Crucible vs real life
Hundreds accused, many killed, leaving a town left abandoned. The Salem witch trials spread across massachusetts like a plague. A war started by jealousy, carried on by reputation and ended in tragedy. In the novel, the Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the Parris family, the Procter Family, Giles Corey, and the Putnam family can be compared and contrasted to their real life personas. Miller demonstrates a rather dramatic story of a group of families pulled together and ripped apart due to a jealous little girl. But his has some big differences to reality.
Tituba, a slave from Barbados who was owned by the Parris family during the time of the witch trials was the first person in the small town of Salem to be accused of being a witch. The Crucible gets that one fact right but throughout the play a lot of facts about this key character are jumbled and confused. One of the first things confused in the play is that Tituba was first asked to identify witches and the afflicted not like in the story where Abigail accuses her first. Beforehand Tituba is asked by Parris himself to bake a Witch cake. A Witch cake was a mix of rye and the afflicted person’s urine; this was then fed to the dog, which was considered a familiar (witches helper). After the dog ate it, it was said that the spell was broken and that the witches would be revealed. It’s at this point that the girls snap out of it and blame Tituba. Another unknown fact that is not mentioned is how Tituba was not actually from Barbados but from small South American village. She is easily perceived differently in the book. Another fact that is not talked about in the book is how Pastor Parris beat her into submission when the girls pointed fingers at her. In the play she just gives up after a few shouts, in actual Salem it took a few punches instead. One last thing not mentioned or referenced in the play is the fact that in real life Tituba was married to a man named john. He was another slave owned by the reverend
Tituba, a slave from Barbados who was owned by the Parris family during the time of the witch trials was the first person in the small town of Salem to be accused of being a witch. The Crucible gets that one fact right but throughout the play a lot of facts about this key character are jumbled and confused. One of the first things confused in the play is that Tituba was first asked to identify witches and the afflicted not like in the story where Abigail accuses her first. Beforehand Tituba is asked by Parris himself to bake a Witch cake. A Witch cake was a mix of rye and the afflicted person’s urine; this was then fed to the dog, which was considered a familiar (witches helper). After the dog ate it, it was said that the spell was broken and that the witches would be revealed. It’s at this point that the girls snap out of it and blame Tituba. Another unknown fact that is not mentioned is how Tituba was not actually from Barbados but from small South American village. She is easily perceived differently in the book. Another fact that is not talked about in the book is how Pastor Parris beat her into submission when the girls pointed fingers at her. In the play she just gives up after a few shouts, in actual Salem it took a few punches instead. One last thing not mentioned or referenced in the play is the fact that in real life Tituba was married to a man named john. He was another slave owned by the reverend