Brody Lawrence

English 12

To truly understand the crucible, characters found in the play, and their motivation for behavior, one only has to refer to Kollberg’s moral precepts for explanation Kollberg has three categories of precepts. There are concepts that explain an individual’s meaning for behaving in a certain manner. This essay will look at pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional behavior. 

There are many examples of pre-conventional characters found in the crucible. To begin, the first pre-conventional character is Abigail Williams. She demonstrates the definition of pre-conventional when she does not want her reputation being ruined and says to Reverend Parris “I will not have it said my name is soiled”. Abigail’s main concern at this point is to protect her own reputation and not ruin it since she is being questioned about being involved in witchcraft. Out of fear for herself, she points the blame on others and accuses rather than taking responsibility for her own actions. In addition, another character that shows pre-conventional morals is John Proctor when Reverend Hale urged for him to go to church more frequently and he replies with “I’ll think on it”. John is still hesitating to make a commitment to go to church but out of self-preservation he replies with a shaky answer, not saying yes or no. He is trying to preserve his morals, but he also knows the consequences of defying religion in Salem. The final example is Mary Warren when John Proctor is begging for her to tell the truth about the girls, but she weeps saying “I cannot, they’ll turn on me”. Acting in a cluttered mind due to the pressure that’s on her right now, out of fear she can’t confess anything despite knowing the truth because she knows what can happen to her if she does. 

There are many examples of conventional characters found within the crucible. Conventional characters behave in a way to fit into a group and achieve acceptance. To begin, the first example of a conventional character is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth demonstrates she’s good example when she’s getting interrogated by the court about John Proctors confession and she says “My husband is a good and righteous man. I cannot lie, sir, I cannot lie, sir, but he has told you the truth as he knows it. Elizabeth known as the women who’s never lied, lies Infront of the court about her man’s doing. She was motivated to lie for John for their love and their marriage with no personal gain attached to it. Among the definitions of conventional, another character is John Proctor when he says to Elizabeth “We cannot leap to witchcraft”. Salem is accusing everybody of witchcraft at this point with evidence, and John knows that it’s wrong which puts him at odds against mostly everybody in Salem who’s thinking it is. John, thinking about the real scenario that is unwinding in front of his eyes, thinks about the actual way someone with moral reasoning would instead of just following the society and choosing the safest route. To end the conventional reasonings, there’s one character that defines it to perfection, and that is Giles Corey. Giles who is getting falsely accused in the court is quite but particularly speaks out when the court threatens the people he respects and cares for and he say’s to them “This is a notorious sign of Witchcraft afoot, and I will not sit to see my friends condemned for their honesty”. Despite knowing the danger of speaking out, Giles can’t refuse to stay silent since he knows he stands for the justice of people and the actual truth. He’s motivated for the well-being of others and stands tall to his principles rather than being selfish and worrying about himself. 

There are many examples of post-conventional characters found in the Crucible. An individual that is post-conventional has eternalized a sense of morality. They make decisions without concern for punishment, reward, or group acceptance. They behave in a certain way because they believe it is the correct action to take. Initially, the first post-conventional character to be discussed is John Hale. When hale sees the court defying evidence and making false accusations, he gets to a point to where he says to the court “I quit this court”. Hale, who used to be a strong supporter of the church, now has abandoned all of his principles for them due to their unjust system, and he simply can’t trust them anymore. Hale, knowing that he would lose all his power, still does it anyway because he would rather follow his own morals than hop on the bandwagon. A character that reflects a post sense of morality is Giles Cory. When Giles was getting pressed to death by stones. The court wanted to him to confess or deny but he refuses and has his finals words as “More weight”. Giles was facing off against a corrupt justice system and that whatever he said could be used against him and the government would take his land. His finals words show that he wouldn’t be broken down by corrupt people and that he stayed true to who he loved while maintaining a level of courage. The final character for Post conventional is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth says “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him”. Elizabeth now realizes that John can’t live with the truth of having an affair with Abigial Williams and wants to die as an honest man. Instead of convincing John to keep it, she lets him have his way and respects his choice. 

In conclusion, to truly understand the crucible, characters found in the play, and their motivation for behavior, one only has to refer to Kollberg’s moral precepts for explanation Kollberg has three categories of precepts. There are concepts that explain an individual’s meaning for behaving in a certain manner in which the essay looked over pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Through all these topics we looked over Arthur Miller’s Crucible; it shows the emotions of a person and the complex thinking of human nature. It reflects how a person would act under pressure and fear and as an example reflects the people of the Crucible in an outreached town.