The Parallels of Truth and Deception Analyzed Through the Crucible and the Village

​"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic, and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." Joseph Goebbels, who was a Nazi leader, once said this quote. It is an extremely profound, and yet complex statement that explains how the nature of one lie perpetuated by the State can lead to an irrepressible continuance of corruption and deception, just to prevent the truth from ever being exposed.

​When a lie is told it starts out small and usually has the purpose of keeping the truth concealed. However, if a lie is told to a mass of people as a cover-up of sorts, it is only a matter of time before the truth gets out. As the fabrication grows, it begins to morph and spread like a disease. One lie follows with multiple corresponding lies to maintain the "accuracy" of the deception. Soon, keeping this web of lies alive becomes of vital importance, but simply in fear of the consequences that would come with the uncovering of the truth. That being the case, I do in fact agree with the quote. Replacing a falsehood with the truth soon enough becomes an attempt to prove the truth itself as false, as shown in The Village and The Crucible when the creation of a lie turns into a battle between those hiding the secret and the truth itself.

​In the movie, The Village a small singular town in the middle of the woods is isolated from the general public. In a desperate attempt to prevent their village from the modernization and industrialization that the rest of the country was experiencing, those in power concocted a suitable lie. They convinced the credulous citizens that beyond the confines of their town, the woods were inhabited with savage creatures. This prevented the people from ever stepping foot in the woods, and therefore leaving them with limited knowledge of anything beyond those woods. So as the world around them began to advance and develop with the times, this one little village was kept in their own little bubble. Almost like trying to keep a growing child innocent and clueless to the dangers of the world. However while a child eventually has to grow up, those in charge refused to let go of the purity they had maintained, and hence the lie grew. As more questions were asked and curiosity grew, the administration had to keep up with the lie and add more and more details. The fear of the citizens ever finding out that the whole thing was a sham became even worse than if the citizens discovered the truth about their isolation. Though both go hand in hand and would be equally horrible. This corresponds exactly to the quote above, as the mere truth that is