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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What news does Will deliver to Bess?

2. Why does Toby Feake stop in Plymouth on the trip taking Bess and her family to New Amsterdam?

3. Why do Bess and Daniel Patrick go to New Amsterdam?

4. Bess learns that ____________________ has returned to Boston.

5. Under whose jurisdiction does the Feakes-Patrick land fall after the meeting?

Short Essay Questions

1. What occurs in Chapter 18 which is a mixed blessing for Bess?

2. What does Will discover when he visits Watertown one day?

3. Under what conditions is Bess' divorce from Robert granted?

4. What does Bess do when she and Will are accused of adultery and are about to be parted forever?

5. What happens when Will and Bess return to New Amsterdam in Chapter 23?

6. What would make the villagers accuse Bess of being a witch?

7. What occurs in Chapter 18 to mark the turning point of Bess' personal life?

8. What is the final symbolic representation of Bess' marriage to Robert?

9. Why are Bess and her family saved during an Indian attack on their home?

10. How does Bess meet up again with Will Hallet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does John Winthrop consent to the marriage between Harry and Bess? Does he think they are two-of-a-kind and deserve each other? Or is he forced into approving the marriage because Bess is pregnant? What other options would have been available to Bess at the time? Given what you know about Harry's lifestyle, what choice do you think Bess would have made if she had the options available to young women today?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the feelings the Winthrop family must have experienced when they hear reports that people in the New World want to return to England? Do you think they voiced their concerns to John Winthrop? To each other? What trepidation must each one of them experienced? How was Bess' experience different from Margaret's? What would have happened to them if they had refused to board the ship?

Essay Topic 3

What is the purpose of the Robert Feake character in the novel? Why does the author introduce him shortly after Bess' marriage to Harry? Discuss the literary device of foreshadowing and whether Feake's appearance can be classified as foreshadowing or just an accident in the plot. Why does the author craft the story so that Bess will be anchored to the insane Feakes later on in the story? What does Feakes represent in Bess' life each time he appears?

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