The Crucible Lies Analysis

In one day, a person usually lies plenty of times whether it is a compliment, or they want to escape some kind of punishment. Humans have been telling lies since the beginning of spoken language, and it has always led to problems. Throughout the play,The Crucible by Arthur Miller, deceit and lying are the primary roots of all the problems, and almost all the characters lie at some point to either protect themselves, or to accuse others. John Proctor lies to protect himself from false accusations, and to keep his sins a secret. One of the many lies Proctor tells, starts when he comes home and Elizabeth is cooking dinner for the family. Proctor takes it upon himself to add seasoning to the stew as he found it flavorless; when Elizabeth asks if the meal is tasteful he replies, “It’s well seasoned” (Miller II. 27). Proctor lies because he is trying to fix things in his life, in need of mending, which essentially put him in a cold relationship with his wife. Another …show more content…
When Abigail is being questioned by Parris in the beginning of the play she says, “But we never conjured spirits”(Miller I. 105). This is a blatant lie, because she had tried to cast a spell on Elizabeth so that she could replace her as Proctor’s wife. Another falsehood is told when she is questioned further by Parris and Hale, and her story starts to fall apart, so she claims, “She makes me drink blood”(Miller I. 1185). Abigail accuses Tituba to manipulate the situation so that her actions are not exposed to prove she is the real “witch”. She then goes on to lie in court, and she falsely testifies, “Goody Proctor always kept poppets”(Miller III. 825-826). Her primary motive to all her deceptions is her desire to replace Elizabeth, since abigail does all these things because she is in love with John Proctor and this childish love is what leads to many being hung in