Tituba of Salem Village

Using the characters of Tituba, Samuel Conklin, and the Reverend Samuel Parris, define which character best displays the virtues of a Christian.

Explore the character of Abigail Williams. Is she a child who has been denied love and attention, a teenager bored and restless and itching to cause a little havoc, or is she a sociopath with no regard for others?

Research the 1954 drama The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play centers on the witch trials and uses the same cast of characters quite differently. Using the character of Tituba herself, compare and contrast how the two works use the idea of hysteria and scapegoating.

Using both the marriages of Tituba and John Indian and Samuel and Elizabeth Parris, how does the novel define love? Why does John share with Tituba his experience at the witch hanging? Why does Tituba beg John to pretend to be possessed?

What role do the supernatural elements in the novel serve, specifically Tituba’s ability to tell fortunes, the thunderstone, and Tituba’s numerous accurate previsions? After all, there is no logical or scientific explanation for any of these events.

Research the psychology of superstition. Why do the Puritans, who are, for the most part, university educated, need to believe in witchcraft? How do the Christians of Salem become a howling mob demanding the execution of three women?

“A slave must survive,” John tells Tituba. Using the harrowing episode in which Tituba confesses to being a witch (Chapter 16), define survival. Is Tituba’s confession noble or cowardly? In this way, is Sarah Good a better example of courage?

Examine the trial scene (Chapter 17, 18), particularly the touch test, the performances of the girls, and the testimony about Tituba’s cat. What is Tituba actually guilty of? Review the charges leveled against her.