Witchcraft In The Crucible

It is thoroughly apparent that Tituba, a native born from Barbados, was so quickly blamed for influencing the acts of supposed witchcraft, because she is constantly being scrutinized for the color of her skin. Inferior in status, as a slave, it was easy for Reverend Hale to believe Abigail when she selfishly blamed Tituba for coercing her to participate in witchcraft. In a frantic attempt to avoid punishment and escape death, Tituba spews out names: Sarah Good and Goody Osburn, of whom she used as her scapegoats. These were the names of the two people who were held at low regard, like herself and who would be just as easily blamed, due to their low social status. She was able to turn the tables, and it was her turn to point a finger on an unsuspecting

In the beginning of the play, Tituba, Reverend Parris’ servant, takes Abigail, Betty, and many other girls into the forest. They dance around a fire and Tituba sings songs, seemingly innocent. The day after, people are saying that Tituba is a witch and was performing a black magic ritual. Then later, she is asked to forgive her sins and “call out” the other supposed witches she has seen practicing witchcraft. I don’t think that Tituba is justified in doing this.

Tituba’s fear of physical harm motivates her to cry witch. Reverend Hale’s harsh treatment of Tituba causes her to cower from him even before being accused of witchcraft. Tituba’s fear increases when Abigail accuses her of making her “drink blood” (43). Reverend Hale in turn concludes that Tituba serves the Devil. Reverend Hale orders her to wake Betty who she has sent her “spirit out upon” (44). Initially, Tituba pleads that she “don’t compact with no Devil” (44) but when she realizes that she

Tituba, like Good, was very poor. She worked as a servant in the Parris home and was a Carib Indian born in Barbados in the West Indies. Reverend Parris brought Tituba to New England when he was still a merchant, and after this she married John Indian who also worked as slave for Reverend Parris. Tituba was the person asked to aid with the girls' illnesses by making a witch's cake to find their culprit and after this did not work, she was arrested four days later for being a witch herself.

It might appear as if Tituba is the one who is most responsible for the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. Tituba said, “No,no, chicken blood. I give she chicken blood!” (1109). She had given Abigail blood to drink so Abigail could casts a curse that could kill Elizabeth Proctor. If Tituba had never given Abigail the blood, the girls would have never gone to the forest to conjure spirits. Mrs. Putnam said, “Tituba knows how to speak to the dead, Mr. Parris” (1095). Mrs. Putnam had lost seven children soon after their births which made her believe that there was witchcraft involved in the death of her babies. Mrs. Putnam sent her only daughter to go to Tituba to conjure up the spirits of all her dead children. Clearly, if Tituba had not tried to

Mrs. Putnam used fear to conform everyone’s thought’s towards Tituba. In a similar situation, Abigail was peer pressing the girls into turning against Tituba. “She sees nothing. Abigail and all the girls: are transfixed. Abby, you must! Mary Warren: to all the girls I’m here, I’m here. Girls: I’m here I’m here” (Miller 127). The girls were being peer pressured into believing that Tibia was evil and the root of their problems. Lastly, in the beginning of the play, you see how easy it is to convince someone and wrongly judge them as Abigail did to Tituba. “ABIGAIL: She sends her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer! PARRIS: She have often laughed at prayer! ABIGAIL: She comes to me every night to go and drink blood! TITUBA: You beg me to conjure! She beg me make charm ABIGAIL: Don 't lie! (To Hale:) She comes to me while I sleep; she 's always making me dream corruptions! TITUBA: Why you say that, Abby? ABIGAIL: Sometimes I wake and find myself standing in the open doorway and not a stitch on my body! I always hear her laughing in my sleep. I hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me with TITUBA: Mister Reverend, I never HALE, resolved now: Tituba, I want you to wake this child. TITUBA: I have no power on this child, sir. HALE: You most certainly do, and you will free her from it now! When did you compact with the Devil? TITUBA: I don 't compact with no Devil!.” You can tell from this quote that Abigail

As the story of Tituba unfolds, it reveals a strong and kind hearted young woman, very different from the Tituba we meet in The Crucible. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem unveils for the reader, Tituba's life, loves, and losses. Her long and arduous journey through life is inspired by her many female counterparts, yet also hindered by her insatiable weakness for men, who also press upon her the realities of life.

She tells Hale that "the devil got hm numerous witches."(188). This leads her to exposing two people possibly involved in witchcraft. By hearing her say this, Parris feels safe to assume that Tituba physically saw the devil and whoever had swore to him. By accusing other people and giving specific names, she is responsible for them being sent to court. This led to more suspicion and more accusations.

Tituba was accused of witchcraft by two young girls (Betty Parris and Abigail Williams) after showing them and several others a number of things what could be described has having a voodoo origin. Though Tituba’s actions and beliefs were strange to those of a Puritan Salem, she may have very well believed in it all. Whilst other religious beliefs may not have been acceptable to the people, their own religious beliefs where very important to them.

Speculations began circulating in the town that Abigail and some other juvenile girls had congregated in the forest with Tituba and committed unholy acts such as dancing naked around a fire and rising the dead sisters of one of the girls. Tituba was the slave of one of the girls’ parents and was notorious for necromancy. For reasons unknown, the girls had previously started a sort of club based around Tituba (Rosenthal).

On February 29, 1692, under the guidance of magistrates Johnathan Corwin and John Hathorne, Ann, Elizabeth and Abagail accused three women for afflicting them: Tituba a slave girl from the Caribbean who was owned by the Parris’s; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar and Sarah Osborne, an elderly woman. All three women were brought to trial before the local magistrates and interrogated for days at a time, these interrogations began on March 1, 1692. Both Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good claimed to be innocent, but Tituba confessed, “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him” (Witch Hunt). Tituba states that she has seen images of huge black dogs, red cats and a huge black man who asked her to write her name in his book. She said that she indeed did sign the book along with several other witches who sought out to destroy the Puritans. The Puritans were eager to believe the confession from the slave girl. Tituba’s skin reminded them of the Indians they came to hate so much. She was a dark skinned woman from Barbados, Tituba was also known for speaking her native language and practicing her native religion. Since Tituba confessed, all three women were sent to jail.

As a child, Tituba was taken captive and sold into slavery. She was between the ages of 12 and 17 when she became a slave in the Parris house.("Tituba") Tituba married another Indian slave, John, in 1689. She also had a daughter, Violet, that lived in the Parris's house with her. According to law2.unmkc.edu, "Tituba made herself a likely target for witchcraft accusations when shortly after Parris's daughter, Betty, began having strange fits and symptoms, she participated in the preparation of a 'witchcake' (a mixture of rye and Betty's urine, cooked and fed to a dog, in the belief that the dog would then reveal the identity of Betty's afflicter." Samuel Parris, Tituba's employer, was extremely angry when he found out about Tituba making the cake, so he beat her until she confessed to being a witch. Tituba was the first Salem witch to confess and she most likely confessed to avoid punishment. In her confession, Tituba named several other witches, which managed to help her avoid going to trial. During the trials, a Tituba tried to recant her earlier confession. This attempted recantation angered Samuel Parris and he refused to get her out of prison. After spending over a year in jail Tituba was bought by an unknown person. It is also unknown what happened to Tituba after she began her new life.

Tituba was a women considered to be an outcasts of the village since she has very little dignity in being a slave. These false accusations lead Tituba to be condemned to death. This unjust act is only the beginning of a series of false allegations that take control of Salem, as well as the spreading of paranoia and hysteria through the village. This finally results in the deaths of the some of the main characters, such as Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor, for carrying out acts of witchcraft.

During the hardship of trying to save herself, Tituba was wrongly accused by Abigail. Tituba needed to speak out to revoke herself from indictment against her. “‘ She made me do it! She made Betty do it!’” “‘No, I don’t truck with no devil!’” (Applebee et al. 187) Abigail doesn’t want to tell the truth about what happened in the woods so she was disproportionate. Furthermore Tituba was a slave trying to save herself from being wrongly accused but Abigail didn’t like her so she blamed it on

To show its authenticity we can compare the way the novel showcases the Salem witch trials and how they occurred in real life. In the book we get to experience the lies and the tricks the group of girls used to deceive their town of "evil forces". In the book the witch trials are placed in the hands of the group of girls. As well as in real life because in 1692 in Salem Massachusetts there were also a group of girls who claimed to be haunted by the devil. It is easy to say that in both the novel and the nonfictional adventure panic erupted within the towns, but although people looked for answers and a closure for their problems. Without thinking they followed the "wise" commands of the girls. Believing that the people being accused of witchery had made a pact with the devil. People have always had fear of the devils wish to invade the church, so knowing the witches would do his