To truly understand the characters found in the Crucible, their behavior and the motivation for their behavior, one only has to refer to Kollberg’s moral perceptions for explanation. In this paper, 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 many characters found within the Crucible that are pre-conventional. Pre-conventional characters behave in a specific way to avoid punishment and obtain a reward. To begin, Betty is a pre-conventional character. She shows this behaviour when she is laying in bed and Reverend Parris asks her if she will “wake.” After betty was caught dancing in the woods and trying to conjure spirits, she pretended to be ill in bed. The reason she faked being ill was because she knew that she was committing a sin and that it would result in a punishment. Betty knew that by doing this she would not have to be questioned about that night. Another character that tries to avoid punishment and obtain a reward is Tituba. She demonstrates this when she admits “the devil got a hold of [her].” When she is accused of witchcraft, she decides to quickly confess to it as a way of protecting herself from the punishment. Tituba understands that confessing is the safest way to protect herself from a severe punishment or possibly death. And finally, Abigail. She shows this behaviour when she has a needle “stuck two inches into the flesh of her belly.” Abigail does this to herself then blames Elizabeth for doing it as she pretended to feel pain and pulled the needle from her belly claiming it was Elizabeth’s spirit done through the poppet found in the Proctors home. By harming herself and blaming Elizabeth, she manipulates the court to achieve her goal of getting rid of Elizabeth to be with John Proctor. With these examples it is shown that there are several pre-conventional characters in the Crucible.
There are many characters in the Crucible who show conventional behaviour. Conventional characters behave in a way that allows them to fit into a group as well as feeling accepted by the group. The first example of a conventional character is Mercy Lewis. In the courtroom she cries out “your honour I freeze.” As Mary Warren is attempting to confess to lying about witchcraft Mercy Lewis and the rest of the girls begin to pretend that Mary Warrens spirit is attacking them in the form of a cold wind to mislead the court so, they will not believe Mary. Mercy Lewis is acting this way to fit into the group of girls to make the lie more believable because she knows if more of them do it, it will seem to be more realistic. Another character that behaves in a way to fit into a group is Elizabeth Proctor. She is known to be a good Christian woman who “will never lie.” She fits in with the group of the church by always following their rules and never lying. She wants everyone to believe that she is a pure, honest, Christian woman so that she will never be judged or looked down on. And finally, Mary Warren. She told Abigail she’ll “hurt [her] no more.” Marry Warren worries about being isolated from the group and feels intimidated by Abigail. She believes that the only way for her to be accepted be Abigail and the rest of the girls is to not go against Abigail in court. With these examples, it is evident that there are several characters in the Crucible who have a conventional behaviour.
There are many examples of post-conventional characters found within the Crucible. Post-conventional characters have an internalized value system, having a sense of right and wrong. They are not motivated by any reward, punishment or group acceptance but simply just do what they believe is right. The first example of a post-conventional character is John Proctor. He demonstrates this behavior in the court room when he confesses to adultery with Abigail Williams admitting that he has “known her”. Even though there is a chance that he could be ostracized, he still decides that telling the truth about what he did with Abigail is for the best. He does this as an attempt to expose her lies and to show the court that Abigail is not the victim but a manipulator and that telling the truth is the right thing to do even though he may suffer consequences. Another character who behaves in a way not considering reward, punishment or group acceptance is Elizabeth Proctor. When Elizabeth is was asked if her husband was unfaithful, she replies “no sir” to defend her husband. At this time John Proctor has already admitted to adultery but when Elizabeth is brought in after she decides to lie for her husband trying to protect his reputation by denying that he did it. Even though it backfires on John Proctor since he had already confessed, Elizabeth still believed it was the right thing to do in that moment. And finally, Hale. In the courtroom he tells judge Danforth that he “[quits] this court.” In the beginning Hale strictly follows church’s rules and laws but later as he sees innocent people being condemned, he begins to realize that the court is just unfair. By saying that he is rejecting what he used to believe in and instead, showing that he vales the people, and the truth more than that. Together these examples demonstrate that there are many post- conventional characters found within the Crucible.
In conclusion, Kolberg’s moral perceptions have provided us with a deep understanding of pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional behaviours. This is demonstrated through many of the characters in the Crucible in many situations. Even though each character has different stories they all share similar qualities fitting into these three categories. This essay has helped me to understand the characters in the crucible and the reasons they behave the way they do.

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