Miller characterizes the preconceived difference between black and white as it would have appeared in Salem, but also as it has appeared throughout American history until his time. In Miller’s play, he individualizes Tituba in terms of her dialect, place of origin, and skin color in order to show how individuality can be subverted into a cause for fear. However, her place in history often takes on that of the instigator, and she faces blame for the events in Salem to this day, described by some as “a dark icon of American mythology.” This blame has no justification, and the amount of attention and criticism Tituba has received by historians stems from her difference in race above all else. Numerous scholars have studied Tituba, identifying her for the contrast she gives to the rest of the white Puritans.

Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris and a native of Barbados, stands alone in the town of Salem. Among the townspeople characterized in the Miller’s play, only one is black.

Those responsible for such heinous acts used terror and separation to antagonize people they had known their whole lives. Fear mongering became an excuse to hunt down the ordinary citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, in order for the Puritanical leaders to maintain strict control over their town. The Crucible dramatizes one of the darkest moments in American history.

Download free tituba the crucible