Adolf Hitler is the poster boy of lies. His Nazi propaganda, based on fear and hatred, portrayed the Jewish people as the enemy of all classes of German society in WW2. He used coercion, terror, and mass manipulation to brainwash people into believing his lies. Unfortunately, the lies told by...
Adolf Hitler is the poster boy of lies. His Nazi propaganda, based on fear and hatred, portrayed the Jewish people as the enemy of all classes of German society in WW2. He used coercion, terror, and mass manipulation to brainwash people into believing his lies. Unfortunately, the lies told by Hitler and his Nazis lead to horrific consequences—the death of at least 17.6 million people. So, instead of people in this world talking about hideous one-off events like War, mass shootings, terrorist attacks, or the Nazis. As tragic as these events are, comments should encourage us to ponder the effect of lies and what they are having on our everyday lives.
If people were more aware of the horrible and damaging effects that lie can have on them, perhaps there would be less societal conflict and would maybe be a better place. This is where Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible (1952) gets involved. Miller positions the audience to understand the nature of lies and thus how impactful and deadly one lie can become.
Despite the fact that Miller’s fictionalized recounting of the verifiable witch chase that happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was initially composed as a purposeful anecdote for McCarthyism, it furnishes present-day groups of onlookers with an understanding of the peril of lying. For sure, this play ought to be an obligatory review for any individual who is concerned about the dangers to society posed by lying and how it can turn good people into these ‘terrible people as others act to save themselves
The play incorporates various cases of lying making individuals act and behave in tricky and abnormal ways. You don’t have to go past Act One to see various models:
Abigail is afraid she is going to be punished for dancing in the forest and so lies about the events. She also lies about her involvement in the events that night when she accuses Tituba of bewitching her. She comes right out lies and says that all of the horrible things she’s done in the past bit–laughing during prayers, walking around naked, thinking bad thoughts–are all because Tituba made her do it. It’s a flat-out lie to protect herself from being accused of witchcraft herself. Later in the play, she lies about the needle in her belly, claiming that Elizabeth’s ‘spirit’ put it into her when we all know that she stabbed herself to frame Elizabeth.
The main thing lying does is turn individuals against whoever is possibly lying. Lying does this in light of the fact that once somebody is marked a liar, they are likewise taken a gander at as egotistical, in addition to other things. There are a few instances of how lying can be a demonstration of self-centeredness in The Crucible. The principal manages the play’s main protagonist, Abigail Williams.
Abigail in the play lies because she loves John Proctor and wants him for herself. Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, of being a witch. This news comes one night from Mary Warren. Elizabeth is speaking,
Elizabeth [softly]: “I am accused?”
Mary Warren [quaking]: “Somewhat mentioned…” ACT 2 p.(59, 60)
Elizabeth later speaking of Abigail says
Elizabeth: “She wants me dead, John, you know it!’”
Here we see how selfish Abigail can be. Abigail knows that if Elizabeth is accused but will not confess that she will be hanged.
There is nobody who is totally safe from what lying can do. They hurt everybody. The outcomes of lying are clearly endless and have no restrictions to the measure of torment that they may exact. There is no such thing as an ‘innocuous little lie’.
Another gathering of individuals who lie out of narrow-mindedness are the court authorities. In the event that the general population of Salem was to discover that the young ladies tricked even the individuals from the court, their notorieties would be demolished.
In this way, they oblige the young ladies and keep on hanging individuals. The best way to spare themselves is to get an admission out of a man that they know, to be honest, John Proctor. The court authorities realize that if John admits he will lie, yet considering themselves they additionally realize that their notorieties will be spared. Also, individuals who lie tend to not stress over the impact that it will have on others. A second result of lying is the harm that it might convey to the general population being misled. When somebody is lying they are completely mindful of whom they are harming all the while, however, will keep on lying.
Be that as it may, for most people the decision of the ending of the play leaves a questioned ending. The lies win and apparently, the most intrepid man in the play alongside various other blameless exploited people kick the bucket because of the lies spread out over their society. The “bad guys” go untouched and seem to go generally unpunished. Indeed, even the play’s epilogue, which is never performed, is vague about the reason for the end of the witch-hunt. There isn’t an unequivocal connection between Proctor’s demise and the finish of Salem’s religious government. These choices, be that as it may, feature Miller’s aptitude and reinforce the play’s message. By completing the story in catastrophe, groups of onlookers are left inclined dour and maybe furious, two of the most well-known emotions experienced by the individuals who have seen the harmful impacts of wild lying.
Therefore Arthur Miller’s portrayal of the dangers of lies provides a powerful message to modern-day society. The prosecutions of the Salem Witch Trials led to the deaths of several innocent townspeople. As the accused individuals stood trial, it was the testimonies of villagers that essentially determined their fate. Whether lying to save a life, or take someone else’s, dishonest people created chaos and danger which shook Salem Village to its core. The Crucible depicts the extreme behaviors that occur when the difference between truthfulness and treachery is life or death.
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