turned into a complete disaster with people being accused of witchcraft left and right leaving no one spared. Some of the accused chose to “confess” to their sorcery in order to save their lives while others upheld their integrity and died in the process.
In The Crucible the lies and deceit led to people being brainwashed and influenced by others thoughts and opinions. Arthur Miller shows us this in act II when Elizabeth Proctor is set up and arrested so that Abigail can have John to herself. Abigail setup Elizabeth by planting a bobby pin in the doll Mary Warren had made that day and gave to Elizabeth as a gift. Abigail later acted as if she got stabbed in the same place Mary had left the pin to make it look like Elizabeth sent out her spirit to harm her. “Abigail were stabbed tonight; a needle were found stuck into her belly”….(Hale
All things considered, "The Crucible" serves as a potent reminder of the value of truth and reason as well as the need to fend off mob mentality and tyrannical authority. It makes us consider our propensity for accepting and disseminating lies as well as our awareness of potential exploiters. In the end, it serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving in to our baser desires and the importance of upholding the values of justice and honesty in our
Have you ever been accused of something you didn't do but you could not prove your innocence so you ended up confessing anyway? During the Salem witch Trials more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 19 people were hanged. The Crucible is a play written about these trials and everything that happened. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the claim by John Proctor, “There are them that will swear to anything before they’ll hang” is correctly shown in the book, and the Salem Witch Trials because in both, many people confessed to things that they didn’t do so they would get out of trouble (Hale 69).
The Crucible by Arthur Miller has many lessons to learn from. One of The major lesson I thought that is important is honesty. The accusations throughout the story were built on lies from those trying to protect their own name, and putting the town into confusion. Nobody in Salem, Massachusetts felt like they could trust anymore, after all of the false allegations made. If Three characters in the story would have been honest from the beginning, the town would not have been in such confusion.
This disgusting behavior seen today is also seen in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is the story of a young Puritan woman in 1692 Massachusetts who made false witchcraft accusations in an attempt to save her life and to end a rival’s life. While her actions are horrific and the cause of numerous deaths, the actions of the adults around her that enabled her lies to cost lives are despicable. Through his dishonest characters, specifically Reverend Parris, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor, Miller exposes the evils of lying to save one’s name and the destruction that inevitably ensues.
In a society where wisdom does not come with age. In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the society and it’s people within are the reason for the continuation of the Salem witch trials. Ignorance and lies are factors that lead to the elongated trials. Abigail Williams who was accused of witchcraft and not admitting the truth. The Salem society turn backs on each other and blame one another of witchcraft.
This quote says that lying happens frequently; no one can resist it. It also says lying is deadly, which is also shown in the Bible within the story of Adam and Eve, when the serpent lies to Eve, convincing her to consume the sacred fruit. In modern society, lying is a common practice. A person may lie protect themselves, or to gain something wanted. This may be due to religious diversity or the decay of respect in society.