The Consequences Of Lying In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Most people will say that lying is never the answer, but they don’t always tell why. Lying often ends unethically, not only the can the lier be punished or feel guilty in the process, but it often goes further than anticipated. When looking back there seems to be more consequences on the result of the pretense than what the reward would have been if everything worked out and there was no lying. The Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Trials, and the McMartin Trials all proved that it is important to always be honest, regardless of the sacrifice.
If the characters in The Crucible were honest, it would save many people’s lives. The main liers are Abigail and Proctor, however scads of others lie, including anyone who accused another. The lie that causes witchcraft to become a pressing matter begins with …show more content…
This passion that they have for each other causes Abigail to become extremely jealous of Elizabeth (Proctor’s wife.) Abigail tries a spell to kill Elizabeth in order to replace her. It isn’t until she is caught that she blamed an innocent person who went to jail for her wrongdoings.“PROCTOR: A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you-- see her what she is… She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And while she might, for I thought of her softly” (Miller 113). She continues lying so that her name isn’t blackened in the town, this way she could be seen as purifying the town of witchcraft. Proctor had the opportunity to tell the truth, but once again he didn’t want to look imperfect within the town. If he had intervened before the trials became out of hand, he might have been able to stop the case before so many people were incriminated. Children were already looked down on so it would not have been too difficult to overpower what Abigail stated. Another prominent lier in The Crucible is Mary Warren, who was pushed into it by Abigail who threatened her to convince the