The Crucible Essay If you are honest in the first place, it leads to less complications; but if you lie it leads to a disaster. In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the characters lie and tell the truth, but lying is what gets the community of Salem into trouble. Many people in Salem tell the truth, and their honesty allows some tension to decrease. But when the main character, Abigail Williams, lies about the Salem community tampering with witchcraft, her lies becomes a disaster. Overall, in The Crucible and life, it is better to be honest because a small lie can build up into a bigger one.
When the community of Salem tells the truth, their honesty allows some tension to decrease. One of the characters in the novel, Mary Warren, says “Let you ask Susanna Walcott- she saw me sewin’ it in court. Or better still: Ask Abby, Abby sat beside me when I made it” (Page 80). Mary’s honest allowed Elizabeth Proctor proof of not practicing with witchcraft or voodoo. The needle inside the doll was only stuck in there for safety purposes, not for practicing witchcraft. Being that Mary Warren made the doll, she releases some tension by telling the court and judges that it was an accident.
Another example of the Salem community displaying honesty is when Proctor confesses to foreignacating with Abigail Williams. When Proctor tells Judge Danforth of his lechery, it does not allow Abigail to blackmail him anymore. Although, when he confesses to Danforth it only releases a small amount of tension caused by lies. Abigail Williams constantly lies about the people of Salem being witches, and her lies become a disaster. When Betty, a character in the novel, gets sick, Abigail shouts “I saw Goody Sibber with the Devil! … I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil! I saw Goody Booth with the Devil! ” (Page 51). While Abigail shouts these peoples’ names, other girls start to shout with her. None of the people she and the other girls named practiced with witchcraft. Unfortunately, these innocent people later die because of Abigail’s lies. Another lie that becomes a disaster is when Abigail says “Oh, Please, Mary! This is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it’s God’s work I do. ” (Page 120). Abigail’s lie turns into a disaster when she tells the judges Mary is hurting her by performing witchcraft.
Abigail’s vengeance towards Mary causes her to lie and that causes problems. Her lies also conclude in the death of many people. Honesty leads to led complications, while lying leads to disaster. In the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the people are sometimes honest, but their honesty is what gets the community of Salem into trouble. In Salem, honesty allows tension to decrease. But the main character lies and she creates a big disaster. In the novel, as well as life, it is always better to tell the truth because a small lie can always build up to be a bigger lie.
