how does the witch of blackbird pond end

How does The Witch of Blackbird Pond end? At the end of The Witch of Blackbird Pond all is right with the world: Kit Tyler has been cleared of all charges of witchcraft and is a free woman. What is the main theme of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Full Answer

Where does the Witch of Blackbird Pond take place?

Many places in the novel are actual locations in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut. They include: Blackbird Pond (later renamed Wethersfield Cove) Great Meadows. Congregational church on Main Street. Buttolph-Williams House is considered to be the house Kit lived in. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.

What is Charter Oak in the Witch of Blackbird Pond?

According to legend, when Governor Andros held a meeting in Hartford, Connecticut to collect the Connecticut colony’s charter (as he does in The Witch of Blackbird Pond ), attendees snuck the charter out of the meeting room and hid in an extraordinarily large oak tree, now known as Charter Oak.

When was the Witch of Blackbird Pond published?

The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England. It won the Newbery Medal in 1959.

What is the theme of the Witch of Blackbird Pond?

In addition to the era’s politics, The Witch of Blackbird Pond also focuses on religion. Many of Connecticut’s English colonists were Puritans, members of a religious group that was persecuted in England. Wanting to practice their religion freely, thousands of Puritans left England for the American colonies.

Who does Kit end up with in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Nat EatonAnswer and Explanation: Kit will ultimately marry Nat Eaton, the new captain of the Witch. The two meet while Kit is sailing on his father's ship, the Dolphin, to live with her aunt in Wethersfield from Barbados.

Who does John marry in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

MercyHe marries Mercy, his true love, and returns to study with Bulkeley under the condition that he “will teach me theology and medicine, but I will think as I please” (21.4).

What happened to Judith witch of Blackbird Pond?

Judith is ill matched with the bookish John Holbrook. Eventually she is married to William Ashby, a far more appropriate match.

What happens to prudence in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Prudence Cruff is an abused little girl who first meets Kit Tyler on the boat to Wethersfield, CT. Prudence is slapped after dropping the doll her grandfather made her in the ocean. Kit jump in after it. While the action makes Prudence admire Kit, it makes an enemy of Prudence's mother, Goodwife Cruff.

Who is mercy in love with The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

John HolbrookShe is the one to bring peace to tense situations. She is the soft spot in her father's heart. When we realize that Mercy is in love with John Holbrook and later when we learn that he loves her, it is a joyous moment.

What happened in chapter 13 of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Summary: Chapter Thirteen Judith returns home ahead of Kit, who stops to check on Hannah. Afterward, Kit encounters John, and as they walk together, John confesses his love for Mercy and his intention to ask her to marry him. That evening is the annual husking bee party for all the young people.

What is the resolution of the Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Resolution. Nat returns in the spring with his own ship, the Witch, named after Kit. Kit and Nat plan to get married, allowing Kit to spend her winters in the West Indies and her summers in Connecticut with those she has come to love.

What happened to Kit's grandfather in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Their international trading route includes the Connecticut community of Wethersfield, where Kit's uncle and aunt, Matthew and Rachel Wood, live with their daughters, Judith and Mercy. At sixteen years old, Kit is homeless; she has liquidated her grandfather's estate after his death to pay his plantation debts.

Is The Witch of Blackbird Pond a true story?

It is true that the story is fiction; however, the good historical fiction writer does so much research to maintain accuracy to the time and place, even including authentic sites, events, and people, that the story still enlightens even as it entertains and challenges the reader.

Does prudence get pregnant?

After being raped yet again by Cyrus, she soon becomes pregnant with his child, but proposes a solution: to have her son become the heir to the throne after Cyrus. Cyrus agrees, and they become engaged, and Prudence gives birth to her son.

What is kits secret in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

We also learn that Kit has some kind of secret that she has been keeping from everyone. Nat appears to tell Kit that, since Mrs. Eaton is no longer on board, she must eat with Goodwife Cruff – the mother of the girl with the doll. He also mentions that Goodwife Cruff now thinks Kit is a witch.

Are prudence and Philippa Featherington twins?

Philippa is Prudence's younger sister. They are both seen to be eager to find a good match in the 1813 social season, and eager to do what it takes to secure such a match.

Who was Kit most loyal to?

Kit is strong-willed, loyal to England, and does not initially understand the lifestyle of the colonists. She bonds with a fellow outcast, Hannah Tupper, a Quaker who other townspeople think is a witch. Kit falls in love with Nat Eaton, who is also friends with Hannah Tupper.

Who is the antagonist in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Goodwife CruffThe antagonist of The Witch of Blackbird Pond is Goodwife Cruff. She takes an instant dislike to Kit Tyler. Goodwife Cruff is abusive to her young daughter and prejudiced against non-Puritans.

Who is Rachel in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Aunt Rachel is the sister of Kit's late mother. As the narrator tells us, Kit has never met Aunt Rachel as she “fell in love with a Puritan and ran away to America without her father's blessing” (2.24). Aunt Rachel was once a beauty, we learn, but the rigors of colonial life have permanently changed her.

How old is Nat in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Both befriend Hannah Tupper when they find themselves crying their eyes out in the meadow. (The difference being, of course, that Nat was only eight years old.) They both know more of the world than just Puritan New England. They both love books and have read the play The Tempest by Shakespeare.

Why does Goodwife Cruff say Kit must be a witch?

However, far from being grateful, Goodwife Cruff instead says that Kit must be a witch, because only witches can float in water. Later, a fellow passenger named John Holbrook warns Kit that Goodwife Cruff is spreading this rumor among the other passengers.

How does Prudence prove her abilities?

Prudence proves her abilities by reading out sections of the Bible and Kit is acquitted. Although she is free, Kit’s life is far from happy. Nat flees straight after the trial as he is still banned from the town, so Kit is left without him or Hannah for company.

What does Kit learn about John Holbrook?

Kit is further distressed to learn that John Holbrook has signed up to a militia that intends to fight local Native Americans. Things get even worse when a fever sweeps through the town and the townspeople accuse Hannah of causing the sickness through witchcraft.

Why did Hannah live outside of the colony?

Hannah has lived outside of the main colony since she was cast out by the Puritans because of her Quaker beliefs. Kit feels a sense of kinship with her because of their shared status as outsiders and visits her regularly, despite her uncle’s efforts to prevent her from doing so.

What is Kit's reprieve from the tedium of her new life?

Her only reprieve from the tedium of her new life comes from teaching at the school. Kit loves the children and they are similarly enamored with her. However, when she encourages them to act out the tale of the Good Samaritan, the school principal is outraged at what he sees as her trivialization of the Bible.

Why does Kit come to live with her aunt?

Although pleased to see her, even her aunt is not excited when she learns that Kit is coming to live with them because the overseer of the family plantation embezzled Kit’s grandfather’s money, leaving Kit penniless and destitute.

What is the theme of the Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Winner of the 1959 Newbery Medal, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare explores themes of religious intolerance and the ways ignorance and the fear of difference lead to violence and mistrust. It begins in 1687, with sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler traveling alone by ship to her aunt and uncle’s home in Connecticut.

Why does Prudence write Nat's name in the copybook?

Just as the case seems to be decided and Kit is guilty, Nat appears with Prudence, who testifies that she herself wrote her name in the copybook. To demonstrate her literacy, Prudence reads a Bible passage and writes her name, thus convincing her father both that she is intelligent and that no witchcraft could be involved, as the devil would be foolish to allow a child to be taught to use the Bible against himself. While Nat is initially in trouble for returning and evades capture, Matthew Wood intervenes on his behalf so that his sentence is remitted because Nat came back to see justice done, not to cause further mayhem.

What happens after the Dolphin sails away?

After the Dolphin sails away, Kit returns home to find that Mercy's fever has broken. In the middle of the same night, the townspeople come for Kit; Goodwife Cruff's husband has accused Kit of being a witch.

What does Kit decide to teach the children?

Everything proceeds well until one day, bored with the normal lessons, Kit decides the children will reenact a passage of the Bible: the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Why does Kit say they would welcome her to Wethersfield?

She says that they would welcome her because she is family. When she arrives in Wethersfield, Kit finds Wethersfield very different from Barbados. At her previous home, Kit's family owned slaves, but here she is expected to work along with the rest of the family. Her cousin Mercy has a lame leg and is on crutches.

What is the boat called in the book The Witch?

Nat returns to Wethersfield with a surprise: he has a new boat, and is also captain. The boat is called the Witch, named after Kit.

Where does Kit go on the ship Dolphin?

As she travels on the ship Dolphin, a brief stop is made in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, a small town just down the river from Wethersfield, where four new passengers board. As the small rowboat returns to the ship, a small girl named Prudence accidentally drops her doll in the water and begs her mother to get it back for her. Her mother, Goodwife Cruff, harshly strikes Prudence and tells her not to be foolish. Impulsively, Kit jumps into the water and retrieves the doll. She nearly freezes in the frigid water; she is accustomed to the pleasantly warm water in Barbados. When she returns to the rowboat, she is met with astonished suspicion, as few people in Connecticut could swim so well. Goodwife Cruff is the most cynical of them all, believing Kit is a witch, commenting, "No respectable woman could stay afloat like that." On the slow trip upriver, Kit befriends John Holbrook, another passenger coming to Wethersfield to study with Reverend Gershom Bulkeley. After the Dolphin arrives at Wethersfield, Kit admits to the captain of the ship that neither her aunt nor uncle knows she is coming. She says that they would welcome her because she is family.

What house did Kit live in?

Buttolph-Williams House is considered to be the house Kit lived in.

Summary: Chapter Sixteen

On All Hallows Eve, William’s home is vandalized, and Nat is among the three Dolphin men arrested and sentenced to the stocks. Nat cheerfully exchanges insults with the crowd assembled to observe their punishment.

Summary: Chapter Seventeen

An illness sweeps the town, and the three Wood cousins fall ill. Kit recovers quickly, but Judith has a lengthy recovery that requires Rachel’s around-the-clock care. Mercy’s condition doesn’t respond to medical interventions, and she worsens. Reverend Bulkeley, who is also a doctor, appears as Matthew prepares to seek him out for help.

Analysis: Chapters Sixteen–Seventeen

This section of the novel frequently uses both internal and external conflict to emphasize the theme of being true to oneself.

What does Nat tell Kit about Captain Eaton?

He tells Kit that the captain wants her to have dinner with Goodwife Cruff and her family. He adds that Goodwife Cruff thinks that Kit is a witch—according to superstitions, only witches float, whereas “respectable” women sink. Kit is furious, and John looks concerned. Nat admits that Captain Eaton was able to calm down Goodwife Cruff by informing her that in Barbados, everyone learns how to swim.

Why is Kit disappointed in Connecticut?

Kit is disappointed at her first glimpse of Connecticut Colony, likely because it looks very different from her home country, Barbados. When Nat tells her that what she is seeing is Saybrook, not Wethersfield (her destination), Kit is hopeful that she may feel more at home in Wethersfield. But given that she has doesn’t seem to have a previously established relationship with either place, it’s unlikely that she’ll feel an immediate connection to it.

What is Kit Tyler's ship called?

She has been traveling for five weeks from Barbados to Connecticut Colony on a ship called the Dolphin. Nathaniel Eaton (also called Nat), the first mate and son of the ship’s captain, asks her what she thinks of her first glimpse of the colony. She finds it ugly and disappointing, but she keeps that to herself. She’s relieved when he tells her that the town she sees is a just the port of Saybrook, and not Wethersfield, her destination.

What does Kit decide to do?

Kit is clearly not accustomed to meeting resistance to her demands, which suggests a privileged childhood. She decides to help the child on her own, regardless of what the captain or other passengers (such as Goodwife Cruff) think. This suggests that she acts according to what she thinks is right, rather than according to others’ rules.

Why are the New Englanders suspicious of Kit?

The New Englanders are suspicious of Kit because her behavior is abnormal for them. Instead of asking Kit why she knows how to swim, they judge her. The man with the hat appears to be more accepting of Kit than the other passengers, which suggests he may be more open-minded than people like the Cruffs.

What happened to the doll in the Dolphin?

When the passengers are halfway to the Dolphin, the Cruffs’ child starts to wail—she’s accidentally dropped her wooden doll overboard. Goodwife Cruff slaps and scolds her while the doll floats away from the boat.

How old is Kit in Connecticut Colony?

Mrs. Eaton finds Kit’s request childish, which suggests that in New England society, girls are expected to be serious and mature at a young age. Kit is only 16 , but Mrs. Eaton expects her to exercise more restraint. Kit’s impulsiveness also hints that her childhood was carefree and perhaps even spoiled—she is used to expressing her desires and getting her way.

Overview

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Characters

Allusions to local geography

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