Josh Perkins
Mr. Lizotte
Ap English Lang pd.5
7 March 2016
Tituba and Witchcraft
Tituba is often considered to be the individual that started the belief in witchcraft. Tituba would tell tales of voodoo to young children making them believe that the voodoo was witchcraft. In Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible a young group of girls join Tituba and dance in the forest. One of the girls is Reverend Parris’s daughter Betty. Betty falls into a comma making the entire town think that witchcraft was present. Another one of the girls was Abigail Williams. Abigail is questioned about committing witchcraft by Reverend Hale, an expert on witchcraft. Abigail claims to have done nothing other that dancing. This causes the locals to form an infuriated …show more content…
It is generally understood that witchcraft is the use of magic, mainly black magic and spells. Now if an individual were to believe in witchcraft or practice witchcraft he or she would be considered insane. We now have scientific proof that people are not witches and that witches are not real. Witchcraft today would be considered crazy or unrealistic. Although back in 1692 when the Salem Witch Trials first started, witchcraft was a very big deal. Almost everyone believed in it and or had an opinion on it. As stated “I just come from the farm; the whole country’s talkin’ witchcraft! They’ll be callin’ us witches” (Pg 18. The Crucible). Witchcraft was a very touchy topic and no one wanted to be accused of it. This leads to people not wanting to bring witchcraft up because it could backfire on them. “I’ll lead them in a psalm, but let you say nothing of witchcraft yet. I will not discuss it. The cause is yet unknown. I have had enough contention since I came; I want no more.” (Pg 17. The Crucible) Parris states showing that he wants nothing to do with witchcraft. Since nobody wants to have witchcraft happen to them everyone is somewhat nervous being near or around someone associated with witchcraft. Not only will an individual be concerned, entire communities start to become concerned with their neighboring communities that are infested with witchcraft. This tends to make people …show more content…
It is believed that Tituba started the belief in witchcraft. Tituba was Reverends Parris’s slave. Some say that Tituba was Indian, while others think that she was African-American. Although in Arthur Miller’s 1996 film The Crucible Tituba is played by African American, Charlayne Woodard. Tituba was the first person to admit to witchcraft and telling tales of voodoo to Abigail. Tituba later disappeared and it's unknown where she went. As stated in Rosenthal, Bernard’s magazine “She went to jail, probably remaining there until May 1693 when she was brought before the judicial system and released. What happened to her after that is unknown. The historical Tituba disappears.” (Magazine of History). Its is unknown where Tituba went after she was released from jail. This leads to a lot of myths about Tituba and where she went. She came up in some later writings as stated “Probably the first overtly fictional work to treat Tituba came in 1828 when John Neal published Rachel Dyer and described her as "a woman of diabolical power". But the modern myth of Tituba begins in the mind of Charles W. Upham. When Upham first wrote of Tituba in 1831 in his Lectures on Witchcraft, Comprising a History of the Delusion in Salem in 1692, referring to her as an old Indian woman, he offered no dramatic creation of myth.”(Magazine of History). Tituba was one of the most intriguing characters to just vanish. Its this disappearance that
Mr. Lizotte
Ap English Lang pd.5
7 March 2016
Tituba and Witchcraft
Tituba is often considered to be the individual that started the belief in witchcraft. Tituba would tell tales of voodoo to young children making them believe that the voodoo was witchcraft. In Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible a young group of girls join Tituba and dance in the forest. One of the girls is Reverend Parris’s daughter Betty. Betty falls into a comma making the entire town think that witchcraft was present. Another one of the girls was Abigail Williams. Abigail is questioned about committing witchcraft by Reverend Hale, an expert on witchcraft. Abigail claims to have done nothing other that dancing. This causes the locals to form an infuriated …show more content…
It is generally understood that witchcraft is the use of magic, mainly black magic and spells. Now if an individual were to believe in witchcraft or practice witchcraft he or she would be considered insane. We now have scientific proof that people are not witches and that witches are not real. Witchcraft today would be considered crazy or unrealistic. Although back in 1692 when the Salem Witch Trials first started, witchcraft was a very big deal. Almost everyone believed in it and or had an opinion on it. As stated “I just come from the farm; the whole country’s talkin’ witchcraft! They’ll be callin’ us witches” (Pg 18. The Crucible). Witchcraft was a very touchy topic and no one wanted to be accused of it. This leads to people not wanting to bring witchcraft up because it could backfire on them. “I’ll lead them in a psalm, but let you say nothing of witchcraft yet. I will not discuss it. The cause is yet unknown. I have had enough contention since I came; I want no more.” (Pg 17. The Crucible) Parris states showing that he wants nothing to do with witchcraft. Since nobody wants to have witchcraft happen to them everyone is somewhat nervous being near or around someone associated with witchcraft. Not only will an individual be concerned, entire communities start to become concerned with their neighboring communities that are infested with witchcraft. This tends to make people …show more content…
It is believed that Tituba started the belief in witchcraft. Tituba was Reverends Parris’s slave. Some say that Tituba was Indian, while others think that she was African-American. Although in Arthur Miller’s 1996 film The Crucible Tituba is played by African American, Charlayne Woodard. Tituba was the first person to admit to witchcraft and telling tales of voodoo to Abigail. Tituba later disappeared and it's unknown where she went. As stated in Rosenthal, Bernard’s magazine “She went to jail, probably remaining there until May 1693 when she was brought before the judicial system and released. What happened to her after that is unknown. The historical Tituba disappears.” (Magazine of History). Its is unknown where Tituba went after she was released from jail. This leads to a lot of myths about Tituba and where she went. She came up in some later writings as stated “Probably the first overtly fictional work to treat Tituba came in 1828 when John Neal published Rachel Dyer and described her as "a woman of diabolical power". But the modern myth of Tituba begins in the mind of Charles W. Upham. When Upham first wrote of Tituba in 1831 in his Lectures on Witchcraft, Comprising a History of the Delusion in Salem in 1692, referring to her as an old Indian woman, he offered no dramatic creation of myth.”(Magazine of History). Tituba was one of the most intriguing characters to just vanish. Its this disappearance that