In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many characters behave in puzzling ways. This essay’s purpose is to better understand the motivations behind the characters’ complex actions. This can be done by applying Kollberg’s moral precepts. Kollberg has three prominent perspectives that can motivate individuals to behave in certain ways. The three categories are pre-conventional behaviour, conventional behaviour, and post-conventional behaviour. All of these perspectives are demonstrated in the play and are taken into consideration to understand the way that the characters act throughout the story. Though these individuals’ actions may at first be confounding, by applying Kollberg’s precepts we can begin to understand the characters.   

In The Crucible there are many characters whose actions are pre-conventional. Pre-convectional is when you behave in a certain way to obtain reward and avoid punishment. To begin, Tituba is a pre-conventional character. This is illustrated when her slave master Reverend Parris says to Tituba that he will take her out and “whip [her] to [her]” death if she does not confess to witchcraft. Even though Parris wants her to confess, Tituba has never committed this crime. Despite her innocence, she confesses to being a witch. This behaviour demonstrates that Tituba is pre-conventional, as she lies to avoid the severe punishment of being whipped to death. Secondly, Thomas Putnum behaves in a way that allows him to obtain a reward. This is clearly displayed when Giles Corey tells the court that Putnum is “killing his neighbours for their land”. He has been telling his daughter to accuse people of being witches because it allows them to buy their land. Even though it may result in imprisonment or even death for those accused, he still engages in this behaviour to grow his wealth and reputation. This proves he is pre-conventional. The final example is Abigail Williams. This is exhibited when John Proctor says that she “thinks to dance with [him] on [his] wife’s grave”. After John had the affair with Abigail, she wanted to kill his wife, as she believed she could be with him if that happened. Therefore, she accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, as well as accusing other several other town members to disguise her intentions. This horrifying behaviour results in countless deaths, but she continues to do it for the potential reward of being with John Proctor. This makes her a pre-conventional character. From the examples provided, it is evident that many characters behaved in a way that allowed them to obtain reward or avoid punishment.  

There are many characters in The Crucible that are conventional. Conventional characters behave in a way that shows a desire for group acceptance. They want to fit into a particular group. To start, Mary Warren is a conventional character. This is illustrated when she tells John that she “[goes his] way no more”. Initially, when John Proctor told her to confess to the court, she agreed. However, when she went to do so she faced scorn and pressure from the group of girls. This resulted in her rejoining them. She felt safer and more comfortable within the group, so she chose to lie to fit in. Another character who wants to be accepted by a group is Reverend Parris. This is demonstrated when he is discussing the executions and claims that there is “danger in it” for him. At the beginning of the story, he was in favour of the hangings, as it was the less important members of society that were being prosecuted. He quickly changed his stance when people such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse were accused. These people are both incredibly influential in Salem, so he feared the backlash he would face if they were hung. Because he wanted to keep a favourable reputation and be regarded highly by the town, he opposed the hangings. And the final example is Reverent Hale. This is displayed when he announced that his books were “weighted with authority”. This is one of the first things that he says to the people in Salem, and it is for a clear reason. He wants to be respected by the town members, so he pushes the message that he is superior to them. He wants the power that comes with being accepted by the group. To conclude, you can see from the examples provided that many characters in The Crucible show a real desire to be part of a group.  

There are post-conventional characters in The Crucible. Post-conventional behaviour is when you have your own individual sense of values and ethics. These values and ethics cannot be influenced by reward, punishment, or group acceptance. The first post-conventional character is Giles Corey. This is demonstrated when he is being pressed with stones and his last words are “more weight”. He is being tortured in an effort to make him give up the name of the person who overheard Thomas Putnum. If he were to give a name he would stop being pressed, but he still chose not to share it. Giles Corey fully believed that sharing the name was the wrong thing to do, and he was so convinced of this that he was willing to die. This is a clear example of post-conventional behaviour. The next character that has an individual sense of values and beliefs to be discussed is John Proctor. This is illustrated when, in an attempt to stop the hangings, he tells the court that he has “known [Abigail]” in a physical sense. Throughout the play, he had steadfastly refused to confess out of fear of punishment. However, his own sense of ethics convinces him that he must tell the truth to spare the lives of his wife and the other town members. Even though it would result in his reputation being ruined and potentially severe punishment, he still did what he thought was the right thing to do. And finally, John Hale. In the third act, he gets so frustrated with the court’s actions that he “[quits the] court”. This is a significant post-conventional behaviour. Being a member of the court gives Hale authority and group belonging, and quitting will have very negative consequences for him. Because he disagrees with the actions of the court, he decides to make a stand despite possible repercussions. You can see from the examples provided that these characters in The Crucible are confident in their sense of right and wrong.  

To conclude, it is apparent that Kollberg’s moral precepts are an asset in understanding the motivations of characters in The Crucible. It has been demonstrated why individuals act in the way they do when faced with difficult situations. Kollberg’s three precepts, pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional behaviours all aid in the understanding of the characters. Pre-conventional is behaving in a way to obtain reward or avoid punishment. Conventional is behaviour that is done in an effort to fit in or be accepted by a group. Post-conventional behaviour directly contrasts the other two precepts, as it is behaving in a way that reflects your values, regardless of punishment, reward, or group acceptance. Overall, it has been clearly displayed that Kollberg’s moral precepts help the reader to understand the complex motivations of the characters in The Crucible.  

“I can get new ideas in areas I am interested in and build my skills to make them work.”

This statement applies to me in this class, specifically for my final project. We were allowed to choose whatever we wanted to create for our final project, and I wanted to do something crochet. I settled on a miniature crochet potted plant. I had to work hard on it, as I was very new to crocheting, having only done one small project before this. It was a challenge, but I was very happy with the outcome!

Throughout this course, we were required to learn several different types of financial statements, such as income statements and work sheets. However, the one that I found the most difficult to figure out was the balance sheet. It combined multiple different sections, as well as the owners’ equity statement, which was new to me. In addition to this, it required a fair bit of formatting to remember. While it may have taken a while to feel comfortable using it, it ended up being a great tool to have, and is incredibly useful for showing totals in an organized manner.

For my IDS project, I chose the question “How does trauma in childhood affect serial killers?” I took law last semester, and I found that this was a really interesting topic when we touched on it, and I wanted to take it more in-depth. The question I chose for my inquiry project hasn’t really changed throughout my time, it’s more or less stayed the same. I’ve been using CENT time weekly to do IDS, so I would say that my time management skills are good. The most useful resources for me throughout this assignment have been websites, especially sites that have been published by universities. The main challenge I’m facing currently is trying to find all of the information I need because some of the things I want to learn are very specific. The core competency I’ve grown during this project is critical thinking. I’ve had to take the information I’ve found and think critically about how reliable it is, as well as draw my own inferences. I’m going to share my information through PowerPoint, and I’m on track to do so. I’m not sure if I will use this information for my capstone or not, I’ll reassess at a later date.