Theme of Truth in The Crucible-

THEME OF TRUTH Wohooo!

Act 1:
We are firstly introduced to a community that believes that if they commit a sin, they must confess to be saved. This is shown in the first act, “so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against victims” in Miller’s introduction, but he gives us an example of this, “Martha laid herself down on his chest and ‘nearly suffocated him’. Of course it was her spirit only, but his satisfaction at confessing himself” this shows how Miller believes that the people’s perception of confessing or even telling the truth was used not for its purpose, but for personal gain, in this case it would be to ensure that the accuser was saved and in the light of God.

This episode is repeated in the play although this time for the audience to witness, but appears in another kind of situation. It begins when Betty is incredibly afraid to get in trouble and pretends to be unconscious to avoiding having the confrontation with her father reverend Parris, of what truly happened that night. Abigail the niece of reverend Parris is blamed for Betty’s condition. The community automatically jump to the conclusion of witch craft being involved and accuse the girls of being part of it. Abigail then realises what would happen to her if people would think she was a witch and tries to deny it,”I never called him! Tituba, Tituba…” this then leads to Abigail bending the truth to shift the blame, “she sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer” this is Abigail ‘telling the truth’ and this also shows a perfect example of her manipulative character. She is a key character as she is the one who triggers the call for a witch hunt. Abigail confesses to Proctor “We were dancing in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us,” which tells us that there was no witchery involved, to prove that the witch hunt is made from lies.

Truth is also unravelled in this act. Parris asks Abigail why she was dismissed from Goody Proctors service, Abigail replies that, “she hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying cold snivelling, woman, and I will work for such a woman”. This is a lie as later on we discover that Goody Proctor had dismissed Abigail for the affair she was having with her husband. We realise this when Proctor goes to visit Parris’s house, Abigail says to him when they are alone “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!” This is a key scene in act 1 as it shows the feelings they have for each other are still there, but most importantly this is when Abigail confesses to Proctor that they were only ‘dancing’ and this is used later to provide evidence that the girls are lying about there being witch craft.

Reverend Hale is another key character when discussing the theme of truth. Hale acts very confidently which provokes the village believe everything without hesitation as if what he is saying is fact.