Theme Of Lies In The Crucible

A man once said, “tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable.” This reminds individuals about the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” that provides a life lesson many don’t understand. In The Crucible (TC) written by Arthur Miller, there are many themes that influence the conflicts developed. In Arthur Miller’s famous play, The Crucible, the conflicts between the people of Salem helps the author show the reader that relationships can be stirred by lies and deceit. These conflicts encompass John stirring his relationship with Elizabeth by cheating, Abigail ruining her relationship with the Court, and Elizabeth lying to the Court about Proctor’s affair.
A conflict influenced by the theme of TC is John committing lechery against Elizabeth. John Proctor mentions to Elizabeth that he had “confessed” his sins of adultery in court (TC, Act III, 57). John confesses because he knew he’d committed a sin and it would negatively impact their relationship. The lie that John told to Elizabeth ruined their marriage due to the realization of the lack of trust in their marriage. Majority of the play relates back to John cheating on Elizabeth because it’s one of the main conflicts affected by lies. Had John not deceived Elizabeth, many readers would not

Abigail blurts out names and accuses them of being “with the devil” because she wants to distract everyone from what she’s done wrong(TC, Act I, 44). She knows that if she lies to the court about the worst sin one can commit, then everyone will forget how she was dancing around in the woods. When the court finds out about her lies, this makes them “doubt upon the guilt of them that died” because they were most likely innocent (TC, Act IV, 96). The court believes they can no longer trust her because of the sins she has committed which demolishes her relationship with them. Elizabeth was also among Abigail to lie in the