To truly understand characters found in the Crucible, their behavior and the motivation for their behavior, one only has to refer to Kollberg’s moral preceptions for explanation. In this essay, Kollberg’s three moral perceptions will be discussed. The three moral perceptions are pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. A detailed discussion of those three perceptions will take place. This discussion will take the form of a detailed definition of each, as well as a discussion of three independent characters that are used as an illustration of each of these categories.

There are characters in the crucible that are pre-conventional. Pre-conventional behavior is when an individual behaves in a specific way to avoid punishment and obtain a reward. The first pre-conventional to be discussed is Reverend Parris, he demonstrates he fits into this category when he believes that there is “danger” for him. Parris fears for his life especially after well-respected citizens like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are scheduled to be executed. He is mainly worried about his own status in the town, he supports anything that will benefit him but when the event occurs of the dagger at his door is when he really begins to fear the consequences. Another character that tries to avoid punishment and achieve a reward is Tituba. She illustrates this when she is told that she must confess to witchcraft or else she will be whipped “to {her} death”. Tituba breaks down and falsely confesses herself to Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, she falsely admits to working with the Devil to avoid the result of death. She realizes that if she denies this accusation, she will be executed, so she chooses to go along with what the people of authority in Salem want to hear. And the final example of a pre-conventional character in the crucible is Abigail Williams. This is evident when “a needle were found stuck into {Abigail’s} belly”. Abigail primarily acts out of self-interest when she decides to stab herself and accuse Elizabeth Proctor, this is so she can ultimately get the reward of being with John Proctor in the end and removing Elizabeth from the picture.

There are many examples of conventional characters found within the crucible. Conventional characters behave in a way that allows them to fit into a group. The first example of a character that displays a conventional behavior is Judge Danforth. This is indicated when he explains to John Proctor that he must give him an honest confession or “{Danforth} cannot keep {John Proctor} from the rope”. Danforth demonstrates his firm belief in the established legal system and his strict devotion to the procedures over justice, he is a character that has a strong loyalty towards society’s expectations as a judge to follow rather than thinking independently. He prioritizes the court’s and his own reputation and is possibly concerned about how the people of Salem may view him if he changes his morals. Reverend Hale is another character that seeks group acceptance. He illustrates this when he declares that the court and the people of Salem “cannot look to superstition”. Hale shows that he truly believes in following the religious and legal systems, he is accepting of the court’s authority and performs his duties which makes him align to certain expectations. And finally, Reverend Parris. This is shown when Parris does not want the court to “leap to witchcraft” as Parris believes that the people of the town will force him out of Salem if this happens. He is only concerned about how his fellow town people will view him if witchcraft were to occur rather than ultimately seeking the real truth of witchcraft.

This is the final perception from Kollberg’s moral perceptions, there are many examples of post-conventional characters found in the crucible. A post-conventional has internalized a sense of right and wrong. They have a strongly developed value system. The individual is not motivated by reward, punishment or acceptance into a group. The first example of a post-conventional character is Giles Corey. This is demonstrated when he asks for “more weight” as he is being pressed down to his death. Giles received a long and sufferably way of death in an attempt to get him to submit a guilty plea to witchcraft, but he was so convinced of himself, his beliefs and values that he decided to face his execution rather than to go to trial and make a false confession. Another character that does something that aligns with their own values is John Proctor. He illustrates this when he refuses to sign the written confession because he has “given {Danforth}{his} soul {and wants to}leave{him}{his} name!”. Proctor realizes that if he signs his name to a false confession, he will betray his own sense of right and wrong. So instead, Proctor chooses to die with his integrity and his reputation remembered in the town of Salem. The final example is Reverend Hale. He believes that God would prefer a person to live dishonestly rather than “throw{ing} {Proctor’s} life away for pride”. Hale, who once strongly supported the legal system of Salem, has come to change his moral values of executions to be wrong. He decides to prioritize someone’s life to live over his previous religious beliefs because he comes to the realization the court rulings are unfair in John Proctor’s case.

In conclusion, Kollberg’s moral perceptions of the crucible characters have provided a detailed explanation of pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Pre-conventional perceptions are represented by character such as Reverend Parris, Tituba and Abigail Williams, who act in certain ways in order to get rewards and avoid punishment. Conventional perceptions are proven by characters like Judge Danforth, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, who behave in a way that aligns to the standards of society and seeks group acceptance. And finally, characters that prioritize their own views over the consequences of others that don’t consider rewards, punishments or group acceptance, are known to be Giles Corey, John Proctor and Reverend Hale, they display these post-conventional perceptions.