The Trail of Lies The play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller is a unique piece of work. Many themes are embedded in the work. One significant theme that is prevalent throughout the play is lies and deceit. Miller applies the theme of lies and deceit all throughout the play because practically all the characters are lying either to themselves or other individuals which plays a hefty role in the plot. A large factor that significantly affects the plot of the play is the scene of the girls dancing in the woods. What happened is no where near what the rumors and lies that were being spread explained. The truth was that the girls, Betty, Abigail, Mercy, Susanna, Ruth, and Mary were dancing in the woods with Tituba, who was conjuring spirits, when Reverend Parris walked up and found them Betty became frightened and fell ill. The first lie that was started was by Reverend Parris. He lied stating that Tituba was conjuring spirts in the woods over the fire while the girls were running around naked. Reverend Parris told this lie to save his own reputation. Since he chose to lie instead of telling the truth, it allowed the girls to devise their own scheme of lies. Due to this lie, the girls are able to go around town and accuse innocent people of committing witchcraft which ultimately led to mass imprisonments and hangings. Other town members began to jump on the bandwagon of the hysteria surrounding witchcraft and began accusing innocent people of witchcraft for personal gains.