Effects Of Lies In The Crucible

“Lies and secrets, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind” (Cassandra Claire). This is exactly what happened in the hearts and souls of people in salem with the mass hysteria of witches inhabiting the area. Throughout The Crucible, many characters lied for a number of reasons. It has become common to dismiss little white lies because they usually don’t seem to have a great effect on people. Like if you tell someone that you didn’t break their favorite vase even though it was you. At the time it seems harmless and lying seems better than owning up to what you did. But what if that person blames someone else? And now they refuse to talk to them because they think they were responsible

He knows Elizabeth would never tell a lie so he tells the court to ask her if it's true. But when asked, she does exactly what Proctor said she wouldn’t. In the text it says,” Look at me! To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery...no, sir” (Miller 1149). Elizabeth has never told a lie beforehand which tells she really does care for Proctor and doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him even after everything he's done. She doesn't realize Proctor has already confessed so she thinks she saving him from utter humiliation and embarrassment and she hopes to keep him out of trouble but her lie does just the opposite. This causes Proctor to be doubted so he is thrown in jail where he is sent to wait for his

For the longest time Proctor tries to tell the truth but that only gets him in jail. Hale tells Elizabeth that if she wants Proctor to live then she should convince him to confess. Proctor is left with a difficult discussion. He can either lie and prevent himself from being hung or he can continue to tell the truth and die. Proctor decides to lie but then he is told he must sign a confession that will be posted on the door of the church. In the Crucible it says, “ Then explain to me, Mr. Proctor, why you will not let-with a cry of his whole soul:Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on my feet of them that hang” (Miller 1161). Proctor doesn’t want to sign the confession because he couldn’t live with anymore guilt after he sees how determined Rebecca is to tell the truth. When Proctor refuses to sign,it is assumed that he is lying once again just to keep from dying. In order for him to feel good about himself and feel like he is a decent person, he feels like he needs to tell the truth after everything he’s done with the affair. In the end, this lie leads to Proctor being hung and Hale along with many others, start to realize that the witch hunt has gotten out of hand but it’s already too