The Salem Witch Trials In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

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The word crucible means “a severe test or trial (dictionary.com).” The Crucible is story about a puritan society that goes through some troubles with “witches” and the calamity that follows. The story starts with Reverend Parris, a contentious minister, discovering that his slave, called Tituba, and many of the younger females in Salem had danced in the woods the previous day (Applebee et. al. 169). That information, and the fact that she is from Barbados, began what is now known as the Salem Witch Trials began. Most of the Puritans had a predilection that Tituba was capable of summoning spirits and, in doing so, that she worked for the Devil. This is an example of racism and shows one a little about how slaves are seen and treated. They …show more content…

She renounced him and cried out her love for god and begged for her sins to be overlooked. The reason she did this was to save her own life from an untimely demise. She knew she was going recieve the death sentence at that point, so she tried what came first to her mind, that is, confessing to a sin that she did not commit. She was then asked “Did you see someone with the devil?” She answered yes and stated that she saw Sarah Good with the devil. This deposition led Abigail Williams and the other girls to arbitrate their own lies when, with a lot of effrontery among them, they all became plaintiffs and they all claimed that they had seen a variety of different people with the devil along with themselves. That one accusation that Tituba made was then much more important than it otherwise would have been and it seemingly empowered Abigail Williams and the rest of the girls from the woods to cause this whole affair to become overly …show more content…

al. 198). She promises to tell the devil that Sarah Good was going to come with her to Barbados. The very same person that she claimed she saw with the devil. This may be because it seemed like Tituba had a place to go after she got out of jail, whereas Sarah Good may not. She also might have forgiven Tituba for what she had done because the accusation had spawned a madness that Tituba could not have predicted nor controlled. Tituba seemed like she became a fanatic of the devil by the the end of the story. This may be because of how she was treated while in allegiance with god. She may believe that the devil would treat her better than to throw her in prison. At least allied with the devil she would not be a scapegoat and a slave, but rather, a person, just as equal as everyone