The last two books I’ve read for honors are The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Johnny Tremaine. Johnny Tremaine was hard to follow and pretty boring, while The Witch of Blackbird Pond is actually a pretty good book. In my history classes, we have been learning about the time periods in which these two books have taken place. Johnny Tremaine took place during the times of the American Revolution, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond took place during the late 1600’s. That was a time when people were arguing about religion. I’m able to relate to that better right now, because that is what we are currently learning about in my history class.
First I will start out relating Johnny Tremaine to what I have learned in history. Johnny Tremaine was about a boy living in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1700’s. We were recently learning about the Constitution, which is about the time in which Johnny Tremaine takes place. Although, the story happens before the constitution was written. The British troops came to America and started stirring things up. Then Johnny joined the rebels and fought for what was right. He didn’t actually get to join in the battle because of his burnt hand, but he still stuck with the rebel side. In history, I learned that it was after the Revolutionary War that the Constitution was made. It was made in order to keep the peace in America and set some rules that had to be followed. It’s a good thing that people back in the late 1700’s stood up for this country and fought for what was right, otherwise none of the events of the Constitution would have taken place, and we would probably be owned by the British. The story that is taking place in Johnny Tremaine was the beginning steps to American history.
Secondly, there is The Witch of Blackbird Pond. This book takes place in the late 1600’s, which is about 1,000 years after Johnny Tremaine took place. This is easier for me to relate to, because right now in history we are learning about the immigration from England to America, and the problems between religions and the way people disagreed on them. We watched a movie about the Higgins family, which is a family who immigrates to America because the England Church is forcing the Puritans to read the book of sports, and be quiet about their religion, or go to jail. This relates to Kit because she also immigrates to a new foreign land to her (Connecticut), from her home (Barbados). She is doing this because she was going to be forced to marry a way older man who she did not want to marry. Also, in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Hannah Tupper is rejected in society because she is a Quaker, and supposedly a witch. The Higgins family was Puritans, and in a way they were rejected also, even though there were more of them there than there were Quakers in The Witch of Blackbird Pond. They weren’t following the King, so they were charged for treason. Like Hannah Tupper, they did not want to change religions, so they found a new way, by immigrating to America.
In conclusion, by reading these books I have been able to make comparisons to my History class. Also by reading these books, it has really helped me to understand more in my history class, because it gives me a perspective of someone who really went through some of the events we are learning about. I was amazed at how much I learned, and how much I was able to relate.
