Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr. Burke
ENGL 414A
November 4, 2015
LSW Historical Fiction: Witch of Blackbird Pond
In The Witch of Blackbird Pond the historical time period plays
a large part in the major events of the story. The setting is New
England in the 1600s, in a time of major political and religious
separation. One of the most important pieces of the historical setting is
the major influence religion had at the time. Having different religions
was often a major point of dislike towards other people, even a source
of distrust. One very relevant example of this is Hannah Tupper and her
Quaker religion. Simply put, Quakers believed that God lives in
everyone therefore everyone can find God with an inner light.
Puritans contrarily believed that humans are sinful and hopeless in the
eyes of God. Essentially, Quakers had a very positive view on
humanity, while Puritans were highly critical and pessimistic of human
nature. It is even more useful to note that Puritans believed that the
devil was present in everyday life. Because Hannah is a Quaker, and
has a highly different belief than the majority of New England, she was
outcasted. This is essential to the plot, if her religion was the norm,
there would be no point for Hannahs character in the story.
understanding why Kit was so different. She could read, write, swim,
and felt free to express herself, even to strangers. This was unheard of
for the women of the town. It was easy for the townspeople to see her
and immediately agree that she did not belong. This was just one of
the many factors that drove the plot of Kit and her journey from
outcast to accepted.