“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller demonstrates the various behaviours of the play’s characters and how they are derived from an ethical basis. The actions and decisions shown–along with the motives for them–can be analysed with the application of Kohlberg’s Moral Precepts. These precepts refer to the following concepts: preconventional, conventional and post conventional. These three terms will be explored through this paper in order to completely understand the morality behind the individuals in this literature.
The preconventional stage of moral development is the most controlled, with punishment and reward as the foundation for situational judgement. There are several aspects of this exhibited through the Crucible. To begin, Tituba is a prime example of this concept. At the ignition phase of the witch trials, her master, Reverend Parris states that he will “take [her] out and whip [her] to [her] death” upon her refusal to confess to her witchcraft allegations. This threat overpowers her own moral perception surrounding the “witch” claims, and is the core cause for her instant false confession . Tituba is put in a situation in which she is forced into a position where either punishment or reward become her only consequences. As Tituba does not possess the privilege of defying or liberating herself from this circumstance, she makes her decision with the objective of avoiding punishment–“death.” Another pre-conventionally driven character is Betty. Betty fakes being comatose to exempt herself from Reverend Parris scolding her, however she wakes with ease when faced with Abigail threatening to “beat [her]” if she remains dormant. Betty’s actions are deeply engraved in the fundamentals of pre-conventionalism, as her main intent through her actions is to prevent punishment from occurring. The last demonstration of this precept is Reverend Parris. Parris is self-preserving in nature, therefore preconventional in nature. During the height of the trials, Parris suggests to “postpone these hangings for a time” as he has begun to panic when the insight of the Salem population advancing against him–due to the loss of influential people within the community– settles in. The motives Parris displays are solely in his own self interest, correlating to the interests of pre-conventionalism. By the examples given, it is evident that there are various characters in this script that weigh their actions by moral obedience and punishment.
Kohlberg’s conventional stage relies on interpersonal accord and conformity. During the courting in the third act, Mary is accused of witchcraft. Mary is tormented by the other girls through simulation of her distressing them. Upon realisation that Abigail and her group is punishing and ostracising her for her reluctance to comply with Abigail’s plans, Mary immediately confesses and claims that she’ll “never hurt [Abigail] more” to return to safety within her flock. As Mary cannot maintain her strength without acceptance from her population, she is a conventional character. There are also examples of religious conformity as shown with John Proctor. When faced with the question of witchcraft, Proctor answers “that the Bible speaks of witches, and [he] will not deny them.” Despite having no belief in the accusations of sorcery within Salem, Proctor agrees with the majority of those who do, as to align with Christian ethics. Another example of this church based conformity is Reverend Hale who progressively conforms to the beliefs and morals of the environment. This is primarily shown when Hale claims that Tituba “sold [herself] to Lucifer.” Hale, when first arriving in Salem, is presented dubious towards the uprising witch allegations. However as the people around him begin to pressure his position, Hale is forced into one of the main condemning positions within Salem. All of these characters have defined conventional motives rooted in their actions as they aim to obtain and maintain acceptance within their society.
The last precept is the post conventional. This refers to individualistic principles, generally beyond the external needs of punishment or group acceptance. Reverend Hale’s character essentializes the transformation from conventionalism to post conventionalism. During the last act, Hale experiences a “break through” moment when finally perceiving the density of his actions. In attempts to consolidate and save others he exclaims, “God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride”, directly advocating that Elizabeth commits the sin of lying to save her life. As shown before, Hale is deeply concerned with religious conformity. However, Hale defies this societal pressure when weighing his own principles against the corrupt ones of the court. The other character that manages to prevail against conventionalism is John Proctor. When interrogated with lechery in association with Abigail Williams, John admits, “I have known her.” This is detrimental to his social standing as lechery is the utmost execrable crime within a Christian population, such as Salem. This revelation would unequivocally exile John, therefore this proves that the strength to make such a confession had come from a post conventional root. Lastly, Giles Corey demonstrated this post conventionalism, rather than adopting the surrounding ethics. When being pressed to confess and die with no charges attached, Giles uses his last words to say “more weight.” Instead of choosing external acceptance by absolving himself from his crimes, Corey decides to remain truthful to his own principles, therefore establishing post conventional morality. To remain truthful to oneself and detach from societal and punishmental pressures is post conventionalism, present through the various character decisions in the Crucible.
The stages of moral development allows for the behaviours, decisions and motives–along with growth in these aspects–behind every character in the Crucible to be understood. This paper dissects the roles in the play to achieve a comprehensive view on all the conflict and resolution through the progression of this story. The ethics of each individual and how they fluctuate with given situations are thoroughly evaluated using Kohlberg’s precepts.
