Final answer:
In 'I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem,' the young Puritan girls and Puritan society wield the power, using mass hysteria and strict social norms to influence and control the narrative around witchcraft, leading to wrongful executions based on fear-driven accusations.
Step-by-step explanation:
In I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, the question of who holds power is complex. At first glance, it might seem as though Tituba, being the one who introduced the Puritan girls of Salem to the occult, holds a certain power. However, the text reveals that the true power lay with the young girls and the Puritan society at large. The witchcraft in Salem was a tumultuous period characterized by fear, superstition, and strictly enforced social norms.
When the girls started exhibiting strange behaviors and confessed to witchcraft, blaming Tituba, the power dynamics became clear. The girls, once powerless, suddenly became influencers, leading to a special court that took their accusations as formidable evidence against those labeled as witches. Mass hysteria played a role in magnifying their power—accusations by these girls resulted in the deaths of many. Cotton Mather, a prominent figure, also wielded immense power through his strong beliefs and pronouncements against witchcraft.
Power in this context is thus the ability to influence and control the narrative and fate of others, and it was held by those who could leverage societal fears and religious beliefs to their advantage. The power was not in the hands of an individual, but dispersed among the accusers, Puritan authority figures, and ultimately, the societal norms of the time that convicted witches based on fears rather than facts.