The Witch of Blackbird Pond Group

Question:

csanto2
csanto2
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Describe the relationship between the English colonist and Indians and/or non-Puritans in The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

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Posted by csanto2 on Wednesday August 26, 2009 at 5:49 PM and tagged with answer, blackbird, pond, question, the witch of blackbird pond, witch.

Answers:

  1. loriink
    loriink

    eNotes Editor

    The action in The Witch of Blackbird Pond centers around the Connecticut town of Wethersfield. The town is staunchly Puritan. The attitude toward Native Americans (Indians) is that they are heathens. They are seen as children, ignorant and wild. Religion must be thrust upon them so that they might be "saved." The relationship between the colonists and the non-Puritans is one of open hostility. Non-Puritans are considered heretics and are punished by branding, whipping and being placed in stocks, or even banished from the colony. They are considered evil and bad luck, perhaps even witches or warlocks. These people, like the old woman, Hannah, must keep their distance from the Puritans and pay fines for not attending services on Sunday. Suspicious and superstitious of anyone different from themselves, the Puritans are quick to turn on the non-Puritans, just as the colonists do to Hannah and her friends.

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    Posted by loriink on Thursday August 27, 2009 at 9:10 AM