The Crucible Group

Question:

rafa
rafa
Student
High School - 10th Grade

In "The Crucible," why would the town girls in the beginning of the play enlist in the help of someone like Tituba?

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Posted by rafa on Sunday August 31, 2008 at 4:49 PM and tagged with characters, girls, the crucible, tituba.

Answers:


  1. amy-lepore Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The girls in this play seek out Tituba because she is from Barbados and because they believe that her religion of voodoo will get them the things they want.  Some of the things they want include boyfriends, and husbands, and they believe her "spells" would be able to get them what they want.  They want to believe in magic, and the possibility of getting their hearts' desires.  They want to believe that her bubbling cauldron of stuff and her gibberish spoken in her home language will give them those hopes and dreams. 

    Of course, when they are caught, she is the first person they turn on since she is not one of them.  Tituba is the only one who is not a Puritan, so it makes sense to them that she will not be punished, but the fear of being hanged as a witch deters them from telling the truth about their own involvement. 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/crucible

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    Posted by amy-lepore on Sunday August 31, 2008 at 5:54 PM

  2. pmiranda2857
    pmiranda2857 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The girls seek out the help of Tituba, because Ann Putnam wants to know why her babies always die.  She sends her daughter Ruth to seek the answer.  She, along with the other girls engage in the ritual of conjuring the spirits of Ruth's dead siblings looking for answers. 

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    Posted by pmiranda2857 on Monday September 1, 2008 at 1:26 PM