What is the primary setting of Chapter One in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Most of the first chapter of the book takes place onboard the Dolphin, the ship that Kit takes from Barbados to Wethersfield.  The setting of the book is introduced to us in the first paragraph, where we are told what year it is, where Kit is, and where she is going.

ON A MORNING in mid-April, 1687, the brigantine Dolphin left the open sea, sailed briskly across the Sound to the wide mouth of the Connecticut River and into Saybrook Harbor. Kit Tyler had been on the forecastle deck since daybreak, standing close to the rail, staring hungrily at the first sight of land for five weeks.  (Ch. 1) 

All of this is significant to understanding the book.  First of all, knowing the year is obviously important to appreciating Kit’s situation.  Colonial Connecticut was much different from modern life.  Also, it is significant to know that it is mid-April, meaning that it is just the beginning of spring.  It is still pretty cold.  Kit has not seen land for over a month, and this is clearly a circumstance she is neither used to nor enjoys. 

Kit’s reaction to the first sight of land is also telling. 

She could just make out the row of unimpressive shacks and the Bash of raw new lumber. Her smile was admiring from pure relief. At least this grim place was not her destination, and surely the colony at Wethersfield would prove more inviting. (Ch. 1) 

This tells us that Kit has never been to Connecticut before, and that it is different from what she is used to.  It also tells us a lot about the colony.  Conditions were stark and bleak.  It wasn’t heavily populated, at least not in this part. 

In this chapter, therefore, we learn quite a bit about Kit and the colony of Connecticut before we even get to much plot.  While Kit is still on the ship we learn how different Barbados is from Connecticut, and how different Kit is from the Puritans.  One of the main ways this is illustrated is through Kit jumping in the water for the doll.  The Puritans are shocked.  Kit grew up around water, but in Connecticut it is unheard of for a woman to swim.

What are the key details of chapter 7 in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

The key details of chapter 7 are:

1) William comes to call on Kit. The visit prompts Mercy and Judith to conclude that William is serious about marrying Kit. Meanwhile, Kit balks at the idea of marrying William, as she thinks that they share few interests.

2) In this chapter, we learn that William is an introspective young man who has little appetite for polite conversation. His exchange with Uncle Matthew, however, shows that he harbors deep Loyalist roots, which he will defend when provoked.

3) Uncle Matthew and William are at opposite sides of the political spectrum. While Uncle Matthew is a Patriot, William is a Loyalist. The latter is convinced that the king needs to be placated in order for British citizens to retain some measure of their rights. Meanwhile, Uncle Matthew believes that the king is a threat to the personal freedom of all British citizens.

4) The chapter ends with Kit confused about her feelings for William. While she likes the idea that William is simply content to admire her beauty during his visits, she balks at his confidence that she will eventually accept his pursuit. Still, William apparently does not require a wife to engage in labor-intensive and burdensome work, a definite positive in Kit's mind.

Who visits Kit weekly in Chapter Seven of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

In Chapter Seven of Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond, William Ashby visits Kit at her Uncle Matthew and Aunt Rachel's home. Kit finds this encounter utterly boring, as William seems happy to just sit in silence as Kit awkwardly tries to make conversation. William only begins to show some spirit when he gets into a debate with Uncle Matthew over surrendering the charter. 

The night ends on a sour note, with Uncle Matthew storming off in a huff. Kit is certain that William won't be back to visit her, but Judith, Mercy, and Aunt Rachel dismiss that notion by telling her that William has decided to start constructing his home, a sign that he has decided to seek Kit's hand in marriage. This horrifies Kit, who longs for someone that she can talk to.

As Kit's family predicted, William begins to visit Kit every Saturday, and she gradually begins to look forward to these visits, as they break the monotony of her otherwise laborious work week. 

What accurate historical events are depicted in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

True historical events referenced in Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond concern the charter of the Connecticut colony.

In Chapter 7, while engaged in a political quarrel with William Ashby and John Holbrook one evening after dinner, Matthew Wood loudly voices his opinion that the Connecticut colony should be allowed to keep its charter. He voices the following argument to William:

Surrender our charter and we lose all ... . That charter was given to Connecticut by King Charles twenty-five years ago. It guarantees every right and privilege we have earned, the very ground we stand on and the laws we have made ourselves. (Ch. 7)

Matthew's reference to King Charles is indeed historically accurate. In 1662, 25 years prior to the year the novel is set in, 1687, King Charles II generously issued Connecticut colonists a charter that granted the colonists freedom to establish their own government ("The Connecticut Charter," New England Times).

In this same chapter, Matthew also makes the assertion, "King James has no right to go back on his brother's pledge." This is another accurate historical reference since, when King James II succeeded his brother, he established the Dominion of New England, in which he revoked all of the charters of the New England colonies and merged the colonies into the Dominion of New England, over which he would have complete control ("The Connecticut Charter").

Earlier in Chapter 6, Reverend Bulkeley refers to Governor Andros being "appointed by King James," which is another historically accurate reference. King James II appointed Sir Edmund Andros as governor over the Dominion of New England and sent him to revoke the colonists' charters ("What Was the Dominion of New England," History of Massachusetts).

An historical event referenced in Chapter 15 of the novel that is considered more legendary is the hiding of Connecticut's charter. Legend has it that, at the General Assembly meeting in Hartford where Governor Andros announced the revocation of the charter, the candles in the room went out, and the charter was stolen. Legend has it that the charter was stolen by Captain Joseph Wadsworth and hidden in an oak tree just outside of Hartford. But, this event is only considered legendary since we don't really have historical proof of the event ("Hiding the Charter," Connecticut History). Though legendary, the event is firmly believed to have happened.

What is the climax of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

The climax to The Witch of Blackbird Pond begins with the witch hunt for Hannah Tupper. Nat is able to get her out of the area; however, Kit serves as an available scapegoat for the townspeople's anger and superstitions. This is quite a lead into the climax of the story, because readers are now witnessing fear turn into hysteria and mob mentality. The Puritans are not satiated with excluding outsiders and oddities like Tupper anymore. The Puritans have moved from exclusion to wishing physical harm upon Tupper or Kit. Kit is captured, and she is put on trial. This trial is an incredibly suspenseful part in the story as Kit's life hangs in the balance. This conflict and tension is finally resolved when Nat shows up at the court trial with Prudence, and Prudence demonstrates that Kit was only teaching her how to read the Bible.

What is the climax of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

The climax, the most intense point of the story, occurs in Chapter Nineteen. Witnesses come forth at Kit's trial to testify against her. Kit protects Prudence by saying she wrote Prudence's name over and over because Prudence's parents never knew she was being taught at Hannah's house. Nat then comes into court with Prudence, who shows all how Kit taught her to read and write. Prudence's father is so proud of her that he stands up to his wife and drops all of the charges against Kit.

What is the climax of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

The climax of this moving and incredibly powerful book undoubtedly comes in Chapter 19, when Kit is tried for supposedly being a witch. When we look back at the rising action, however, we see that there are a number of different events of sequences of events that have led to this point, known as the rising action in terms of the plot.

Firstly, and centrally, the friendship between Kit and Hannah Tupper, who is shunned, isolated and ostracised by the rest of the townsfolk, is key to this development. It is the friendship that results in Kit bringing Prudence to Hannah's house for her reading lessons and above all it is the love that Kit has for Hannah that impels her to go to Hannah's house and help her flee before the enraged mob burn her house down and potentially do something terrible to Hannah herself. Kit repeatedly disobeys her Uncle Matthew's instructions to not go to Hannah's house, thus casting suspicion on herself, as Hannah is thought to practice witchery by the townspeople.

Secondly, the fever that strikes the town is another crucial element that leads to Kit's arrest and trial. Kit herself is sick, but only fleetingly, and recovers soon, able to help others back to health. However, the swiftness of Kit's recovery combined with her friendship with Hannah Tupper appears to be another piece of evidence that suggests that Kit is a witch, or at least in league with one.

Thus Kit's friendship with Hannah and the way that she recovered from the fever so quickly automatically makes her a suspect to the frenzied townsfolk who are eager to find a victim, especially as Hannah Tupper managed to elude their trap. It is this that leads to Kit's arrest and trial and the climax of this novel.

Where did Kit reside before her journey in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Kit lived in Barbados before moving to Wethersfield.

After Kit’s mother and father died, she was raised by her grandfather in Barbados.  Barbados was at the time a British colony in the Caribbean.  Kit’s grandfather was wealthy enough to have a plantation and many slaves.  She led a privileged life.

Kit much prefers Barbados to Connecticut.  Whereas Connecticut is cold and mostly underdeveloped, Barbados was warm and beautiful.  Kit is disappointed when she first sees America.

The bleak line of shore surrounding the gray harbor was a disheartening contrast to the shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados which was her home. The earthen wall of the fortification that faced the river was bare and ugly, and the houses beyond were no more than plain wooden boxes. (Ch. 1)

Moving to Wethersfield is a big adjustment for Kit.  She is used to having slaves do all of the household work.  However, that is not how things are done in Wethersfield.  Hard work is constant.  The people also do not approve of her reading choices, because she reads Shakespeare in addition to the Bible.  That is considered inappropriate by the Puritans, who think Barbados is a “heathen island.”

Kit’s ways are unusual, but one of the other problems is that she never told her Connecticut family members that she was coming.  She just showed up.

 "Yours? Seven trunks? What can be in them?"

"Why--my clothes, and a few things of Grandfather's."

"Seven trunks of clothes, all the way from Barbados just for a visit?" (Ch. 3)

Kit had to explain that she was not just visiting, but wanted to stay with them.  For them, this meant one more mouth to feed and someone else to squeeze into their house.  Kit did not know how to do any of their chores, so she was next to worthless.

Nat compared Kit to a tropical bird, like those that could be found in Barbados.  She simply did not fit in there in Connecticut with the harsh winters and even harsher rules.  Although she tried to accept their way of life, she eventually decided that she did not need to change who she was, and married Nat instead of a Puritan.

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, who does Kit meet after the prayer meeting?

In Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond, while prayer is certainly mentioned several times throughout the book, there are no official prayer meetings. There are also no moments when after a prayer, Kit sneaks off to meet someone, though she does sneak off many times to meet Hannah Tupper and Prudence. Therefore, in asking about whom Kit met after a prayer meeting, you might be referring to the first time Kit has to join the family for church services at the Meeting House.

In Chapter Five, on the first Sabbath day after Kit arrives at her aunt and uncle Woods's home in Wethersfield, Massachusetts, Kit must attend church at the Meeting House with the family, a service that she hates. She must stand so long her feet ache and the narrow wooden pew bit so much into her legs that sitting was equally uncomfortable. What's more, the townspeople gawk and stare at her in silence, making her feel embarrassed. At the end of the service, "Kit rose thankfully for the final prayer" and left with the rest of the congregation after the minister. Once outside the Meeting House, Kit meets several new people.

The first person she meets is Reverend Gershom Bulkeley. Also, after Kit converses with John Holbrook, whom she met earlier in the story on the ship and who is studying under Reverend Bulkeley, Kit's Aunt Rachel next introduces her to Mistress Ashby and her son William Ashby. The Ashbys are the wealthiest and most politically influential people in the colony. What's more, Kit's cousin Judith plans to marry William, but the moment William sees Kit, he looks at her with an "unmistakably dazzled gaze." Also, when she smiles at him, "William [becomes] speechless."

This proves to be a very important meeting since, after meeting Kit, William stops courting Judith and begins courting Kit instead. He even begins building the house he had no intention of starting to build until he had picked out his bride, meaning Kit. William's interest in Kit drives a further wedge of jealousy between Kit and her cousin Judith until Judith begins setting her cap for John Holbrook instead.

Who visited Kit in "The Witch of Blackbird Pond"?

Kit is the hot item in town.  She's new to the Puritan community, and she is coming from the exotic location of Barbados.  In addition to that, she doesn't have a wardrobe full of the "drab" Puritan clothes.  Very early on in the book, she attends church, while wearing some of her finery.  William Ashby sees Kit, and he takes an immediate liking to her.  After that, William Ashby came to Uncle Matthew's house to ask if he could call on Kit.  He says yes, but William's request is a bit of a surprise.  Everybody assumed that William would ask to court Judith.  As it turns out, Kit and William are not a good match.  Kit breaks off the engagement late in the book, and Judith and William immediately become a thing.