Honesty In The Crucible

In Arthur Miller's play the Crucible the characters seem to lie a lot. The characters try to get out of trouble by lying but in the end it ends up hurting them more than it benefits them. Most of the time when the characters lie they think that it’s going to benefit them but it doesn’t the lie just piles onto everything else they have going on . They usually lie when they’re under pressure , in the cases that the lie does save them from something like death it also adds puts a burden on them to keep up that lie. Common sense seems to dictate that lying is a better way to get out of a mess then telling the truth, but in this play it does the opposite.I’ve always believed that honesty really is the best policy because when you tell the truth

it clears the air faster and when you lie it just adds on to your problems even if it is for a good cause. Characters in the Crucible are usually motivated to lie to protect themselves, others and their power.

The character Abigail is a character that lies to protect herself and doesn’t regard the consequences of doing so. She has no remorse for what she does and I know this because even when she has chances to come clean she keeps going on with the lie. Abigail also threatens other people into doing her bidding for her too. “ Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters . And that is all. Let either of you breathe a word or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” This quotation shows Abigail's ruthlessness and her selfishness also. She has no feeling towards others well being just to protect her own name.

John Proctor is looked to as an honest man , he is very well respected in the Puritan society and he’s a liar too.

John has an affair with Abigail and gets caught by his wife Elizabeth. Later on in the play John goes to Abigail’s house to tell her that he doesn’t love her anymore, when he gets back home Elizabeth asks John where he went and who he was with , here is his reply, “ Why? I have no business in Salem” “ PROCTOR.She told it to me in a room alone - I have no proof for it. ELIZABETH. You were alone with her? PROCTOR.stubbornly: For a moment alone aye. ELIZABETH. Why then it is not as you told me.” John had lied to Elizabeth about his whereabouts and told her that his wasn’t alone with Abigail but later on he confesses unconsciously. John is lying to protect himself and his marriage but that backfires when he ends up telling the truth on accident and just causes more problems with his wife. Elizabeth has no trust in him now and she is probably assuming that he went to go cheat on her again. This example shows that lying is most definitely not the way to go in situations like this and when you lie that there are consequences. He lied for a good reason but in the end it just ended up causing more distrust in the

relationship.

Parris is a reverend you would expect him to be pious and honest but he is selfish and a liar . Parris lies to protect his name and power. As one of the leaders of the church he should know better than to lie in fact he should be the person telling the townspeople that lying is a sin that shouldn’t be committed but how can he do that if he commits that sin nevertheless in a church. Parris caught the girls dancing in the woods and when he was asked about it he said that he did see them but he twisted the truth. “ PROCTOR. At once,: Mr.Parris discovered them himself in the dead of night! There’s the “child” she is! DANFORTH- it is growing into a nightmare, and he turns, astonished to PARRIS : Mr.Parris- PARRIS. I can only say,sir, that I never found any of them naked, and this man is- DANFORTH. But you discovered them dancing in the woods? Eyes on PARRIS he points at ABIGAIL Abigail? DANFORTH. Do you deny it, Mr.Parris? PARRIS. I do not sir, but I never saw any of them naked.” Parris is not full blown lying but he still lies and even though he twisted the truth his reputation still ends up ruined because the townspeople lose all respect for him because of the hangings , so either way he was going to lose power but it would’ve been better if he would’ve spared those peoples live instead of worrying about bim reputation.

Elizabeth is a very honest person and she’s caring too but like all the other characters theses witch trials cause her to break that honesty. She lies to protect her husband and it caused the problem to get worse. Proctor confessed his sin to Danforth and the others to show that Elizabeth was innocent and if she would’ve told the truth then she could have gone home free but she lied to protect him, which isn’t a bad reason, but it backfired and made both of them look bad and also made it so that they would both have to go to jail. “