The novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare is based off the life of 16-year-old Katherine Tyler known as “Kit” in April 1687. After Kits grandfather dies she moves into her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Matthews house in Wethersfield, Connecticut. In the beginning of the story she boards the Dolphin, a small row boat, along with other passengers. A young girl Prudence, drops her doll into the water and begs her mother to get it. Kits sees her grief and jumps into the water to retrieve the doll. The young child’s mother accuses Kit of being a witch because of her amazing swimming. When Kit arrives in Wethersfield she finds its very different from her home town Barbados. She soon realizes she must work for herself. Her two cousins …show more content…
Mercy and Judith aren’t very fond of her arrival. Kit meets William Ashby, a 19-year-old rich boy, at mass knowing Judith is willing to marry him but soon falls in love with John Holbrook, who Kit befriended on the Dolphin. Later, in the story she becomes friends with Mercy and begins teaching the dame school for the young children of Wethersfield who are preparing for traditional school. Mr. Eleazer Kimberly, the head of the school, enters the house just as things get out of hand and is very upset with Kit and decides to shut down the school. Kit flees to the meadows where she meets the elderly Hannah Tupper, who was outlawed from the Massachusetts colony because she is a Quaker.
As fellow outcasts, Kit and Hannah develop a deep bond. Kits uncle forbids them to continue the friendship with Hannah but Kit continues. When a deadly illness sweeps through Wethersfield, a mob gathers to kill Hannah by burning her house, since everyone believes she is a witch who has cursed the town. Kit warn Hannah, and the two women escape to the river just as the Dolphin appears in the early morning sky. Kit flags it down, and she explains to Nat, who she falls in love with early in the story, of the events that had occurred in the night. The next day, after a night in the sheriffs shed, she is explaining the presence of her book in Hannah's house and a copybook with Prudence's name written in it. The townspeople fear that she and Hannah had been casting a spell over the girl. Nat appears with Prudence, who testifies that she wrote her name in the book. To demonstrate her literacy, Prudence reads a Bible passage and writes her name. Soon after, two engagements are announced: Mercy to John Holbrook and Judith to William Ashby. Kit decides to return to Barbados. However, she soon realizes that she is truly in love with Nat. Nat returns to Wethersfield with his ship, the Witch, named after for
Kit.
Anne Barstow in her book, ‘Witchcraze’ stated that women were subjected to male perversion and even sexual abuse during the period of witch-hunting. She therefore comes to the conclusion that the men used the witch-hunting as an excuse to satisfy their sadism and that women were their primary target, rather than attempting to purify the world of diabolic pacts. This is evident in the records describing methods used to force information from the convicted witches in which these brutal methods were permitted by the legal process during interrogations. In her perspective, witch-hunters were likely to have been carrying out the witch hunt and interrogations while being blinded by their “perverted sexuality”. Robin Briggs agrees to some extent,
Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial America. New York: W.W.Norton & Co., 1987.
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
The book started out with a bloody massacre at Mary Ingles Virginia settlement in 1755. Mary Ingles was pregnant with her third child and twenty-four years of age when the Shawnee Indians came and kidnapped her, her two sons, her sister-in-law, and her neighbor. The journey to the Shawnee village lasted five weeks in the Virginia wilderness, and once the captives arrived at the village they were divided up amongst the Shawnee Indians, leaving Mary alone with no hope but to go home and make a new family with her husband Will Ingles. While in the village of the Shawnee Mary was able to make friends with an elderly Dutch woman who was a captive too, this elderly woman was to be Mary’s companion through the scary wilderness home. Mary and the old Dutch woman were unable to swim but knew that the Ohio River would lead them back home to freedom so they decided to make an escape from the heathen Indians and return home to civilization, not knowing the hardships that would fall on them at the beginning of winter. To start the journey the women had two blankets, one tomahawk, and the clothes that were on their backs, after a week into the trip th...
To completely understand the history of New England witchcraft you have to understand the role of colonial women. The author of this book, Carol Karlsen, used a lot of Secondary and primary sources to support her thesis. She uses first hand accounts of witch trials. Which I found very interesting to read. Such as her use of Cotton Mathers personal writings. She also used court records as one of her sources to writing this book. These records showed the detailed court proceedings, depositions, and court rulings.
Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond shows the maturation process of a young girl from Barbados. Kit’s life in Barbados is shattered when her grandfather dies. As a result of his death, Kit is forced to leave the island and her carefree lifestyle. She travels to Connecticut to find her only living relatives. Once she reaches Connecticut her persona evolves from an island girl, to hard worker, and finally to wife.
The book's depictions and dissects remained on their own as significant commitments as far as anyone is concerned of witch legend and the vague status of ladies in colonial New England. Karlsen's work is one of imposing educated force and a real commitment to the investigation of New England witchcraft. It puts the focal part of ladies as witches under the magnifying lens an extensive 300 years after the events transpired. Karlsen's novel is obliged perusing for the hobbyist, casual reader, or general spectator looking to comprehend and translate the wide picture of pioneer witchcraft in New England.
In the strict Puritan villages of Massachusetts Bay Colony in the late 1600s, people were uncomfortable about foreigners and strange manners. Puritans were bothered about the “evil eye”, where a sudden illness or death of an animal was commonly misinterpreted as the “devil’s work”. It was a place where anybody different was not trusted and Tituba was perhaps the most different among them. Maryse Condé’s novel I, Tituba Black Witch of Salem, is the story of a black woman who was born into a troubled life plagued with many challenges. Born by a mother who was a victim of rape, Tituba’s life is set for one that is filled with tragic and unlucky events. She seemed doomed for misfortune and grief due her trials and tribulations of the fact that she was an African American woman. Tituba, as well other female characters in this book are continually pushed around because of their gender. Anytime a woman tried to defend her human rights she was punished for it in the most extreme way possible. Maryse Condé takes on race, gender, religion, the idea of America as a land of wealth, the idea of the victim’s guilt, revenge, sexuality, and many other powerful motifs, and weaves them together in Tituba.
Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1987. Print.
History remembers Tituba only as the West Indian slave blamed for bewitching the young girls of Salem, Massachusetts, ultimately inciting the famous “Salem Witch Trials”. However, her lack of historical background has allowed authors to give her historical figure new life. Maryse Conde’s novel “I Tituba, Black Witch Of Salem.” provides us with insight into Tituba’s history. For the first time Tituba, a marginalized member of society, gains a voice. She explores the different dimensions of the slave experience and explains how a young woman's sexuality and her skills as a healer made her an object of wonder and terror. Conde delves into the power of sexuality and its absolute control over Tituba.
The Rede was originally published by Lady Gwen Thompson as "given to her by her Grandmother" and therefore part of a centuries old tradition. It has been described as a really bad poem. The Rede comes in two different forms: The Older Rede and The Common Rede.
But, after talking to Hannah, Kit finds that the rumors about the poor old lady are false. She befriended her and had to secretly see her after her uncle forbid her. Meanwhile all of this was happening, William went to see Kit every weekend in the evening. He did this because he wanted Matthew’s blessing. Although she was flattered, Kit did not feel the same way about William. Kit got rehired after going to Dr. Bulkeley’s house and asking him for a second chance. She believes that it was Hannah who gave her courage. Prudence, a little girl that gets verbally abused by her mom, asks Kit to teach her how to read and write. She does this as she was not able to attend the school because her mom though she was “too stupid”. Kit agrees and gives her hornbook to Hannah as she could not see Prudence often. After an illness went around town during the winter, the people of Wethersfield believe that Hannah was behind all of it. They all form a mob to kill her and her “evil ways”. Kit finds out and saves Hannah for she did not want to see her friend dead. Shortly after, Nat arrived and took Hannah off of Kit’s hands so she would be able to live in peace with Nat’s
I think the thesis of this book is to consider the different factors that contributes to a person being named a witch. These factors include sex, marital status, wealth, community standings, and relationships with others through out the community. These all played a major role in determining who was named a witch.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth, a noble thane, is corrupted because of his unchecked ambitions. Macbeth’s ambitious personality is awakened when three witches appear to hail him as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King. This prophecy convinces Macbeth to murder King Duncan, so he can become King; consequently, he is forced to kill others to cover up his first murder. After so much blood is spilled, Macbeth becomes a barbaric tyrant. Macbeth’s 180-degree transformation is a result of the “weird sisters.” Despite the witches being present in only three scenes of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, they advance the plot by foreshadowing events, generating imagery, and introducing main themes.