Examples Of Lying In The Crucible

Have you ever told a lie to protect yourself or someone you love? People lie for their own purposes. Some people lie for themselves or for their close one. They depend on the lies so much that they do not care that their lies might hurt others. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, almost all the characters lie for their own desires and to protect their own interests. Even though lies are forbidden in their religion, some people are blind to understand the punishment of lying. The concept of lying to save oneself is also evident in “Fear Was Reason For Lying About Shooting, Woman Says” by Mary Spicuzza. The article highlights how a woman hid the truth about witnessing a murder just for the sake of her own life. Another article, “The Truth

About Lying: Why We Do It and When It Might Be Ok” by Kathleen Kelleher points out the reasons behind why people lie as she writes a story about two teenage girls lying for each other. The article is about how friends try to save each other from their parents by telling lies. A 2015 article, “Why do People Lie When They Can Easily Get Caught?” by Tanya Basu supports the idea of why people lie by providing the reader with research theories. The article highlights that people lie in order to make themselves appear good in front of society. In today’s world, lying is common, but it is important to understand that lying is forbidden by every religion. People tell lies to protect themselves, to protect individuals that they love, and to save their reputation in front of the society.
People lie to protect themselves from situations that they do not want to deal with. Sometimes, people lie because they do not want their lies to come out in front of the society. In The Crucible, Abigail continuously denies her connection with witchcraft by telling her Uncle Parris that they “never conjured spirits” (Miller 10). The truth is that they did conjure spirits to receive what they desire. She is able to hide the truth by lying. She does not confess her wrongdoing to the society because she wants to protect herself. If she lies, she will have to face serious consequences, such as being hanged. As a result, she forces other girls to lie by threatening them. She says, “Let either of you breath a word,...and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (20). When lying becomes the weapon to save one’s life, he or she do not care about what is right and wrong. Also, Lying forces other people to lie because in that way his or her lives might be saved. Abigail takes the same approach to save herself, even though lies are forbidden in her religion. She forces other girl to lie, to hide the truth about witchcraft. Because of her lie other innocent people in the society were hanged. Mary Warren also lies when the court threatens to hang her. Pointing at John Proctor, she says, “You’re the Devil’s man!” (118). Her life is precious to her. The fear of being killed forces her to lie. But, her one lie caused the death of John proctor, who was innocent. In Spicuzza’s article, a woman lies to the court about witnessing the murder of her friend, who was killed in 2011. She lies to save her own life from the murderer. She lies because she is frightened that “she might be killed” (Spicuzza 1). She understands her value of life and that is what forces her to lie. However, it was not right since she hid a huge secret. But, there was nothing she could do about it. The murderer threatened all the witnesses by telling them that they should be prepared to “lie or die” (1). Under pressure, some individuals will not differentiate what is right and wrong. Instead, they tend to lean toward protecting themselves. But, people are not that selfish enough to just lie for themselves. They also tell lies to safeguard their loved ones.
People tell lies to protect their friends and family.

At certain times it might feel right for some people to help the people that they love by lying. Elizabeth, Proctor's wife, does not tell the truth about her husband's affair in front of the society to protect her husband. She describes her husband as a “good and righteous man” in the court (Miller 113). However, that is not the truth. When a person loves someone, he or she would do anything to help that person. Some people choose the right way, while the others choose the wrong path. Elizabeth decides to lie for the first time just to save Proctor from the problems that he might face if the truth is revealed. Similarly, a teenage girl lies about her friend’s abortion to protect her. De Paulo says, “People tell these serious lies to protect something when the truth could threaten something that they really value” (Kelleher 1). In this case, the girl took the same step to save her friend. People do not want to see their loved ones suffer. As a result, they hide the truth to protect that person from danger. To protect others, they forget the bad outcomes and the trouble they might have to face for telling lies. Not only do people lie for others, but they lie for their own

reputation.
Individuals lie to keep their reputation in the society. It is important for them to be respected by others. In The Crucible, everyone continuously worries about their reputation and takes various approaches to save their reputation. Among them is Parris, who is the minister of the society. He lies by saying that he “never saw any of them naked” (Miller 105). He did see the girls naked and dancing in the woods. But, to save his name in the society he lies, knowing that it is forbidden in his religion. He does not fear his God, rather he fears more about losing his reputation. In Basu’s article, one of the comedians named Steve Rannazzisi, lied by making up a story to become successful. He said that in 9/11, he was working in the tower and when the incident occurred he escaped. But, the truth is that he was not even present in the tower. He lied so he could have more fame and reputation in media. According to a researcher, the reason that people lie is to bolster their reputation (Basu 2). For this person lying is his weapon to strengthen his reputation in the business field. No one wants to stay at a lower level, everyone wants to reach the highest level. It is that desire to jump to a higher level that keeps people away from telling the truth (2). However, lying is not the solution to fulfil one's desire. It is a wrong practice because it pushes people towards destruction of reputation instead. He could increase his fame by being honest throughout his career too, but instead he chose to lie. As a result, his reputation is not same in front of the people as it was before. People fail to understand the importance of truth, as a result, they keep lying.
Lying is a common sin that people use to safeguard themselves, to save their friends and family, and to boost their reputation in the society. In today’s society, it is hard to find people who are always telling the truth. The reason it is hard is because most people are lying every day for themselves or others. Lying should not be the solution for protecting one’s self and others because the outcome of truth is always better than a lie. But, few people still lie not fearing the punishments that they might have to face after death. However, it is time for people to understand that little lies can end up mattering in a big way. Lying needs to be stopped before the value of truth disappears from the world.