Defense mechanisms such as projection, denial, repression, rationalization, and fantasizing are specifically active in the management and containment of moral anxiety, or to deactivate self-regulatory process that could otherwise have prevented moral blindness (Gabriel and Griffiths 2002; Rice and Hoffman 2014). (de Klerk 750) Moral blindness is defined as, the inability to understand the moral implications of a person’s actions or the immoral dimensions of their decisions (de Klerk 745-746). Abigail accuses others to avoid getting in trouble by the town people. These acts show how emotionless and how morally blind Abigail is. “In order to deal with unbearable internal conflict, unpleasant moral emotions such as guilt or anxiety can be mitigated …show more content…
Susan Safranski, a researcher for Learner in her article “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!” explains, children aged 8-12 start to lie from the development of enjoying participating in groups, and they also have a need for peer approval (2). Miller never gave actual ages, but the youngest girls in the group were young, and around this age, meaning they probably just followed Abigail’s actions (who was older than them) to impress her. There are also many reason why children lie, to avoid punishment “Protection. It’s scary to admit doing something wrong. Some children unconsciously use lying to cover up mistakes. Avoiding blame. Unfortunately, many children can’t accept responsibility for their behavior. They lie so they won’t get punished” (Safranski …show more content…
John Proctor even realized this after his wife got charged with witchcraft: Proctor: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as God’s fingers? I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem–vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant’s vengeance! I’ll not give my wife to vengeance! (II, 1179) Arthur Miller explains how this phenomenon worked in salem, “The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom” (I, 1129). Individual freedoms were taken during the Salem Witch Trial and The Red