Describe how the Salem tragedy is seen as a paradox.

There are several layers of paradox that are offered through Miller's work.  The most glaring paradox is that the Salem power structure sought to reveal truth through the construction of forced confessions, innuendo, and lies.  An authority that was supposedly committed to exposing the truth exposed more deception.  Another paradox can be seen in Abigail Williams, herself.  She parlays her perception of innocent victim as the critical vehicle for perpetrating acts of complete malevolence and cruelty.  She knows very well how to manipulate people into believing what they would construe as truth and does so through deception.  The paradox is that the victim is actually the perpetrator.  Another paradox is the social setting of fear and paranoia that convinces good people to commit bad acts.  Elizabeth Proctor, by all accounts, is a good person.  Yet, she is forced to lie about her knowledge of her husband's affair.  The paradox is that someone who represents virtue must engage in vice.  John Proctor, himself, is an ordinary man who must assume extraordinary status in a setting where morality and courage are destitute. These paradoxes comprise the play and the development of its themes.