Brooke Wohlford

Childrens Literature
November 11, 2014
LSW: Witch of Blackbird Pond

Historical Elements:
1) Religious intolerance: The novel was set in the late 17th century New England. The
Puritans were not tolerant of the Quakers, sometimes Puritans believed Quakers were
witches. The Puritans would hang Quakers or like in The Witch of Blackbird Pond,
they would brand them and send them elsewhere. This is essential to the novel because
without it, Kit would not have to choose between staying with and abandoning her only
friend.
2) Colonies: In the late 17th century it was unacceptable for a young women to live by
herself, so Kit had to move to a colony where her family lived. This is essential to the
story because a colony was group of people in a foreign place, so the colony had to stick
together and the people in a colony were often times just alike. The people in the colony
of the novel was alike, everyone was the same except for Kit and Hannah Tupper. Their
distance from the colony brought them together as friends.
3) Witches: In the late 17th century of New England, anyone found different was a witch.
This is essential to the novel because everyone thinks Hannah, the Quaker, is a witch and
burns her house down. When she disappears, the people in town shift the blame to Kit for
the fever because she is the only one who befriended Hannah. Since she befriended
Hannah, they think Kit is a witch as well.