In today’s society, a person’s reputation plays a huge part in how one is viewed and treated. The same was true for the citizens of Salem Village, a Puritan dwelling in Massachusetts. To the Puritans, self-reputation was everything. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible based on the Salem Village Witch Trials that took place in the early 1690s. Most of the characters are based on real people. A few things are changed to make the play more dramatic, such as the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. However, many details, including names, are left the same. The people of Salem Village judged others based on their actions. Almost every person in that parish was worried about their image and reputation. Many of these citizens abandoned
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Proctor and some other men of the community try to show the judges that the girls crying witchcraft were lying. In order to prove his honesty, John Proctor confesses his affair to the court. By doing this, his name was instantly tarnished. He did this for the greater good of the town and those falsely accused of witchcraft, including his wife, Elizabeth. While confessing, John says, “A man will not cast away his good name. You know that,”(Miller 1206). Proctor knew that by soiling his name, that he could show his honesty to the court. Later, in Act 4, Proctor proclaims, “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it,”(Miller 1230). This is the point where Proctor reached the highest level of Kohlberg’s theory. John Proctor is aware of his conscience and is doing what is best for the greater good of Salem Village. He has no notion in mind to try to save himself from death, but he refuses to condemn others. Ultimately, he dies known as a moral man with integrity, who died because he did not want to condemn anyone to death. This point where Proctor put society over personal benefit is what the highest level of Kohlberg’s theory is about. It is where someone does something for the greater good, weighing all the
Proctor and some other men of the community try to show the judges that the girls crying witchcraft were lying. In order to prove his honesty, John Proctor confesses his affair to the court. By doing this, his name was instantly tarnished. He did this for the greater good of the town and those falsely accused of witchcraft, including his wife, Elizabeth. While confessing, John says, “A man will not cast away his good name. You know that,”(Miller 1206). Proctor knew that by soiling his name, that he could show his honesty to the court. Later, in Act 4, Proctor proclaims, “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it,”(Miller 1230). This is the point where Proctor reached the highest level of Kohlberg’s theory. John Proctor is aware of his conscience and is doing what is best for the greater good of Salem Village. He has no notion in mind to try to save himself from death, but he refuses to condemn others. Ultimately, he dies known as a moral man with integrity, who died because he did not want to condemn anyone to death. This point where Proctor put society over personal benefit is what the highest level of Kohlberg’s theory is about. It is where someone does something for the greater good, weighing all the