Crucible Essay 1

Andy Medina

AP English

Mr. George

Crucible Essay 1

In the story, The Crucible, there are atrocious acts committed.  There are many characters to which blame can fall upon in for these acts.  Almost every character carries some blame for the eventual hangings that took place in Salem; some more that others.  The person that is most to blame for these happenings is Tituba.  She is the first to “confess” to being a witch, and change her story.  She is the first to resort to blaming others.  She is the model for everyone to get out of trouble.  She is the one who is most at fault.  She does these things just tom save herself.  

As stated before Tituba changes her claim.  Abigail claims that Tituba forced her into dancing in the forest and drinking blood, “Abigail: She makes me drink blood” (Miller 43).  Tituba is being accused by Abigail and others.  They say she “Hale: Woman, have you enlisted these children for the Devil?” (43).  She defends herself vehemently, “Tituba: No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!” (43). This is the first stance she takes.  As the argument continues and death is threatened upon her, she changes her stance.  “Tituba: terrified, falls to her knees: No, no don’t hang Tituba! I tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir” (44).  This is a key change in her story.  It becomes evident that later in the text that those who “confess” that they worked with the devil go free.  It is because of Tituba that people, like Abigail, learn how to save themselves by lying.  Tituba not only lies to save herself, but she also incriminates the names of others.  It is a huge part in the demise of the men and women who were hung.  They stayed true to their names, unlike those who lied, and it all began with Tituba.

Tituba’s lies continue when she begins to incriminate other woman:

“Tituba in a fury: He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat! They gasp But I tell him ‘No! I don’t hate that man. I don’t want kill that man.’ But he say, ‘You work for me, Tituba, and I make you free! I give you pretty dress to wear, and put you way high up in the air, and you gone fly back to Barbados!’ And I say, ‘you lie, Devil, you lie!’ And then he come one stormy night to me, and he say, ‘Look! I have white people belong to me.’ And I look - and there was Goody Good” (47).

At the end of this long speech, Tituba says that Sarah Good works for the devil.  This is the first time we see a woman shift blame to another to take blame away from them.  Tituba is the model for those who are willing to lie to save themselves, especially Abigail.  She may be doing this with only the intention of saving herself, but it has a much more severe consequence.  Her actions led to much more than anyone could have expected, and many would not put the blame on Tituba, but if you look deeper than just the surface of the book, Tituba takes more and more of the blame.

Many would say Abigail is the one most to blame.  Abigail was hell-bent in her search for revenge.  She would do anything to try and get Elizabeth Proctor out of the picture.  She excuses her of being a witch so she can have John Proctor all to herself, but the only reason her plan had any success is because of Tituba.  It is because of Tituba changing her story that Abigail sees the opportunity to save herself from incrimination.  She continues to lie and protects herself by accusing many other women of being women, leading up to the time where she feels it is right to strike.  Her plan works almost perfectly.  She does ruin the lives of the Proctors, but in the opposite way that she intended.  She gets rid of John rather that Elizabeth.  None of this could have been possible without Tituba.  She is the one who is most to blame.  She is not fully to blame because of course Abigail plays a major role in the evilness and corruption in this story, but Tituba is the most to blame.

Tituba is the perfect model for those who lie to save themselves.  She may not think or intend on causing any huge consequences, but she caused much more pain and suffering than anyone could have imagined.  It is because of her the people in Salem began to lie.  It is because of her the people in Salem began to accuse one another.  It is because of her Abigail learned that she could lie and accuse others.  She was the bad influence in the book, no matter what her intentions were.  She is one of the most influential characters in this story, even though many may overlook her.  She is the most to blame for the hangings in Salem.  No one else should be given as much blame as she should.  She is the example of how little lies change the lives of many, and how evil can grow from those lies.