The Importance of Truth and Lies in The Crucible
The Crucible contains many different kinds of lies, some told to spite other people, some told to protect others, and some told out of ignorance. Throughout the play it is difficult to tell what kind of lies are being told, and where the trith actually lies.
The first instance in The Crucible when someone tries to determine the truth of a matter is when Mr. Hale makes his entrance. Before he even starts his examination of events, however, he is bombarded by everyone in the room, all trying to put across their opinion of what has happened, and why Betty is as she is. Rather than letting him find the truth on his own, in an unbiased way, they are intent on making sure that some evidence of witchcraft is found. This bias is a strong factor throughout the play in determinining what is believed as the truth and what is thought to be a lie.
At this point, Hale seems to be adamant that he will have no prejudice, and that he must be allowed to find what is wrong with Betty himself. He tells them that "we cannot look to superstition in this." However, as the conversation goes on he seems more and more influenced by talk of witchcraft, and starts asking Abby about the dancing in the wood. Just as Hale seems to be closing in on the truth about the dancing, however, Abby confuses the situation by bringing Tituba into it, telling everyone that Tituba made her drink blood. Influenced by the lies told to him, Hale convinces Tituba that she has been associating with the Devil, and in doing so makes a big mistake. By telling her that there is no option but to confess that she has been associating with the Devil, Hale puts words into her mouth and makes her admit to something that probably is not true. It is now also that the seeds are sown for an accusation later made by Tituba, when Putnam asks her whether she saw Sarah Good with the Devil, or Osburn. In order to search for the truth, Hale and the rest of the people in the room are letting their own paranoia and prejudice get in the way of the real truth of the matter, and by putting words in Tituba's mouth, they are coercing her into saying what they want to hear, which of course they are then only too ready to believe, and so on in a vicious circle. When later it becomes clear that they will not settle unless Tituba gives them the names of others who have been seen with the Devil, Hale asking her "who came to you with the Devil?" she simply gives them the two names that come to mind first, Osburn and Good, who have aready been mentioned by Putnam. Since they are already suspected of witchcraft, everyone is immediately willing to believe that Tituba is telling the truth.
This kind of occurrence is common in The Crucible, and as the play goes on it gets harder and harder for those characters such as Proctor and Corey to find the truth and expose it. The more lies that are told by the girls, and are believed by the powers that be, the harder it is to go back on them.
As the lies progress through the play, there is still a small number of people who wish to find the truth, and expose the girls as frauds. Proctor, Nurse and Corey come to the forefront in the meeting house when they finally get a chance to talk to Danforth. However Danforth, who is at that time supporting the girls in their accusations, does not want to liten to them, claiming at one point that he "accepts no depositions" when Proctor offers him Mary's. Whether he suspects that he supports a lie, or still thinks that he is upholding the truth, he is afraid to accept that his judgements have been wrong, There is also the problem that those around him are afraid of having the truth exposed. Parris's reputation is now resting on the validity of the girls' claims and he cannot afford to have them proven wrong. Whenever Danforth looks like he might give way to Proctor, Parris and Hathorne are there, convincing him not to listen, saying that anything Proctor says is a "vile lie", and claiming that he has come to "overthrow the court".
The first evidence that the girls have been lying is at this time, when Mary Warren claims that everything the girls have been doing is all "pretence". However, when the other girls come out and disagree with her, it is hard for anyone to know where the truth is any more. On the one hand there is Proctor's argument, which says that Mary Warren would not endanger her life like this unless she was telling the truth. On the other, Mary is unable to faint on cue as she says she has been doing. In such uncertainty, Danforth is bound to take the side of the girls, since admitting he is wrong is admitting that he has sentenced many people to be hanged wrongly. Hale, however, has no such constraints, it seems. He is prepared to accept the truth, believing in Proctor, and storms out of the meeting house, denouncing the proceedings. This must cast doubt into Danforth's mind about where the truth now lies.
The way in which Danforth seeks the truth from lies, and "melts down all concealment", is interesting. While he does ask direct questions to people under suspicion, he also asks questions to which he already knows the answers. For instance, when he asks Proctor if he has any desire to undermine the court, it is obvious that Proctor will say no, because a positive reply would ruin his credibility. However, Danforth is lookin at the way in which Proctor answers, and tries to find the truth by listening to his tone of voice. In this case it seems to work, as Proctor falters as he answers the question. Although this may not necessarily give an entirely accurate answer, and could be interpreted in different ways, it is an indication as to Proctor's intentions.
Lies told out of spite, such as Abigail's, are not the only untruths told in The Crucible. Twice in the play, either a lie is told, or people are encouraged to lie, to protect themselves or someone else. The first occasion this happens is when Elizabeth Proctor is brought in by Danforth to confirm Proctor's statement that Abigail was sacked because she committed adultery with him. When she tells Danforth that this was not the reason, she aims to help John, but in fact this is probably the most important lie in Abigail and the other girls' favour. The second occasion is near the end of the play, when Hale returns to talk to those who are to be hanged. Having been part of the cause of the hangings in the first place, Hale now feels that he must do something to stop them. Even though "damnation's doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie", this is what he does. It is perhaps fitting that the only way to escape hanging caused originally by lies and pretence is to lie yourself, and John Proctor seems to have had the same thought as Hale. However, Proctor's justification for lying is slightly different. He feels that as he has already sinned by the crime of lechery, lying now will not make much difference to his eventual fate after death. He decides this on his own, without Hale's counsel through Elizabeth.
Eventually, though, Proctor tears up his confession. He does this because he sees through Danforth and Hathorne, and sees what they are trying to do. Rather than searching for the truth, as they ought to be doing, they are trying to protect themselves in case the town turns on them. One of Danforth's lines is particularly ironic in light of this, when he is arguing with Proctor about his confession. He tells him, "I will not deal in lies, Mister!" which is, in fact, exactly what he has been doing throughout the whole proceedings.
The extent to which the lies in Salem were allowed to grow to is indicative of a people who could quite easily let paranoia get the better of them. When the truth of a matter is clouded by prejudice, or paranoia, it is often hard to look for the truth, even when it can easily be found, for the fear that the preconceptions you had about a person are wrong. This is shown to great effect by Miller in The Crucible, where people are allowed to die because others are not willing to accept the truth that is staring them in the face all along.