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Irfan Bhuiyan
Mr. Touma
AP Language and Composition
13 December 2015
Tituba, the Undeserving Scapegoat
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it is easy to point the finger at characters such as
Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris or even Judge Danforth, all who seem to have selfish
ulterior motives which adds fuel to the witchcraft hysteria’s fire. However, in order to
accurately come to a conclusion as to who is most responsible for the witchcraft hysteria
one must have a comprehensive understanding of the environment in which the events
take place. Miller sets the stage in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692; during this time the
inhabitants of Salem, the Puritans, follow a very strict patriarchal religion which
condemns any pleasures such as dancing or singing, in other words “their creed forbade
anything resembling a theater or ‘vain enjoyment’” (4). The hostility of such a society
can only be maintained and preserved by people who impose impractical and irrational
policies and punishments. Such a society is instituted to resist from being “defiled and
corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas” but instead it will ironically breed
hypocrisy in that people would resort to lying and falsely pointing fingers in order to
escape unreasonably harsh punishments for mediocre offenses, or to gain and consolidate
power (5). This is displayed heavily in the play by characters such as Abigail Williams
and Reverend Parris who both lie in order to cover up wrong doings and gain power, so it
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is easy to place the blame on them. However in order to correctly analyze who is the most
responsible for the witchcraft hysteria one must look at the situation chronologically.
Abigail would not have had the courage or even the idea to start falsely accusing people
of witchcraft were it not for Paris’ slave Tituba, who after lying about compacting with
devil, accuses two innocent women of witchcraft. This event alone sets in motion the
chaos that takes place in the play. Tituba is most responsible for the witchcraft hysteria in
Salem because she dances with Abigail and the girls in forest and casts spells for them,
lies and confesses to witchcraft and accuses two innocent women of witchcraft which
ultimately sets in motion the chaos of the witchcraft hysteria.
Tituba is a slave in her forties which means she has been an adult for a long time
and must have a matured and responsible sense of judgment, and so the fact that she was
