Lies, secrets, deceit

Secrecy. When is it acceptable to keep secrets? Is it really in the best interest of others? What if what you think is best for them isn't right? It is hard to answer these broad questions without bringing in my judgment and personal experiences. In Scarlet Letter, there are a few quotes I am thinking about using: page 70 (couple parts), page 72 (bottom paragraph), page 78 (last 3 lines).

I would like to start my essay with Hester and her secrecy, but then travel away from the book and look at the truth in a world view. Do people really tell the truth? Why do we lie? They say to protect others but I suspect actually to protect themselves. When lying, do we even realize what we are doing? Furthermore, there is an interesting psychological component to lying. Some people feel guilty and show obvious signs of it, while others feel nothing. Some people hate it when they are deceived and feel like their trust has been broken. What shapes how people view lying? Past deceits? Insecurity? That is a neat area to go deeper into.

Next, comes the invention of lying. Who thought that it would be ok to not tell the truth? Not say what they saw/heard/felt. Were they one of the people that feel not guilt when lying? That don't feel violated when they are lied to? I think they were one the insecure people that wanted to improve upon their life. They knew if they fibbed a tad bit, no one would know, and the outcome would be beneficial to them. But the didn't realize the consequences and aftermath. The Salem Witch trials are a perfect example. The girls didn't mean any harm, but to get out of something they did wrong, they lied and blamed others, which in turn cost them their lives. Normally outcomes are not that serious, but this was to the extreme and if everyone knew about that, maybe they would change their habits. Then, there are the people that mock those girls but more so the ministers that believed them. Nowadays we have a bs monitor constantly on. We like to call people out of it. The creation of bluffing in poker illustrates that.