The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Bibliographic Information

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Elizabeth George Speare
Bantam Doubleday Dell books for Young Readers
New York
Copyright 1958, renewed 1986.
ISBN: 9780440495963
Dewey Classification: Fic
Interest Level 5th-8th grade Reading level: 7.2
Subject Headings: witches, New England, Puritans, Quakers, bigotry.

Plot Summary

Kit Tyler becomes an orphan when her grandfather passes away. Prior to his death Kit has led a life of ease where little is asked of her on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Kit decides to leave because she feels she has no other options. She journeys to America to live with her aunt' family. In her haste to leave Kit does not let her aunt know she is coming. The voyage goes well and Kit meets two people who will become very important to her. They are a young child named Prudence and Nat, the son of the ship's captain.
The America Kit travels to is far different then the land she left. Her aunt lives in a very restrictive Puritan colony where everyone is expected to conform to a very strict code of conduct. Everyone must work in order for the family to survive, something Kit has not done in the past. This is a very difficult transition for Kit but she is determined to fit in.
This proves very trying and becomes more so when she befriends a Quaker women who the village thinks is a witch. No one will have anything to do with this, "witch of Blackbird Pond."
All of this climaxes with an accusation that Kit herself is a witch. During the investigation it is Prudence and Nat who are able to come to her rescue and prove that she is indeed not a witch.

Critical Analysis

This is a well written tale that engages the reader instantly into the plot and keeps them there until the end. During this time in history women had few choices when it came to providing for themselves and this is the core of the story. Kit is at once independent and yet like all of us wants desperately to fit into her world. Readers will relate to this theme easily. The story is told using precise descriptions of the geography and the culture in early Connecticut. Object such as the often used stocks and the place of worship and town government, the meeting house give authenticity to this narrative. The clothing descriptions allow the reader to visualize what the Puritans must have looked like going about their daily lives. This is in stark contrast to the wardrobe that Kit arrives with.
The ending of the tale seems, however, hurried and is completely predictable. The mob hysteria that surrounded the accusations of witchcraft during this time period would not have been so easily quieted and most likely there would have been a far different ending. Some are disappointed with the ending and Kit and Nat getting married. But while this is predictable it is also true to the choices that would have been made in order just to survive in the harsh world that existed.
This is an excellent book to pair with a nonfiction reading about Puritans in order for students to build background knowledge to make this historical narrative even that much more real.

Review/ Excerpts/Awards

Award: Newberry
Review:
Booklist: "Strong, plot, fully realized characters and convincing atmosphere distinguish this historical narrative of a girl whose rebellion against bigotry and her Puritan surroundings culminated in a witch hunt and trial."

Connections

One good way to make a connection to this text would be to have students create a different ending based on what they learned about Puritan life. These endings could bepresented to the class and the students could give supportive evidence as to why their ending would work.
This is also a great book to use as a springboard for group discussions on such important issues as race relations in early America, women's roles in society, religious freedom, and what it meant to be a royalist or a patriot and how it effected families to name just a few of the numerous possibilities.
A book talk as the reading progresses would be an effective way to reinforce historical concepts and to teach literary elements.. The teacher could use questions that elicit responses that cause the reader to think about each characters motivation, that is to get a picture of each character and where they are and just how they got there.
Two questions can be asked at several points in the narrative that would promote this kind of thinking.
1) How are things looking for Kit at this time in the narrative? ( when she leaves Barbados, when she saves Hannah, when she is accused of witchcraft for example).
2) Based on what you now know from the author what do you think the character will do now?
In order to successfully answer this question the students will have to have background knowledge about this time period and be able to effectively pull out from the text the clues the author has embedded there.
A simple Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Barbados and Connecticut would be very effective for some students.
Narrative text is written to tell a story, to convey ideas be it explicit or implicit. In many texts this makes the story difficult to follow when you add the history to the setting. This is not the case for this novel as comprehension is in fact aided with the knowledge of history and this makes the townspeople more real to the reader.