Deceit And Lies In The Crucible, By Arthur Miller

Improved Essays
In the play “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller we see many themes and lessons in

the story. The main theme is focussed on deceit and lying and how lies can lead down a dark

road which results in the ruin of many. The Crucible is a fictional play based on the Salem Witch

Trials which occurred between February 1692 and May 1693 and resulted in over 150 people

being accused of witchcraft and 20 executed. The story focusses on the story of John Proctor

and Abigail Williams, his niece, and how lies, jealousy, revenge, and deep seated feuds caused

a community to turn on each other in a vicious circle of accusations and misunderstandings.

The characters in the play who lie significantly are Abigail, John Proctor, and Mary Warren
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For example we read “But we never conjured spirits” (Miller, 170). Before this Abigail was being

questioned about what happened the previous night, and after this she continues to lie. This

shows that she is willing to lie even to close family. Miller perhaps wanted us to see how it takes

a simple lie to lead to a thousands lies. On page 48 we find the following: “... I saw Sarah Good

with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Pg.

189), this is when we see Abigail start to wildly accuse people and direct the conversation away

from herself. Abigail has many reasons to lie, but wild accusations makes her one of the most

significant liers in the story.

John Proctor tells significant lies in the story, although not as vicious or evil
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We see that she accuses, much like the accusers in the story, the lowest common denominator:

a poor, elderly, beggar who has no home and no husband. This

again, shows the message Arthur Miller would like us to see, that lies come from the evil and

Lies and deceit is the main theme of the story, we have many examples Arthur Miller

has kindly given us. The main liars that have contributed greatly to the tragedy of the Salem

Witch Trials are Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Mary Warren whom have made significant

lies that either hurt themselves or hurt others in order to protect themselves or others. This

theme is consistent with hints along the story and as Noorbakhsh Hooti wrote “It could be

argued that Proctor’s tragedy comes into being due to his very first choice of adultery with

Abigail. All subsequent events in Proctor’s life can be traced back to this original choice, which

gradually leads him to his tragic fate.” The message of the story is really to understand that all it

takes is one action or a simple lie to lead you down a road of ruin, and Arthur Miller displays this

through the three characters I

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