I Tituba Black Witch Of Salem Analysis

In Maryse Conde's novel,"I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem,"Tituba went through various hardships in her life her witchcraft and being black got her into a lot of trouble. Also being with a man who turned on her. She ended up being hanged just when she finally got a chance to go back to Barbados she dies. Most stories of Tituba are always like this. But in article "The Further Transformation Of Tituba," we find that in Ann Petry's book, "Tituba of Salem Village," she goes through little or no hardships at all. So the following will closely examine how she was portrayed in "I, Tituba, Black Witch or Salem" and Tituba Of Salem Village."

In "The Further Transformation Of Tituba," some earlier accounts of her and John Indian were looked at as lazy, half demented, louts, with a cornpone dialect. But in Petry's book they were not lazy and spoke standard english;"The ships come and go to unload spices and silks and molasses and
sugar........."this quote shows that there was no dialect like yessir and i's goin to master. They were also far from being lazy, "Tituba was the best weaver, housekeeper, nurse, and cook John was the best wood cutter, gardener, and all around worker" The puritans of Salem actually depended on them for survival in Petry's book. Petry shows "Tituba drawn by the girls into harmless story telling but never has her actually conjure." Like most stories where she does conjure like "The Crucible," and "I, Tituba, Black Witch Village Of Salem" she doesn't get hysterical and start accusing other people as witches.

The paper to which she signed has details she never said. Accusers put words in her mouth. Tituba even made John pretend to have fake fits so he wouldn't be looked at as "the devil". In the end they both lived a good life in Boston.

Now in "I, Tituba, Black Witch Of Salem," the situation was completely different.
First off John Indian was weak man. He didn't want to change the lifestyle he had. So she changed her independence for the love she had for him. But even though she did so her beliefs and what she stood for didn't change which caused John to eventually turn against her. He felt she was jeopardizing him and making him look bad too . When she was convicted of being a witch he said "Oh, Oh, Tituba is tormenting me, Yes my wife is a witch!" he said that to save himself and leave her in the dust. Second off she did conjure spells in the Conde's book. She put a spell on her former master Susanna Endicott. When she got sold to Parris she made little Betsy drink blood and bathe in it. She wasn't the heroine she was more like the villain. The puritans used what she can do to help them get other people within the village. Then when they thought that people like Sarah good and Martha Corey was witches they threw Tituba in the mix
too.

When she was accused she did call out names to try and save herself so as you can see in I, Tituba , Black Witch Of Salem, she was the traditional villain. This book made her out to look like a person with and identity of who she is but caused her to have many downfalls including death. The fact that Ann Petry didn't take the route of making her out to look like a bad guy shows that Tituba can be something more then just a smart woman making dumb mistakes. It made her look like what she should've been, a good person

I think that in both stories should've have been morphed into one. It should've showed where she made her mistakes but still got a good life in the end. I also think that Tituba shouldn't have used her powers to do evil reagardless of what was going on in Conde's book. I think she would have kept using her powers to help her people like Mama Yaya taught her to do. In Petry's book she didnt do that but in Conde's book she blatantly ignored the warnings. I also learned is that even if Tituba wasn't a witch she would still be looked at as a evil person. Her color makes her evil and no matter what she does she will always be looked upon as dark, evil, and dangerous. What I also learned is that the people of Salem are so quick to blame Tituba to be a witch but in the end result they all turned on each other.

Petry's book wasn't really racist though accusers put words in her mouth it didn't stop her from living her life with her husband and she did have some one who was white help her out when Parris refused to pay her prison fees. Although she had Hester in Conde's book she died killing herself leaving Tituba. Though it was only expected that Tituba at one time was going to transform from being the voodoo practicing negro to someone that is a good person. Since Petry's book came out it gives Tituba a new identity and being what she should've been then what she was never really perceived as, a hero.