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Examples Of Honesty In The Crucible

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Honesty

Honesty is the best policy, at least that’s what everyone says. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the only way to stay alive to to lie. Everyone is being accused of being a witch and if you did not confess, you would be hanged. First, the whole accusation system was corrupted, because you had no way of knowing if the accuser was innocent. This is how Abigail and her girls were able to accuse multiple people. Next, Abigail lies to Reverend Parris to preserve her reputation and her life, because she knew that if people found out that she participated in the ritual with Tituba, she would be accused of being a witch. Lastly, John Proctor was not a witch, but he was still tried for witchcraft. Both Danforth and Elizabeth, his wife, wanted him to confess, but he was not willing to lie in front of everyone. …show more content…

Everyone was being accused of being a witch, as long as Abigail and her girls would name them. The judge would not consider the possibility that maybe the accuser could be lying. If someone had a problem with you, then they could easily accuse you of witchcraft. The justice system was so overcome with religious influence that anyone who was said to be in contact with the devil was to be sentenced to death, unless that person lied and confessed. Confession and dishonestly was the only way to save yourself from going to the gallows. Abigail lies to everyone and says that she was bewitched when she went dancing with Tituba in the forest, but that was just a lie to save her life. Abigail knew that if anyone found out that she knew what was doing when she was dancing in the forest, she would be accused of being a witch and practicing witchcraft. This was the type of society people lived in. To save her life, Abigail abandoned her honesty and claimed that she was bewitched and named many names to save herself. Abigail lied to save her own life, because a death sentence was worse than being

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Also, throughout the play Abigail accuses many people of witchcraft in order to save herself. An example of this is when Hale questions Abigail in act 1, and Abigail accuses several girls of

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From the trials, proctor and others were judged. It is evident that the rumors of witchcraft were started up as a way to take revenge and maintain power. Abigail for one only named Elizabeth as a witch because she had an affair with Proctor and in naming the wife she hoped that Elizabeth would be executed and in that case, she would have Proctor to herself. The reason why Elizabeth fired Abigail in the first place is because of the affair, and so this was revenge for her. As Proctor goes to court to fight for the release of her wife, the court accuses him of not honoring the church and implying that he may be part of the witchcraft saga.

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The Crucible was written in 1952 by Arthur Miller, the play delivers many messages and carries many themes throughout. Nearly every character in the play is put to the test to display an act of courage, weakness, or truth. Some characters lack these traits and never learn to have courage or display honesty. However, most characters are very courageous and demonstrate these acts throughout the whole play. Overall the theme of the The Crucible boils down to being about honesty, weakness, and courage.

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During The Crucible, there are constant and recurring themes that show within the characters and their actions. One of these major and important themes is deceit. It is by far the most obvious and constant theme throughout the entirety of the play. Arthur Miller has incorporated this theme into his characters as well as his reasoning for creating the play itself. The entire storyline is based off of mass hysteria from lies in the village of Salem.

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Abigail uses the fact that every person shes accused has been a witch to secure her position as a trust worth witness in court. As seen when the suspension is raised to her, Abigail says, “I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I see my blood running out! I have been near to murdered every day because I have done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people -- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a --” (113). She uses the fact that there is a perceived danger in callout witches as one can try to kill her because they feel threated or that she 's been hurt by witchcraft when it was just self-inflicted wounds.

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Some people use lies to cover up or solve problems. Abigail feared being accused of witchcraft, so she accused others of witchcraft. She tried to use lies to solve her problems, but ended up creating a worse situation. Abigail’s lies had affected many of the characters.

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Once Proctor admits to the court that he has known Abigail and that she was being dishonest about the affair, the court starts to see that she if she is capable of lying about their affair then she must also be capable of lying about witchcraft. An additional example of heroism in The Crucible, is seen when Reverend John Hale tries to convince those accused of witchcraft to confess even though they aren't guilty. Hale speaks with Elizabeth and

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Abigail Williams is one of the main characters that tend to lack integrity due to her selfishness and dishonesty. She lies about her involvement with the witches of Salem to save herself from being thrown in jail or even put to death. She also lies her way throughout the play to form a type of podium showing that she is on top. One way she showed this was when she blamed innocent people for these horrible acts in Salem. In one part during the trial abigail says “ No one was naked!

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Abigail believed that Proctor actually loved her and she waited every night for him. She was brainwashed to think he would leave his wife for her. The witchcraft accusation came from the beginning of the story when Abigail and the girls were dancing naked in the woods and chanting. She made false accusations that people in the village were worshipping the devil to cover what she had done. Many lives were taken but Abigail had no empathy for anyone who was hanged.

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John Proctor demonstrates this sense selflessness during the entire course of Salem’s witch trials. From the beginning of the hearings and at his own expense, he strives to reveal the truth about the children’s stories and to expose the underlying motives behind their false accusations. When Mary Warren’s testimony fails to convince Judge Danforth, he goes as far as to publicly admit to his adultery: “God help me, I lusted... But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it.” (P.110)

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The Salem witch trials were a time period when any individual could be accused of witchcraft for numerous reasons. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller focuses on the deviation of the trials and how the town’s most religious and honest members of the community are tried with witchcraft. John Proctor, the town’s most honest man, is accused of being a witch and must decide if he should confess or not. Proctor’s confession will stop the town from rebelling and uphold the reputations of Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris. Hale also wishes for Proctor’s confession so he does not have to feel responsible if Proctor were to be hanged for his witchcraft accusations.

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Lying is the most committed sin. Everyday people lie whether small or big. Every human knows that lying should not be exercised, but sometimes, in certain situations, lying is necessary due to the consequences of telling the truth. In the Bible, James 3:8, quoted is “But no human being can tame the tongue, it is a relentless evil, full of deadly poison.”

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If Abigail, John, and Elizabeth would have been honest to begin with then many innocent people would not have lost their lives and left the town in despair. Abigail Williams lied to many people a during the entire story. In Act 1, Abigail made Reverend Parris believe that she was dismissed from working for the Proctors was due to the fact that “She (Elizabeth) hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (Miller, 140).

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John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams were worried about their reputation in town, and they were willing to commit many sins and harm others to prevent this from happening. To begin with, John Proctor was seen as a good citizen. He was well-respected among his neighbors and other people in Salem because of his upright morals. He had an affair with his old servant, Abigail Williams. He tried to keep this hidden from the people to keep his good name.

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People lie for many reasons. Sometimes it’s to themselves, sometimes it’s to others. No matter who they are lying to, it always affects others around you. In the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, lying is a very common theme. Many characters lie, which include John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris, and many others.

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