Thursday, April 22, 2010

Why are people afraid of Hannah Tupper in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Hannah Tupper is forced to live a life of tremendous isolation, with her cottage located at the edge of the swamp on the outskirts of town.


The people of Wethersfield are afraid of Hannah because she is not like them; Hannah is a Quaker who does not believe in the Sacraments and will not go to the weekly Meetings that the rest of the Puritan community attends.


This fear leads the townspeople to believe Hannah is a witch and ostracize her even more. This tension escalates once a illness begins to afflict the town. Thinking that Hannah's "witchcraft" is the cause of this scourge, a mob burns down Hannah's home in an effort to kill her. She is clearly not a welcome presence in the community.

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