Editor's Choice
What character traits does Ann Putnam reveal when she claims Tituba can speak to the dead?
Quick answer:
Ann Putnam's claim that Tituba can speak to the dead reveals her deep belief in the spiritual world and reflects her emotional instability due to the loss of her children. Her character is marked by a strong faith in the supernatural, emotional distress, and a vengeful desire to find someone responsible for her children's deaths. These traits underscore her involvement in the witch trials, driven by personal grief and a quest for justice.
One response to her statement could be to call into question Ann Putnam's mental capacity. The feeling is that Putnam must be crazy to say something like that, and the deaths of her children have really destroyed her ability to think logically and with reason. Personally, I would disagree with this line of thinking. I think Putnam is absolutely in complete control of her mental faculties. She's obviously upset about the death of her children, but I don't think she's crazy. She is a Puritan and a woman of deep faith. She firmly believes in God and Jesus Christ as his son. The concept of the Holy Trinity is something that she would be well versed with. This means that the Holy Spirit is a major component of her personal faith, and that means she firmly believes in the spiritual world. For Putnam, her Christian faith isn't just knowing the...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
bible and being able to recite passages. She believes that a spiritual war exists that involves God, angels, Satan, demons, etc. This is why witchcraft is a legitimate fear in Salem.
The fact that Putnam mentions Tituba's ability to communicate with the dead may sound like crazy talk to us, but I don't think that is the intent. I think the intent is to show that Putnam absolutely believes in the spiritual world. To her, Tituba really can communicate with the dead, and her request is every bit as logical as real witches existing.
Ann's statement reflects a few elements about her character. The first is that she is definitely not in full possession of her capacities in how she understands the loss of her children. The death of her children has significantly destabilized her from an emotional and psychological point of view, so much so that she would go to Tituba and ask her to communicate with the dead. Ann is not entirely grounded and this statement helps to reveal this. Another trait that is connected to this is that Ann, herself, is quite vengeful and filled with wrath over what was done to her children. Her desire to find out what happened to them is driven by a need of finding someone to blame for their deaths. Ann is committed to this end, again reflected in how she gets Tituba with the dead in order to feed this end. It is this particular trait that enables her to benefit from an emotional point of view from the Witchcraft Trials, as others will feel the same helplessness and similar emotional pain that she endures. In this, there is some level of justice in her own mind. Ann's character traits help to illuminate one of Miller's fundamental fears in that those who rise to the position of power will wield it in accordance to their own psychological conditions and subjective notions of the good, as opposed to the tenets of communal harmony and social fairness.