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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. Bess' daughter, Joan, marries Thomas Lyon at what age?

3. How do Will and Bess help Jack in exchange for his writing to the governor on their behalf?

4. Bess learns that ____________________ has returned to Boston.

5. Why do Toby Feake, Thomas Lyon and Angell Husted arrive at Will's house armed and angry?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the letter from George Baxter represent to Bess?

3. What happens when the new governor refuses to marry Will and Bess?

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

5. How does Bess disrupt Thomas' attempt to take her land away from her in the name of Robert Feake?

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

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

8. What are some of the underlying reasons for the witchcraft hysteria running rampant in the colony?

9. How does Bess' life change dramatically for Bess in Chapter 16?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the irony of John Winthrop's restrictive religious views in the New World. People had fled England for the New World in order to escape religious persecution. Why do religious issues follow them in the person of John Winthrop? What lessons are they being taught? Do you think God wants them to suffer even more for what they believe? Does all religion come at a price?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Telaka exhibit such loyalty toward Bess? Telaka had several reasons for betraying Bess and her family yet she does not. Explain her motives. Do you find it ironic that the "savage" Telaka exhibits more kindness and loyalty to Bess than does her own uncle, "the civilized" John Winthrop? Explain why Bess finds her ultimate peace and serenity in the company of Telaka and not from any sermon of John Winthrop's.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the purpose of Bess' punishment by her Uncle John. Should the intolerance for anything outside the Puritan religion be extended to the children? Does Uncle John succeed in teaching Bess the lesson he had hoped to or does she take away something completely counter to his purpose? Explain the use of humiliation as a form of punishment and whether or not it accomplishes anything other than inciting hatred toward the one administering the punishment.

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This section contains 1,050 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample