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Puritan history brief salem witch trials
The salem witch trials puritans
Puritan history brief salem witch trials
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Tituba Throughout the Salem Witch Trials, a man named Samuel Parris had purchased a slave named Tituba who would then be accused of being a witch(Rebecca Brooks, 2013).. The Salem Witch Trials involved many people put to blame for being witches is they acted different, or acted out of the norm within their society. The witch hunts all began in the year of 1692 within the area of Salem. During the year of 1692, many people were being accused of being a witch and being thrown into jail. There were some conformations that Tituba was a witch as well from the people who lived around her. The background of Tituba is not well known, but she was more known as a slave broughten in from Barbados that was bought by Samuel Parris. The circumstances (being accused of witchcraft and being a witch) that enclosed within Tituba’s confessions and her denials of ever being a witch (Elaine G. Breslaw. Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies) When Tituba was being examined to see if she truly was a witch, she had confessions that she claimed to be true. The confessions that Tituba had said all involved the devil …show more content…
telling her what to do. This included bad things such as woman flying on brooms, reading books that included nine names, and witnessing satanic rituals. All of Tituba’s confessions had frightened the people who were talking to her and this also kept her alive for the time being.( In the book Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies, It describes briefly on Tituba’s life and mostly the trials that were focused mainly on her being a witch.
Along with her confessions with meeting with the devil himself and being a slave to him as well, she then turned her false words to justice. Tituba’s confessions were false and she claimed that she only advised those confessions to save her own life. The real truth only came out towards the end of her tria. Tituba also said that her owner had made her confess that she was in fact a witch and had abused her to do so. In the end the jury of her trial titled her innocent of not being a witch only because there was hardly any evidence to claim she was ever a demon ali( Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan
Fantasies). As Tituba was found not guilty to the charges against her, she had to endure a longer time period in jail, for her owner, Samuel Parri, didn’t wish to set her free. There are many theories that lead to the reasons why he didn’t get her out of jail such as: Parri might have been angry at her for revealing her confession as a lie( Brooks, 2013 , Tituba the Slave of Salem). There were claims from anonymous accusations that Tituba was skilled with involving herself with voodoo practices and having the girls within the small town of Salem learn fortune telling. These assertions were later turned out in her trial with little to no evidence, which led her to be free of the claims made towards her ( History of Massachusetts Blog by Rebecca Brooks). The actual cognition of her case was when there were protests and noises resulting of pain from Samuel’s daughter Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, who were soon to be pointed fingers at for possibly being witches. Later on they would also introduce Tituba as being the witch the entire time, whether that is to be true or not( Brooks, 2013, Tituba the Slave of Salem)
The Puritans said that Tituba practices what they called black magic; but it was the deceitful Abigail who influenced Tituba into practicing the black arts whenever it suited herself and her evil deeds. Tituba acknowledges her sins, but we never knew what happened to her in the story. This uncertainty of her destiny emphasizes whether she was a witch or not.
For example, Betty Paris and Ruth Putnam in the movie could not wake, but in Wilson’s historical depiction the only symptoms the afflicted girls had were: slipping into trances, cowering in corners, blurting nonsense, and collapsing into shrieking epileptic fits. Miller’s beginning scene of “The Crucible” where the girls were dancing and conjuring spirits in the woods with Tituba is not something that is known to have actually occurred. In Wilson’s historical depictions, Tituba is accused of being a witch because she made the witch cake, but in the film Abigail accuses her in order to avoid punishment because of what her and the girls were caught by Reverend Parris doing in the woods. Tituba’s confession in the movie was whipped out of her, but according to the historically she was interrogated, not whipped. Miller also changed why Martha Corey was accused in the film it is because her husband, Giles Corey, said she was reading suspicious books, but according to Wilson it was because Abigail said she saw her specter on the beams during sermon. According to Wilson’s historical depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, jailers would torture children to get them to confess their mother was a witch, but Miller did not put that in his
In conclusion a very important lesson could be learned through Tituba’s character. Things happen for a reason and one could honestly think that Tituba is only human, she lied to protect herself. Later after the Salem Witch Trials the enlightenment period came a long, which was caused by questioning authority and religion. The puritan faith then fades away because of the cruelty of the religion. It could be said that because of Tituba’s actions and all of the deaths that occurred afterwards due to her, could simply be the start of a revolt that got rid of the Puritan
Many young girls were in the woods trying to conjure spirits. Tituba was trying to teach them how to do so (Blumberg). Witchcraft was punishable by death, and these young girls were trying to avoid being caught(miller). They were falsely accusing many people so they would not be accused of witchcraft(miller). Several innocent people died during this time
Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft and signing on with the devil after she was accused even though she was innocent. Naturally, many people that were accused of being witches chose to plead guilty because it was the only way that they would be able to live.
They want slaves, not such as I. Let them send to Barbados for any of them!"(24). Abigail's first victim in her accusation spree was Tituba. Tituba was an easy first target because she is a slave and practices voodoo, both things combined make her the easiest target in Salem. 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.
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.
The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.
In Maryse Condé novel, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Tituba is the victim of the spread of colonial ideology. Colonial ideology is established early in the novel and plays a role throughout. Colonial ideology is the reason Tituba is a slave to white men throughout the play. Colonial ideology is the reason why Tituba’s opinion is considered irrelevant by other characters in the play. Tituba’s life is filled with lost, misery, and disappointment because of the ideology shared by other characters in the novel. The spread of colonial ideology leads to Tituba’s low role in every society she lives in during her life.
The hysteria surrounding the witchtrials causes Abigail to lie in order to save herself. She is affected by the hysteria because she does not want to exposed as a liar. She forgets about the people that are close to her in order to protect her reputation and identity. Abigail abandons Tituba, and accuses her of "sending her spirit on me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer" (41). Abigail also says Tituba "comes to me every night to go and drink blood (41). Abigail reacts like this only to save her fro...
In 1692, everyone was sure that the Devil had come to Salem when young girls started screaming, barking like dogs and doing strange dances in the woods. The Salem Witch Trials originated in the home of Salem's reverend Samuel Parris, who had a slave from the Caribbean named Tibuta. Tibuta would tell stories about witchcraft back from her home. In early 1692 several of Salem's teenage girls began gathering in the kitchen with Tibuta. When winter turned to spring, many Salem residents were stunned at the acts and behaviors of Tibuta's young followers.
The Salem Witch Trials were a time in history where people were wrongly accused of being witches. In the spring of 1692 the Salem witch trials began. During the trials women were wrongly accused of being witches. When accused of being a witch they were tortured, tested, put on trial, and most of the time executed if not put in jail. The townspeople tortured the accused witches in the most inhumane ways. This was a very dark and eerie time for the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts (P., Shaunak).
After Tituba admitted to being a witch and said that she and four other witches “had flown through the air on their poles” (Linder), panic swept through Salem, and the pursuit of witches expanded (Linder) (Brattle) (Brooks).
The witch trials of the late 1600's were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much attention in 1692. More than a hundred innocent people were found guilty of practicing witchcraft during these times, and our American government forced over a dozen to pay with their lives. The main reasons why the witch trials occurred were conflicts dealing with politics, religion, family, economics, and fears of the citizens.
In the early years of America, people were mostly unaware of certain things. Sickness, for instance, was an important issue for people didn't know how to manage or cure such complex illnesses. The Puritans, during the colonial times, didn't have much information about certain things. They came to believe that certain unexplainable events were done by a powerful source of evil thus brought about superstitions. The infamous Witch Trials done at Salem, Massachusetts, which spread across the continent, was an example of people's injustice acts in response to superstitions. One of the major cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials was superstition, an "irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (www.encyclopedia.com). A lack of scientific knowledge led many people to be convinced that, witches were responsible to the death of an animal or a livestock: John Rogger "testified that upon the threatening words " of Martha Carrier " his cattle would be strangely bewitched."(Mather, p55) John Roger believed on superstitions; thus he proposed that Martha was a witch who was killing his cows. It is easy to see how the people of Salem were so vulnerable to the notion of witches taking over their town. Furthermore Tituba, Reverend Parris's slave, practiced ritual dance and "black magic" in her early years in Africa. She influenced most of the girls in town through her stories. The girls believed on superstitions which overall started the Salem Witch Trials and made it possible for the witch trials to occur for a long duration.