Tituba of Salem Village

“She wanted to impress it upon her memory—the big fireplace, the black iron cooking pots, the high ceiling, and the view of the bay like a part of the kitchen, and a glimpse of the little inlet where she went swimming.”

The opening chapter, in which Tituba and John are sold to Reverend Parris, establishes Tituba’s humanity. She catalogs the simple island things she will miss. She is powerless, which suggests slavery’s inhumanity.

“Remember always the slave must survive. No matter what happens to the master, the slave must survive.”

The stoic John Indian articulates the theme of the endurance and perseverance of the Black slaves. Whatever the trials, whatever the sufferings, whatever the indignities, the slaves will not surrender; they will survive.

“They found the stowaway […]. I told the captain where he was hiding.”

This is the first hint of Abigail’s warped personality. She shadows Tituba, who brings Pim food and water during the voyage to Massachusetts. For no reason other than malicious amusement, she turns the stowaway over to the ship’s authorities for punishment.