Black Witch of Salem” Free Essay Example

Tituba practices her calling as a conjure woman with dignity, compassion, and empathy, and her power is respected among her own people in Barbados.

Tituba was aware of her power and used it when she thought necessary. But was confused that others found it to be offensive What is a witch? I noticed that when he said the word, it was marked with disapproval. Why should that be? Why? Isn’t the ability to communicate with the invisible world, to keep constant links with the dead, to care for others and heal, a superior gift of nature that inspires respect, admiration, and gratitude? Consequently, shouldn’t the witch be cherished the revered rather than feared?”pg17 though they had power over her, They feared her ability to perfom withcraft this coused them to exercise their power over those who performed thr craft of witchcraft.

However, the Puritan view of witchcraft reveals an ingrained racism and sexism within white colonial culture.
He practices her calling as a conjure woman with dignity, compassion, and empathy, and her power is respected among her own people in Barbados. However, the Puritan view of witchcraft reveals an ingrained racism and sexism within white colonial culture. The Puritans believe black to be the color of Satan. By implication, Tituba’s skin color links her to the devil. The fact that Tituba’s native religion focuses on the mysteries of herbal healing and is matriarchal in nature also presents a threat to the patriarchal Puritan society. Tituba is feared because of her power, and yet some in the Puritan community hypocritically ask her to weave spells that will harm their neighbors.

Another theme running through the novel is the enduring power of love, which Condé ties to the feminine principle. Tituba, Abena, Mama Yaya, and Hester form a transcendent spiritual community of women around which the novel revolves. Although the male culture (both black and white) may gain dominance over women and wreak havoc in society, Tituba and her spirit guides subvert masculine cruelty on an emotional and spiritual level—-a level that men cannot experience because they are too blinded by their own violence. Yet Condé also sees hope in the “feminine” principles of love and compassion, believing that, when practiced, they can bring about social change.

Tituba mother mean suffer at the hand of the men in this case white men who raped her and attempted to rape her again male dominium and then penalty for resisting it not only because she is a woman but also because she is a black woman.

Samuel Parris’ wife had such fear “ I soon realized that someone else shared my fear and aversion for Samuel Parris: Elizabeth Parris , his wife, “ Pg 38 The women in this book abided by the rules set by the men who generated power or abided b the consequences.

There is also the power play by the white race, the dominant race. This is even practiced by a minister of religion. I know that the color of your skin is the sign of your damnation, but as long as you are under my roof you will behave as Christians. Come and say your prayer!”

But the race-inflected Puritan ideology—which Parris sums up when he says to Tituba, “the color of your skin is the sign of your damnation” (41)—ultimately marks the limits of such alliances. This becomes quickly apparent when Elizabeth Parris (70, 72) and especially Betsy turn on Tituba: “You, do good? You’re a Negress, Tituba! You can only do evil. You are evil itself” (77). In the end, it seems Tituba can only form lasting bonds with other persecuted outcasts, such as Hester, the woman she meets in prison, or Benjamin Cohen, the Jew who buys her and then frees her. Tituba’s own position as a marginal figure in the community is underscored by Elizabeth Parris in the analogy she draws between the community and a diseased body when she comes to the prison to repent for turning on Tituba (107-108).

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