Settlement – Part Five

Introduction

In the final part of Settlement, some of the younger girls venture into the forest to practise witchcraft, but the village elders come to arrest Mary. The tasks on this page will help you develop your essay skills.

Paraphrasing Task 1

When you are answering an essay question, you must explain important ideas in your own words. In this way, paraphrasing is a very useful alternative to using quotations from the story because it enables you to focus on the relevant information and quickly combine those various details into a more coherent argument.

Read the following paragraph from Entry 83 and, in your own words, summarise what evidence the narrator provides to show that “winter has finally loosed its grip?

Winter has finally loosed its grip. A great rain has fallen, taking the remains of the snow with it. The sun warms and everywhere there is the sound of running water. It is the time for ploughing and planting. The deep rhythms of life abide even in this New World, with its savage beasts and great louring forests, and its extremes of heat and cold.

Read the following extract from Entry 83 and, in your own words, explain why the narrator is surprised to see a hare?

I was bringing the vows up for milking when suddenly a hare started up, right in front of me. I had no idea that it was even there, but they are cunning animals, hard to see in cover. They are also very shy and generally run from people, but this one did not.

Paraphrasing Task 3

Read Entry 84 and outline the reasons why Mary and her closest companions feel optimistic about the future.

Quotation Marks

Using evidence from Entry 85, the following analysis focuses on why Mary should be increasingly worried about Deborah Vane and her friends. There are lots of quotations integrated into the sentences but the quotation marks are missing. Rewrite the response and add in the quotation marks where necessary.

Mary becomes increasingly worried about Deborah Vane’s wrath because the girls narrow their eyes at her in church and whisper to each other whenever she is around. At first, she thought they were mere irritations and the narrator compares them to annoying mosquitoes in summer.

However, when they confront Mary, she can no longer easily dismiss their mischief-making. She notices they have monkshood, hemlock and other strong-smelling leaves in their baskets which are herbs for a witches’ brewing.

They accuse her of witchcraft, saying she goes to the forest to, for example, talk to the animals, conjure spirits and put spells on people. This is a terrible crime in the settlement and could be punishable by death. Shockingly, Hannah wants Mary to make a poppet of Rebekah and stick pins in it so she can have Tobias.

At the end of the entry, Mary is so scared her heart is as heavy as a stone.

When you are checking your response to the model answer below, pay close attention to how phrases from the text are actually split into separate quotations.

Essay Question (1)

In Entry 86, Reverend Johnson blames the innocent “Indians” for practising witchcraft in the forest.

How does the character’s description of the native people incite fear in the congregation?

You should analyse five quotations from the following list in your response:

• “…hideous practice”
• “Satan’s work.”
• “Profanity!”
• “Iniquity!”
• “I warn you, my people…”
• “…we must be ever vigilant!”
• “Ever watchful.”
• “The foul fiend…”
• “…and his minions”
• “heathen rites”

Remember to explain what the words actually mean and then identify the language devices, poetic techniques and aspects of sentence structure used in the quotations.

Essay Question (2)

Read through Entry 90.

How does the writer sustain the reader’s interest in this passage? You should consider:

• the relationship between the various characters;
• the narrator’s tone and attitude towards her surroundings; and
• the ending of the passage.

Use evidence from the whole passage to support your answer.

Paraphrasing Task 1

Suggested Answer

The harsh winter begins to soften because the heavy rains have melted the snow and the sun is beginning to warm up the land. Frozen streams are now flowing and the farmers are able to work.

Paraphrasing Task 2

Suggested Answer

The narrator is surprised to see a hare because she was too busy milking the cows to notice the creature approaching. Also, hares are clever animals who can hide very effectively in the bushes and shrubs when they want to avoid people.

Paraphrasing Task 3

Suggested Answer

Mary and her closest companions could feel optimistic about their future because Mary is living with Martha again who thinks they could earn a living making quilts. Also, Rebekah and Tobias are married. He will build a new house on his land and has lots of schemes to make money.

Quotation Marks Task

Suggested Answer:

Mary becomes increasingly worried about Deborah Vane’s “wrath” because the girls “narrow their eyes” at her in church and “whisper to each other” whenever she is around. At first, she thought they were “mere irritations” and the narrator compares them to annoying “mosquitoes in summer”.

However, when they confront Mary, she can no longer easily dismiss their “mischief-making”. She notices they have “monkshood”, “hemlock” and other “strong-smelling leaves” in their baskets which are “herbs for a witches’ brewing”.

They accuse her of witchcraft, saying she goes to the forest to, for example, “talk to the animals”, “conjure spirits” and “put spells on people”. This is a terrible crime in the settlement and could be punishable by death. Shockingly, Hannah wants Mary to make a “poppet” of Rebekah and “stick pins in it” so she can have Tobias.

At the end of the entry, Mary is so scared her “heart” is “as heavy as a stone”.