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Susanna Endicott
Samuel Parris is the brutal, hypocritical minister of Salem. After purchasing Tituba and John Indian as slaves from Susanna Endicott, Parris brings them to New England; from the moment she meets him, Tituba is horrified by him, comparing him variously to a “bird of prey” and to Satan himself. Though he claims to be a man of God, Parris is actually more concerned with profiting off of the villagers of Salem than he is with saving their souls. Perhaps more than any other character in the novel, then, Parris epitomizes what John Indian calls “the hypocrisy of the white man’s world,” in which even the most outwardly religious people are capable of great prejudice and cruelty.
Samuel Parris Quotes in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
The I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem quotes below are all either spoken by Samuel Parris or refer to Samuel Parris . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: Chapter 4
Quotes
In the early afternoon a man came to see [Susanna], a man such as I had never seen in the streets of Bridgetown, nor for that matter anywhere else. Tall, very tall, dressed in black from head to foot, with a chalky white skin […] I have already said much about the eyes of Susanna Endicott, but these! Imagine greenish, cold eyes, scheming and wily, creating evil because they saw it everywhere. It was as if I had come face to face with a snake or some evil, wicked reptile. I was immediately convinced that this Satan we heard so much about must stare in the same way at people he wishes to lead astray.
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Part 1: Chapter 6
Quotes
I cannot describe the effect this unfortunate black cat had on the children, as well as on Elizabeth and Samuel. Samuel Parris seized his prayer book and began to recite a seemingly endless prayer […] Abigail asked, holding her breath: “Aunt, it was the devil, wasn't it?”
“What will you think up next? It was only an animal that was disturbed by our arrival. Why do you keep talking about the devil? The invisible world around us only torments us if we provoke it.”
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Part 1: Chapter 9
Quotes
How could their yearning and nostalgia possibly be compared to mine? What they yearned for was the sweetness of a gentler life, the life of white women who were served and waited on by attentive slaves. Even if the reverend Mr. Parris had ended up losing all his wealth and hopes, the life they had spent there was composed of luxury and voluptuousness. And what did I yearn for? The subtle joys of being a slave. The cakes made out of crumbs from the stale bread of life. The fleeting moments of forbidden games.
We did not belong to the same universe, Goodwife Parris, Betsey, and I, and all the affection in the world could not change that.
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Samuel Parris Quotes in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
The I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem quotes below are all either spoken by Samuel Parris or refer to Samuel Parris . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: Chapter 4
Quotes
In the early afternoon a man came to see [Susanna], a man such as I had never seen in the streets of Bridgetown, nor for that matter anywhere else. Tall, very tall, dressed in black from head to foot, with a chalky white skin […] I have already said much about the eyes of Susanna Endicott, but these! Imagine greenish, cold eyes, scheming and wily, creating evil because they saw it everywhere. It was as if I had come face to face with a snake or some evil, wicked reptile. I was immediately convinced that this Satan we heard so much about must stare in the same way at people he wishes to lead astray.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Chapter 6
Quotes
I cannot describe the effect this unfortunate black cat had on the children, as well as on Elizabeth and Samuel. Samuel Parris seized his prayer book and began to recite a seemingly endless prayer […] Abigail asked, holding her breath: “Aunt, it was the devil, wasn't it?”
“What will you think up next? It was only an animal that was disturbed by our arrival. Why do you keep talking about the devil? The invisible world around us only torments us if we provoke it.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Chapter 9
Quotes
How could their yearning and nostalgia possibly be compared to mine? What they yearned for was the sweetness of a gentler life, the life of white women who were served and waited on by attentive slaves. Even if the reverend Mr. Parris had ended up losing all his wealth and hopes, the life they had spent there was composed of luxury and voluptuousness. And what did I yearn for? The subtle joys of being a slave. The cakes made out of crumbs from the stale bread of life. The fleeting moments of forbidden games.
We did not belong to the same universe, Goodwife Parris, Betsey, and I, and all the affection in the world could not change that.
