Customer Reviews

Tituba of Salem Village

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tituba

This book, published in the early sixties centers around a slave woman who during the Salem Witch Trials is tried as a witch. While the book itself is written in a fashion that made me wonder if I were reading something intended for young adults, it does hold water. The story is reasonably compelling and has enough intricacies of characters and betrayals to engage the reader. It telegraphs itself from a mile away, yes, that simplicity of form making it a story that doesn’t demand nor deceive.

Tituba comes across as not so much foolish but as trapped by her circumstances. She is the property of a family, lead by a reverend of stern character in charge of white children who know that they have power over their adult caretaker. The mistress of the house spends all of her time sick and therefore powerless so the role of caretaker without authority falls to Tituba. For a book set during slavery, the subject of personal freedom isn’t addressed here because that’s not what this book is about. It’s about a further removal of rights and personal power through the witch-hunts. Tituba, through a series of first seemingly innocent events and then gradually darker, is trapped to becoming a witch on trial. Only when she is accused of being a witch does it really grind home the trap that slavery has her in. She cannot flee, she barely has rights to speak up for herself and because of race, is already half-condemned. It becomes literally her slave workman skills that bring her “friends” who will testify on her behalf, give her value over the other women on trial who are merely seen as witches.

This book is an easy read, less than a couple of hours, closer to being like a short story in it’s simplistic form and intent. The adventure of the read is the twist ending. Being a slave saves Tituba so that she can return to slavery. A dark irony that strikes home when one begins comparing what was the greater evil and how one evil can save a person from another by enshrouding them. Here, slavery is a helper, unfortunately. Luckily, it is made clear by the force of witch-hunt story that this is not a book about slavery, pro or con. It is about a woman, a Black woman, who is a slave in a culture that persecutes all of its inhabitants in any way possible for being different or having new ideas. In the end, this book is about the cruelty of humans, in so many forms---bigotry, misogyny, racism, etc..

Four stars

While the book was well written and interesting, many of the factual details seem to disagree with current information on the Salem Witch Trial Websites. Likely, because it was written in 1964, much scholarly research has uncovered new information. So don't use it as your only source on this topic. errors in childhood, marriage, background and other things.

Tituba of Salem Village
Ann Petry Harper Trophy, 1964, 254 pp., $5.99
ISBN 0-66-440403-x


He went on beating her and went on shouting, "Say that you're a witch."
"Master, stop. What is it you want me to say?" she said distinctly.
"Say that you're a witch."
"Very well master. I am a witch."

Tituba is a strong and talented black slave who is sold to a minister's needy family. Now, she must take care of her sickly mistress, sly eight-year-old Abigail Wiliams, little frightened Betsey, and impossible Reverend Parris. While living in Salem Village, Tituba, Abigail, and Betsey meet a group of boundgirls who find out that Tituba can tell fortunes. The girls did not want to get into trouble by their masters, so they began throwing fits and blaming Tituba, saying she bewitched them. To find out if Tituba takes the blame for the girls, read Tituba of Salem Village.

This historical fiction book teaches you not to get involved with gossip and not to bury your mistakes with lies. Ann Petry adds excitement to the story by leaving the reader interested about how people in court reached their verdicts and believed spectral evidence. I would recommend this book to people interested in the Salem Witch Trials and who would enjoy a book with a great lesson and exciting plot.

Tituba of Salem Village was a good book, I enjoyed this book because it kept you reading. The only slow part was when the story got to the middle there was a lull in action but it all had to do with the plot and in the end, was all worth reading. It was about a slave who moved from her original master in Barbados and only dreams of going back. She is now in cold, cruel, unwelcoming Salem Village. Now they suspect her and others to be involved in witch craft after some very strange things happen. I would definitely read this again and I hope you have the opportunity to as well.

Tituba is the main character of the story. She is a slave who lives in Salem, Mass. Back then, with all of the witch trials, it must have been a very confusing time. Everyone was thought to be a witch. The most upsetting part is when one by one the young girls in Salem start to have "fits." I find the story really interesting, especially learning how they reacted to things like fits, tarot cards, and "witch cake". Those are just some of the things to look for if you read this book.

This book gave me a lot of background about the Salem Witch trials. It was very imaginative and I liked the way the characters seemed like real people, especially Mercy Lewis and Tituba. Abigail was a real piece of work. I think Goody Good really was a witch, and the way Ann Petry describes her with her cackling laugh and the evil smell she leaves everywhere makes me think the author wants you to think that. This makes me wonder if some of the people who were accused as witches really were witches. It was sad to see what life was like for slaves like John and Tituba. One thing I didn't like about the book was that it made New England seem cold and depressing, and I've read other books that made me wish that I'd been born back in Colonial days because people worked together and had a lot of fun, even though life was hard.

Tituba of Salem Village was a good book. It taught me about history. This book showed me how the slaves would act and live. While i was reading it, I wanted to warn the characters, "Don't do it!" and "Be quite!" This book is mostly about a girl named Abigail, a preacher's niece, who is doing witchcraft. Then Tituba and other girls start getting accused of witchcraft. This has to do with history because it goes with the Salem Witch Trials. The part of the book that I disliked was the whole chapter about firewood. I believe the best part was when Tituba read the tarot cards for the girls.

I am not one to read a History book, but I love the Salem witch trials. I also have read an excerpt from another Ann Petry book so I knew I liked her style. Awesome read!

Ms. Petry dose a great job describing the hecktic Salem
Witch Trails through Titubas point of veiw.

This was a very good book. In the beginning it was pretty slow and you would want to put it right back down. But about 3 or 4 chapters into it, it starts to pull you in. You get very close to Tituba and sympathize with her, and through this the book makes you quickly turn the pages - will this alledged "witch" die? will she survive? will she be shunned by those closet to her, including her husband? Read this book, stick with it, and you'll throughly enjoy it.