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Problems with racism in literature
I tituba the black witch of salem sparknotes
Literary themes about racism
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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.
Tituba's life is one full of magic and wonder, yet also fraught with suffering. The majority of Tituba'' pain and suffering is caused by the hands of men, in particular, white men. The most prominent destructive white male in Tituba's life is Samuel Parris. From the moment Tituba is placed into Parris' ownership, he is quote clear about his hatred for Negroes. He thrives on he power bestowed upon him by the forces of racism and, at the same time, cowardly hides behind the mask of religion. He treats Tituba as if she is worthless, and undeserving of a happy life, which breaks down her sense of self-worth and self-confidence. Because of his status as a Puritan white male, this infringement upon fundamental human rights is overlooked by the public.
While Samuel Parris' mistreatment of Tituba is more obvious, she is also betrayed by her own husband, John Indian. When Tituba first meets John Indian, she is "simply fascinated by the bravado of his voice and his smile," (13) and this is due to her inexperience with men. In retrospect, Tituba realizes he was, in fact, weak, but she is blinded from this knowledge by her overpowering love for him. Tituba's love for John is so unwavering that she in unable to see his self-righteous qualities and with what ease he will give up on...
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...ch unashamedly displays it's message for those who read it, regardless of race. Conde uses the novel as a vehicle and the character of Hester as its voice to drive home her message. She strongly advocates for the liberation of the black people and equal treatment of women. While this is an obviously biased view, it is one which cannot to ignored.
It would be unfair to conclude an essay about a novel of such great proportion without matching its weight and grandeur. Tituba's life is one fraught with strong influences; women inspire her to achieve great things while her sole weakness, men, pull her down and ultimately contribute to her demise. Tituba is exposed to the often harsh realities of life, as she attempts to maintain her strong morals and values. Conde is able to drive her vehicle to destroy prejudice straight into success.
It has led to many devastating losses throughout history, yet on the other side it has “resolved” conflict when the conflict was too troublesome to talk through. After the War of 1812, America was heading into one of the the worst depressions ever in American history. Despite the many failures, the time after the war were known as “The Era of good feelings.” This was an inaccurate label for the selected time period. It is inaccurately labelled the “Era of Good Feelings” because of the weak economy, the terrible attempts of the government to keep the U.S. as one nation, and different views on slavery. As Andrew Jackson once said, “Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting
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 the Town of Salem Massachusetts, 1692, a group of adolescents are caught dancing in the forest. Among the adolescents in The Crucible, Abigail Williams and Mary Warren. The girls are horrified that they have been caught dancing, a sinful act, therefore they devise a story to evade punishment: they claim to have been bewitched. The first person who they accuse of witchcraft is a the black maid, Tituba. This results in her jail sentence as well as fearful suspicion throughout the town.
The Era of Good Feelings was the name applied to the period in the United States corresponding with the term of President James Monroe, following the war of 1812. Shortly after he was put into office, his term was known as the Era of Good Feelings. However, it is clear that the Era of Good Feelings was mislabeled because although there was still a sense of nationalism, it was overshadowed by sectional conflict over the second bank, the tariff, and the demand for slavery.
With a strong female protagonist and two mentally weak males, it is hard to consider Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter anything but a feminist treatise. He obviously intended to put down not only Puritanism, which is an obvious aspect of the novel, but to establish a powerful, secure female in American literature. Hester proves, although she has sinned in the past, she can confront her mistakes, take care of herself and her child, and help others at the same time. She can withhold a position in society that many can respect because of her character something the males of the story obviously could not succeed at doing.
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 children of Salem did not have many forms of entertainment, especially during the winter. There were no movies or radios, and the adults were always busy with work. Many took to reading as a form of entertainment. The young people of the town became interested in books about fortune telling and prophecies. Some formed a circle led by Tituba, slave...
As white settlers poured across the mountains, the Cherokee tried once again to compensate themselves with territory taken by war with a neighboring tribe. This time their intended victim was the Chickasaw, but this was a mistake. Anyone who tried to take something from the Chickasaw regretted it, if he survived. After eleven years of sporadic warfare ended with a major defeat at Chickasaw Oldfields (1769), the Cherokee gave up and began to explore the possibility of new alliances to resist the whites. Both the Cherokee and Creek attended the 1770 and 1771 meetings with the Ohio tribes at Sciota but did not participate in Lord Dunnmore's War (1773-74) because the disputed territory was not theirs. On the eve of the American Revolution, the British government scrambled to appease the colonists and negotiate treaties with the Cherokee ceding land already taken from them by white settlers. To this end, all means, including outright bribery and extortion, were employed: Lochaber Treaty (1770); and the Augusta Treaty (1773) ceding 2 million acres in Georgia to pay for debts to white traders. For the same reasons as the Iroquois cession of Ohio in 1768, the Cherokee tried to protect their homeland from white settlement by selling land they did not really control. In the Watonga Treaty (1774) and the Overhill Cherokee Treaty (Sycamore Shoals) (1775), they sold all of eastern and central Kentucky to the Transylvania Land Company (Henderson Purchase).
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 submissive and sacrificial role, that the only canonical non-white character inhabits, paints a clear picture on how the writers view the role of black female
A major theme in both the article and the play is fear over reason. Miller wrote his play to demonstrate instances when fear overcomes reason. In the article he states that, “…its [The Crucible’s] paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive waning that it did in the fifties” (Miller 5). This warning is that of the dangers of fear over reason, and the consequences that go with it. In the novel, fear over reason is displayed when Tituba confesses to witchcraft rather than be hanged. Tituba says, “No, no don’t hang Tituba! I tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir” (Miller 44). She confesses to a lie and she succumbs to the fear of being killed, and all reason escapes her. Miller’s article also gives proof of fear over reason driving Miller to write his play, “…it may simply be a fascination with the outbreak of paranoia that suffuses the play--the blind panic that, in our age, often seems to sit at the dim edges of consciousness” (Miller 5). Throughout the play, Miller suggests his theme of fear over reason, and this is reiterated in the arti...
After the war of 1812, the United States saw a nationalist spark begin to ignite. The emergence of nationalism was largely due to the Hartford Convention and the federalists’ call for secession from the union. With the end of the war, the Federalist Party diminished and the Republican Party emerged with no opposition. Feelings of pride, national unity, and patriotism were evoked, as seen in a picture depicting Fourth of July festivités in Philadelphia in 1819 (Doc C). Just as the Fourth of July celebration illustrates nationalism, the diary of secretary of state John Quincy Adams did as well. He implored and suggested that the United States take a firm stand against Britain and Spain, Russia and Prussia (Doc H). President Monroe was concerned that the United States not appear subordinate to Britain. In 1823 the Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed, and asserted the authority of the United States. As well as having fears that the United States not appear subordinat...
Abigail whined, "I could hear her singing her Barbados songs and tempting me." Tituba's language was different, which made it seem evil to the sheltered community. Miller included the present day struggles of African Americans by changing the character of Tituba to a black woman. Although she was not persecuted only for being black, the fact that she was a minority made her easy to blame. Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft and signing on with the devil after she was accused, even though she was innocent.
In the novel, the author proposes that the African American female slave’s need to overcome three obstacles was what unavoidably separated her from the rest of society; she was black, female, and a slave, in a white male dominating society. The novel “locates black women at the intersection of racial and sexual ideologies and politics (12).” White begins by illustrating the Europeans’ two major stereotypes o...
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The togetherness of the community, the church and legal system died so that the children could protect their families' social status.