I feel that Bethia puts too much blame on herself for the death of her mother. She feels that this is her punishment for committing sins of idolatry and temptation, despite her awareness of her sins. Bethia's temptation begins as she meets a Native American named Cheeshahteaumauk. She spends many childhood days together with him, communicating fluently thanks to the lessons she overheard from her father. One interesting aspect of the Native American culture is how they are renamed. Instead of sticking to one name for life, their names come and go as they find a more suitable one. Bethia's desire to teach Christianity to Cheeshahteaumauk is more clear than ever when she renames him Caleb, the companion of Moses. I found it odd that how, with Bethia's deep faith in God, she feels that she is sinning merely by learning of the pagan gods. She is simply curious, yet she feels her curiosity of another's culture is the temptation of Satan. This is especially puzzling considering her primary goal is to teach Caleb and convince him of the one true English God. Despite her teachings, Caleb remains critical and questions the stories, leading to her (indirectly) asking her father for advice. This conversation with her father is what I feel leads to her true temptation: the knowledge of the white hellebore and the visions that an overdose of this plant produce. When helping out her father, she comes across and drinks of this, leading to her encounter with Satan.
I have to agree and disagree with you on the points you have mentioned. I agree that you said that Bethia does put to much blame on herself for her rebellious acts and her mother's death. It could be because she is pressuring herself or fom the pressure of her father. She knows he wants her to be the average woman when she grows older. Her actions prove that she is her own person and I like that about her because it shows she has a mind of her own and that she does not fall into the ways of everyone else. I also have to disagree with you about lack of awareness for her sins. She does confess to herslef that she is doing the wrong things and she is aware of the punishments that could follow. I believe that she is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. I also believe her temptations exist because of her rebellious personality and because she is young and can just be curious. For the most part, she follows her way of life and continues to revolt against her father and his ways as well as being adventurous. - ACar
I have to agree with you on your statement I to feel that Bethia is someone who is very critical of herself. She is someone who gives new meaning to the phrase that "Curiosity kills the cat." She feels that through her curiosity she is sinning and God is punishing her for it. But that is something that she cannot be blamed for, there are too many catalysts in the story that would cause her to feel this way for blame to solely be put on her. there is the fact that her father is the minister of the community, and the person trying to convert the Wampanoag tribe to their Catholic faith. There is the community itself, which is one where you are considered a "dirty sinner" if you believe in any other faith than the Catholic faith. This is obviously not the case, she is simply entering the age where when we see something we don't fully understand, we build a desire to want to learn more about it, which eventually is what drove her to drink from the hellebore. What she needs to understand and I feel she will understand later as she matures, is that just because of her curiosity doesn't make her a sinner, it is simpy a part of her growing up. -JAss
I Also believe that she may be putting far too much blame on herself. In the society that she lives in you could very simply miss a Sunday mass and be criticized and branded a sinner and a believer of Satan. It is very easy to start being superstitious in a community such as this. If she does believe that the murdered her own mother by merely writing down her cruel and satanic thoughts to understand them, It is completely understandable. I’m not saying that she should believe that she did that but it is understandable because she was brought up by a catholic priest in the times of the pilgrims where even a change in the weather could call upon the death of another innocent live based off of an allegation made by an angry farmer that can’t grow his crops. Her mother’s death was a tragedy but none the less not Betia’s tragedy.
I think Bethia is essentially misplacing guilt in blaming herself for her mother's death. When I started the book, I remember thinking how ridiculous it was for Bethia to assume her mother's death could be caused by her own sins. However, after reading on I noticed that some of the book's central ideas seemed far more ridiculous than a teenager misplacing blame. In the context of her life, one so removed from society that it had only religion to find order within, it seems very plausible that she would believe it was her fault. She was conflicted and acting out of extreme guilt. But her mother died from a fever, not because of Bethia's unquenchable thirst for knowledge. -SNic
I do agree with this statement, Bethia is too hard on herself death is just one of the natural order of things in this world, death is inevitable and there is nothing that anybody can do to stop it from occurring. I also agree with Steve most societies were out of touch and with this also including the nATIVE american tribes of the early America's makes it no different they were very out of touch and only to themselves for many years until the Europeans came in and took the land. They only believed in religion and with any tragedy or triumph it was based that the God or gods were responsible for it. her mother was ill not because she sinned and any illness back way then was incurable in most cases.
There are multiple parts in part one of Caleb's Crossing that surprised me. I did not expect Bethia to react so kindly when she first met Caleb, being a ministers daughter and growing up in a town where they are constantly taught day in and day out that the Native Americans are Devil worshiping sinners one would expect her to be very scared and not want to deal with this person at all. Bethia does just the opposite of what would be expected of her and decides to befriend this stranger and try to teach him the ways of Christianity. Not only does she try to teach him about God but she also takes interest in his religion and listens to him teach her about his Gods, knowing that if anyone from her village found out about this she would be in great amounts of trouble because she would be learning about the devil from one of his followers. The most shocking part of part one is not just her interaction with Caleb and her learning about the pagan religion but is when she decides to drink from the gourd that belongs to the pawaaw. She directly defies everything she has ever been taught and decides to take part in a pagan ritual in which she drinks from a hollowed gourd filled with a poison that causes her to have visions which the Native American believe are caused by their Gods. -Gnea
I was not surprised by much in this section. Her interaction with Caleb is a major reason Bethia is characterized as rebellious. Bethia is smarter than most women and even some men in her society. She does not want to conform to the typical role of a woman in her community. She wants to be a leader and contribute something to her society. She wants to have a men’s role and not conform to a woman’s role in her community. By learning about Caleb’s religion, she is being herself. The learning of his religion is rebellious, but not because she wants to become part of his religion. She is a smart girl and a learner. Bethia wants to learn about the world and other societies. Also, by drinking the pawaaw, she is also learning by discovering rituals and drinks of Caleb’s culture. Bethia’s interaction with Caleb is not a surprise because of her rebellious attitude and her love for learning.
I can see both of your points while reading this section. Upon first reading i thought the Bethia would not be so open minded to the Native American but as i later reflected i could easily see why she was so open to a man that is outside her society. I did not believe that she was teaching him about her religious views but in return she go tot learn about his religion, so she gained the knowledge she is always striving to learn about. i can agree that the most shocking scene in the book was when she drank from the gourd. Learning about a religion is one thing, but partaking in the spiritual events of the opposite religion is not right. Bethia is rebellious and wants to know more and more so i believe that is what made her drink from the, but it was definitely shocking.
I agree, I was also very surprised to see how Bethia and Cabel bonded throughout this section. They are both from completely different worlds and brought up to fear one another yet they still choose to become close friends. I believe that its the fact that society tells them they can not be friends that draws them so close together. In other words opposites attract. Its this rebellious temptation that makes it so hard to resist. Their curiosity for one another grows within each encounter. What interests me the most is their views on religion. Im surprised to how open Caleb is to the concepts of Christianity. Bethia being told all her life that Indians are pagan devil worshipers doesn't mind when Cabel tells her of his religious customs. Im also very impressed with some of the responses Cabel has to Bethias teachings of Christianity. When Bethia explains the concept of heaven and hell, Cabel shocks me with a very intelligent argument. He brings up the point that why would God create a hell if he intends on all humans to live a sinful life, why even give humans the option to sin if they are to be punished for it by God who gave them that right in the first place. This goes to show that the Indians are not as dumb as everyone in the colony thinks they are. They are a force to be reckoned with. ARai
I disagree with being surprised about how Bethia and Caleb reacted to each other. Bethia is of a rebellious age, she wants to push the limits of what she can and cant get away with, in her society it is extremely judgemental and strict and she wants to see how far she can go before they take action. I believe she took part in the ceremonies to explore another culture and she was so curious about his culture because she was raised to believe that Cabel's culture was full of devil worshipers and terrible people. Caleb was also interested in Bethia's religious views and wanted to see what Christianity was like. I disagree with Anthony Rainero about the colony thinking that the Indians are dumb, rather i just think they have different religious views. The Indians are far from dumb and the colony knows it, they just avoid each other and talk eachother down because their religious views are conflicted.
When I first encountered Bethia in the beginning of the story, I thought that she had extremely rebellious personality that are in the work. What's interesting about this is that Bethia acts as many of us would now and to me, as the reader, I see truly how different society was back during the time this work is set. As the work begins to pick up and I begin to meet the rest of Bethia's family, I saw that Bethia wanted to be able to pursue knowledge and be able to be her own person. Eventually, her father and brother both disagreed to teach her, which probably was the cause for her pursuit of it in any way she may be able to seize it. This became even more apparent when she met the Native American whom toke the name Caleb. She came from a society that didn't tolerate any interaction with these people, unless they came to accept the "English God", or our one true God and give up their familiar spirits. Another thing that made this extremely bizarre and against the society of their day was that Bethia, the daughter of a minister, would have interaction with and begin the teachings of this young Native American man. Bethia is a very complex character, because she goes against what she was to taught, which was to take any haste to stay away from the Native Americans and instead befriended them and began to teach him. - JStr
I have to partially agree with you. I agree with the fact that Bethia has an urge to learn, however , I view Bethia's "rebellious" attitude as more of a curious attitude than anything. I see the interactions with Caleb, and the intense discussions they had, as ways for Bethia to learn more about other religions, rather than rebel against her father. When she saw the whale washed up on the shore, she stated that she was drawn in by the music, rather than saying she is rebelling against her father. As for befriending Caleb, I seem to think that, that is her fathers fault. She would always watch her father attempt to convert the Native Americans, and treat them with respect, while the rest of the white community would treat them with a lack of respect. But who knows, maybe Bethia really means to be rebellious against her father and brother, but through reading, I seem to think that she is more curious.
I have read both of your responses and I think we can all agree that Bethia is a curious rebel. Her curiosity stems from her young age and desire for exploration. I see her curious nature when she drinks the potion and hallucinates severely. Bethia didn't know the effects of the potion and wanted to try it out for herself. As we grow up, we learn from our mistakes and Bethia completely acknowledges her sin of drinking the potion. Her rebellious nature stems from her role in society. Women in Puritan society are treated as servants who perform meaningless tasks with no required education. Bethia doesn't want to be a normal girl who gets treated as a slave. She wants to be educated like her brother. In doing so, she willingly listens to her father's teachings and learns other languages even though she is forbidden. I believe she is being rebellious when she listens because she wants to be more than her role in society. She knows that men are more powerful than women in Puritan society because they are educated. Bethia believes that if she were educated she would be treated as an equal to her brother.
I agree with what you have said. I feel that Bethia's denial of a further pursuit of knowledge is what causes her to seek more information from Caleb. I see them both as two youths who don't understand why their respective factions are at odds with eachother, and are an example that if we are given the chance to hear a different person out, we can find they have something to contribute.
In the first part of Caleb's Crossing, Bethia shows us that she is not going to be the girl that is expected of her in her community, starting off with the fact that she is learning different languages that her father is teaching her brother, Makepeace. She is also learning is quicker than him, which is like a slap in the face to him because women were seen as lesser than men in her society. Also, when Bethia befriends the young Native American boy, Caleb, it shows that she has a bit of a rebellious side because she was told not to interact with the Native Americans becuase of their beliefs of polytheism and witchcraft, which was different than what was taught to her by her father, who was a minister. Bethia and her father were called upon to visit Caleb's village when someone was sick, and they asked Bethia's father to try and heal him. This is where Bethia committed a sin so horrible that she feels it is the reason why her mother died. Bethia drank some of a potion that was conjured up for Caleb to drink. It is believed to turn boys into men, and it is very strong. Caleb told her about it, and she wondered what is was since then. She takes a small sip, and immediately feels its powers. She trips out, and then falls asleep. Bethia is trying to learn about the world on her own, and its clear that it is not going to be too easy for her. She is a very complex character, and I am seeing this more and more as I read further into the work.
One thing I do not understand is if the white hellebore potion is used in the ritual to become a man and makes you throw up and hallucinate, why would they give it to a sick man? This is a very foolish thing in my opinion and I am surprised why the Native Americans don’t realize that. Europeans did believe that vomiting helped get rid of a disease but I think that was in Ancient Greece and didn’t carry to the 1600’s. Also Bethia says that she gives him the same herbs already given, and bloodletting doesn’t work. How did the Native American recover? It was said he recovered by prayer but prayer didn’t save Caleb’s village that was ravaged by disease. We always hear about how the Native Americans were killed by the European diseases but I wonder why we never hear about if any Native American diseases killed Europeans? -KWie
After reading the first part of Caleb's Crossing, I have become more aware of the difficulties for families living in early America. The Mayfield family is an average family that I find struggles more than others. They have a hard time keeping up with their food supply because of failure to produce crops and maintain a healthy livestock. Similarly, the family members begin dying as well. Bethia is a young and courageous girl who opens up to being a "mindful" sinner as well as a murderer which is the cause of her mother's death. Her father is a Calvinist minister seeking converts from the Wampanoag. Ironically, Bethia befriends one of them. His name is Caleb and the two of them meet with each other religiously. Speaking of religion, each time they meet, Bethia shares a story from the Bible with Caleb including the story of Moses. Every minute they are together, their bond becomes stronger. Unfortunately, this is not the same for Bethia at home. She fights with her brother and disobeys her father for putting too much pressure on her. Even thought they fight, they remain together because they love each other and need each other to survive. - ACar
I agree with all the valid points you have stated. I didn't realized the hardships that people had to go through trying to make a new life for themselves in the Americas. Not only was average daily tasks difficult but Bethia's family also had to deal with the deaths of her Mother and Brother. I was also surprised at how quickly Bethia was able to accept and befriend a Native american boy since she was the daughter of the man trying to convert these people. Not only did she talk to this boy but she was interested in learning the ways of his people. Lastly i was surprised at how Makepeace acts towards his sister and the Native Americans. One would think that since he grew up in the house of a preacher he would learn to be more accepting her and not be so nasty. He also has a very bad attitude toward the natives. Even though his fathers mission is to convert these people Makepeace looks down on them and does not want to accept them.
To start off, I found Part 2 of Caleb's Crossing much easier to read than Part 1. It had much more to it, starting off with Makepeace trying to sell Bethia into marriage so that he could leave the school and not feel bad about indenturing his sister and not holding up his part of the deal. He wants to leave because he realized that he is not as intelligent as the rest of the boys, Caleb included. Bethia is furious, and curses Makepeace. She later is given punishment by Master Corlett and that punishment is delivered by no other than Makepeace. During her stay as an indentured servant, I have realized that she wants no part of her brother, and starts to become closer to Caleb. Caleb starts to seem like a brother to her, helping her make decisions about who to marry, and asking her what she really wants. Bethia is asked to be married by Master Corlett's son, Samuel, but they are interrupted by Anna, who is having a miscarrige. Bethia helps Anna through it, and figures out that she was impregnated many months ago. To protect her, she smuggles her out of the school and back to her island. Caleb is furious, and Bethia tells him to let it go for now, and he does. Without even knowing it, Bethia is taking up the role of a caregiver while she is at the school; helping Anne through the miscarrige, giving advice to Caleb, and helping Master Corlett avoid any legal charges that he may have came across in the crime with Anne. Also, the bond between Caleb and Bethia continues to grow. Maybe what Bethia really wants is Caleb, and him asking her that is a foreshadowing to something in Part 3 of the book.
I agree with the points you have said above. Firstly, Makepeace was a fool for selling his sister as an indentured servant to Master Corlett, and Makepeace decides to stop his studies since he cannot complete and keep up with his work. If he had a struggle to learn from the beginning when his father taught him then why sell out your sister for nothing? I guess Makepeace wanted to continue and make his deceased father proud. Secondly, it is strongly agreed that Bethia seems to have a stronger bond to Caleb than her brother Makepeace. Bethia sees Caleb as Zuriel, whom was the brother she truly loved more than Makepeace. With the whole Anne thing, Bethia was smart enough to make the decision for Anne to leave elsewhere. Otherwise, Anne would indeed have to deal with the court and their biased power. Lastly, I see why you say Bethia really wants Caleb because I see she wants him to. Caleb is almost a brother to her, and he was always there for her in her tragic times.
I was shocked by the drowning death of Solace, as if Bethia has not lost enough already! It is no surprise that the pastor preaches even more of hell than he did before. For some reason I wasn’t as shocked by the death of the father or that Makepeace blamed Tequamuck for that death. I was surprised, although I guess I shouldn’t have been by the choices Makepeace makes for Bethia including the idea of her becoming a servant. I found it so ironic that this independent rebel who was willing to learn at all costs was now a servant of sorts. To some degree working for Master Corlett proves to be a good thing. Like you have pointed out Bethia helps Anne through the miscarriage, she continues to help/advice Caleb, and she helps Master Corlett avoid legal troubles. I also sew the conversion of Caleb and Joel into Christianity an important part of this portion of reading. It is a testimony of their rebellion and determination. -CGar
In the first section of this novel, we learn that Bethia is not a normal girl in her society. She is a rebel. She does not conform to the ways of the women in her society. I like this about her. She is an original. She is extremely smart and learns things that men are suppose to know. Bethia studies different languages that her father teaches her brother, Makepeace. She learns these languages extremely fast. Her father tells her what a woman’s role is. She doesn’t care and she does what she loves. Also, her society is not suppose to interact with Native Americans. She ignores this rule, as she does most of the rules in her society. During her chores at the river that she dreads because she feels she is above these basic jobs, she meets an Indian boy named Caleb. She immediately is drawn to Caleb because he is different and is not like any of the boys in her society. Her rebellious attitude makes her a character that I and many readers should admire.
I agree with everything you have said about Bethia, she is a rebel and that's what I admire the most about her. The first part of this novel really portrays the character Bethia, and how she goes against her fathers wills and learns the language of the Indians. Even though her father told that the women in this society are not meant to learn, but to do their womanly chores. I feel that when Bethia meets Caleb for the first time, he is almost a "breathe of fresh air" because he is a Native American who is different than the rest of the men who her society associates with. I also feel that the death of Bethia's brother Zuriel has affected Bethia because Zuriel was not only her brother but her best friend. I believe that the death of her brother made Bethia stronger and meeting Caleb was the fire the Bethia needed to believe in herself and do the things she wanted to do.
I agree with what you say about Bethia. She is a non conformist and she emulates that human tendency of curiosity that pretty much everyone feels at some point in their lives today. She slowly rebels in ways that go unnoticed by most such as learning more than most women her age know by listening to others, chiefly her father. Her lack of obedience to the wishes of others shows how independent she is despite the role of women in her society and how they are expected to obey the commands of their male superiors. Meeting Caleb only strengthens her feelings as he feels that same curiosity about certain aspects of her society. She does not stop learning and doing what she loves despite most peoples' attempts to stop her. This is truly what most should be doing even today. We should find what it is we want to do it pursue it despite what others say or do to oppose it. If it is what we truly want than it will be more than worth it when we actually do achieve it.
I agree with what Anthony said about Bethia's characteristics. She is a rebel, original, extremely smart and maybe in some way, even an outcast herself because of the way she acts. I also agree with Danny when he said, "Her lack of obedience to the wishes of others shows how independent she is despite the role of women in her society and how they are expected to obey the commands of their male superiors.". This is shown when Bethia meets Caleb. Growing up as a ministers daughter she was taught from a very young age the Indians are devil worshipers and are outcasts among her town. the initial reaction to this would to fear the Indians but no, Bethia's befriends Caleb. This makes her friends with an outcast. Which in my opinion this is how she relates to him in a way.
When I read through Part 2 of Caleb's Crossing, I felt that my thoughts of one particular character changed as I read on. This character was Makepeace. I thought that Makepeace was truly a good brother who would like to protect his sister, but instead sells out his sister for his benefit on a few occasions. One of them was to gain access to the school, and later on to be capable of leaving the school because it's too difficult for him. Bethia concedes to become indentured to Master Corlett. Makepeace openly sells Bethia out so he can leave the school. Bethia feels betrayed by her only living kin and curses him. Later she is publicly punished for this and this leads to her indirectly introducing herself to Samuel Corlett, the son of her caretaker. After this, Bethia denounces Makepeace as her brother and becomes closer to Caleb. After spending some time together with Samuel, he proposes to Bethia. But before she can answer, there is a dire situation, a young girl named Anne, whom unbeknownst to everyone, is pregnant. Anne has a miscarriage and thus is proven to have been pregnant months before coming to the school. Bethia helps to smuggle Anne off to the island. Bethia and Caleb still maintain their closely knit relationship and Caleb acts as primarily her guide now. Now this poses the question of what does Bethia really want, and it is apparent that there is to be a very surprising close to the book in Part 3. -JStr
Unlike yourself, I felt throughout part 1 that Makepeace is just like his father. He is more concerned with getting the quick buck rather than his sister being happy. Some may argue that Makepeace and his father are doing what is best for Bethia, but others know that they are not. Bethia wants to learn and be more than just a typical woman that is married, stays at home, takes care of kids, and cooks and cleans all day. Bethia gives up on her brother. She no longer considers him a brother anymore, but more as a slave owner. He is her owner because he sells her multiple times rather than asking her what she wants. A continuous theme in this novel is Bethia’s rebellious attitude. Her rebelliousness to ignore her family is shown even more in this section by her blocking out her brother. The only person Bethia has to go to is Caleb. He listens to her and wants her to do what makes her happy. After this section, I feel that Bethia and Caleb’s relationship will reach its strongest point in part 3.
Agreeing with Anthony, I felt that Makepeace wasn't a good brother from the beginning of part 1. From the beginning, Makepeace was trying to put down Bethia by saying the she isn't allowed to learn the languages being taught by their father. Also, when Makepeace has the opportunity to study at a prestigious school at the cost of selling his sister into indentured work, he doesn't even ask Bethia if she wants to do that. Bethia feels it is what God wants her to do, so she goes along with it. The beginning of part 2 further strengthens my dislike for Makepeace, when he tries to bail out of his study by once again selling his sister for his own personal gain. This time he sells her into marriage, and Bethia is furious. Makepeace made this decision for her, and she is not happy about it one bit, and curses her brother. What even further strengthen my dislike for Makepeace was the punishment that Bethia was given because of her argument with her brother, and who else but Makepeace is the one to give her the punishment. Makepeace is not a good brother from the start of the work, and Bethia doesn't even call him a brother after this incident. -gdic
As Anthony said, I felt throughout part one of the novel, Makepeace was just like his father, stubborn and careless. But I also felt that once Bethia and Makepeace's father died, that Makepeace would step up to the plate and take on the responsibilities of caring for his younger sister. Makepeace only cares for himself and doesn't even hesitate or take the time to ask Bethia if she was okay with being sold into the marriage. Bethia realizes the immaturity of her brother when he sells her. After this incident she curses him and no longer considers him her brother, but just her owner. Bethia is a strong individual, who personality of being her own self is something I admire the most about her. Caleb understands and listens to Bethia, he cares for her, and is not like anyone Bethia has ever known that is why Bethia cares for and respects Caleb. I feel that Bethia and Caleb's relationship will only grow stronger as the novel comes to a close. -CCro
Part 2 begins with Bethia arguing with her brother, Makepeace. Makepeace is trying to sell Bethia into marriage. Just like every other person in their society, Makepeace is only concerned with wealth and social rank. By forcing Bethia into this marriage he feels he is benefitting her future. As the readers we know Bethia is rebellios and wants to be unique. She wants to learn and not conform to the norms of society. Her rebelliousness causes the fight to escalate to the point of Makepeace punishing her by giving her to Master Corlett to help her as a servant. During her stay with Master Corlett, she meets a young pregnant woman named Ann. To protect from her backbreaking, conformed life, she helps Ann get out of school. This act shows Bethia’s rebelliousness for authorities such as Master Corlett and her father. Also in this section, her relationship with Caleb grows as she helps him with advice and as he continues to teach her the ways of his world. Bethia’s rebelliousness not only helps herself to be unique and not conform but also helps others such as Ann and Caleb to find themselves.
I agree with the points you have discussed. Bethia is still young and adventurous and she still is eager to learning. To see Makepeace send her to Master Corlett to be a servant is upsetting. As a servant, you learn to be respectful and obedient but that is the opposite of Bethia. She is still rebellious and unique in many ways. I agree on what you said about her not conforming into society. She is unlike any other girl, smarter than most and even smarter than some boys. She is fearless and enjoys being herself. You really see it when she is with Caleb. When they are together, their options are limitless but when she was with her brother or father, she was limited. To see that with Master Corlett is frustrating because they are restricting her to be her own person. It just shows that she wants to be someone different from the norms that society hopes for her to be. - ACar
I agree with all of your points made about Makepeace and Bethia. In the beginning, I thought that Makepeace was a good brother, as he was protecting his sister from the influence of Caleb. However, I feel he proves everyone wrong, and shows the readers that he isn't a great brother. As for Bethia, I feel that her rebellious attitude is shown strongest in your example given. When she is rebellious against her father or brother, you can argue that she listens to them all day, and is just tired of listening to them, but when she is rebellious toward an authoritative figure like Corlett, her personality is shown strongest. However, Bethia was not punished by being sent to Corlett to be a servant, that was part of a deal that Pastor Mayfield made with Corltt before he died in order for Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel to receive free tuition at Corlett's school. The punishment came after Makepeace found out that Bethia put a curse on her, and the punishment was a beating from Makepeace, and she had to confess her "sins" at a meeting.
I agree with your point that Makepeace believed he was benefitting Bethia in her future with Noah. It does seem like he cares about her, however, it is his fault that she is even at this school, and he doesn't know what else to do to make her situation better. If he acted like a caring loving brother she would not have been in this situation to begin with. He could have worked for his grandfather doing something else. He wanted to be a minister like his father, but at what cost. He had to use Bethia to accomplish what was best for himself and not for her. Shouldn't a Christian minister put others before himself? He should have stepped up to the plate when their father died. I agree with Vincent as for Bethia's punishment for cursing Makepeace. She had to confess her sins at the meeting and receive a beating from Makepeace. Even if Bethia was wrong by cursing her older brother, I think everyone would have done the same thing. Makepeace was a very selfish, self -centered individual. Not only did he try to keep her from learning all those years, he made sure she did her chores at home, and later basically sold her into bondage. Now he embarrassed her and subjected her to stares from the boys and beat her to top it off. What a spectacular brother! No wonder why she is considered rebellious. It is like a person being stifled and suffocated. Makepeace represents society back then. He steps on her hopes and dreams of being more than what a woman should be at that time. He should have been a better brother, especially since they have no parents or other siblings alive.
I also agree, Bethia is a curious, and determined young girl. She wants to do ore with her life and not just new isolated like the way her people are and have always been. I also agree that Makepeace felt he was only doing what he thought was best for his little sister it was out of selfishness but he was only helping her in all the wrong reasons. But, being that he is her brother he should have acted more like one instead of like a fiend or a stranger doing a favor. This does lead to her very rebellious personality and more disconnection with her family. Make peace represents of the people in society who will cut others throats to get ahead and only look out for themselves even when family is involved and that is a shame when family should come first over anything even for ones self ambitions. -BMor
After completing the second part of Caleb's Crossing, I was disappointed and shocked by what had happened. I was upset to hear the Bethia's father had died. Bethia is now alone with her brother without any parental supervision. Therefore, Makepeace would become her new guardian. I was shocked when Makepeace sold his sister out. He sent her to Master Corlett to be a servant. Thinking he was a good protective brother, he went and did this outrageous stunt to Bethia. However, I felt it was a good thing for her because she would mature and learn how to handle responsibilities. I was disappointed because it is not for Bethia. She is a girl with her own mind and unique personality and now she is being taught how to be like the average person. I was pleased that she kept her relationship with Caleb. As Bethia started to changed, I saw she helped guide Caleb through the same process. You can see that Bethia is started to mature and see life differently. - ACar
I have to agree that it was very upsetting that her father had passed away, but I was nervous when Makepeace is now her new guardian. This point had me thinking of how either strict or non-strict he will be as a guardian. I did believe he would follow in his fathers footsteps bu may go overboard with protection. I was also wondering if they would come together and be like a real brother and sister through this tough time and now no parental supervision of their own. Even though this was tough for her, she still was with Caleb and still wanting to be her own person. Bethia did mature in some aspects although she did still want to be free and not like the others in the village. Overall, I do agree with this post. -aaci
After reading chapters one through eight I think it's very obvious that Bethia is completely different from your average girl. She is an unsettled woman from any point of view because she questions what is planned for her but she also seems to blame herself for a few things as well. Early in the story she explains how she is the reason her mother died from childbirth and she had broken the fifth commandment. Besides this however she questions what she will become. She feels she is above most of the rules in her society and she wants more freedom, this leads to her questioning what her purpose is for her society. When her father says she cares for Bethia's present health as a wife, Bethia is offended to be called a wife at twelve years old and then her father responds saying "it is what you will be and soon enough." It doesn't help that his father also expects Bethia to raise sons also. Later in the story if Bethia attains this questioning nature of what she is to become, she could end up in very problematic situations that can lead to consequences. I am looking forward to see how Bethia's development turns out.
I agree with you when you say that she is completely different from your average girl. This is true because the average girl in her society is expected to learn to do housework from her mother, but Bethia is doing many different things. She is learning new languages, which is only supposed to be for the males in society. She is learning them quicker than her brother, which is also a sign that she is not the average girl. Also, when she meets Caleb, it shows her rebellious side and her desire for exploration. She was always told to stay away from the Native Americans, but she comfronts Caleb, and it turns out she will make a friendship that lasts a lifetime. Although her curiosity sometimes leads to consequences, such as the time when she drank the potion that the Natives made, it also forms a character who learns from experience, and becomes very wise and knowledgeable from it.
I agree with Greg and Gerard, Bethia is an unusual girl for her time period. She reminds me of a girl in today's day and age. She is learning things only males are suppose to be taught and she is constantly questioning instead of just obeying. Bethia is smart and picking up on things that she over hears he father teaching her brother.
Reading part 1, I can see that Bethia is not like any other women in her society. She is outgoing, rebellious, and courageous. She has a desire to obtain knowledge that she doesn't have. Her brother, Makepeace, is learning different languages from their father. Bethia wanted to also learn these languages but was denied access to do so. Being the rebellious and outgoing character she is, Bethia learns the languages anyway. The difference between her and Makepeace is that she is picking up the languages much faster. Bethia is not only smarter than the women in her society but then her own family members that are male. Bethia is told about her roles in society by her father, and she wants nothing to do with those roles. Ironically, one of these roles helps her break another rule in the society. She meets a Native American boy names Caleb, who she is intrigued by. The reason she like Caleb is because he is different then every other man in the society, just as she wants to be different then every women in the society. The meeting of this boy helps her learn more then she doesn't know before, that is about pagan religious beliefs. Bethia is a character than readers everywhere should follow and try to be more like. -aaci
Bethia is one of a kind and a unique individual. I think this novel shows the importance of individualism and to be yourself. Bethia is very smart in a society where women are not suppose to be educated. The fact that Bethia is even smarter then her brother is also amazing. It shows how gifted Bethia is , she's different then every other character in the novel.Bethia is rebellious but not in a bad way , in a way that she wants to be treated equally , thats all she ever wanted. When she meets Caleb, he is a Native American who believes in pagan gods. Bethia converts Caleb to Catholicism. This also show her uniqueness , in this society women aren't allowed to participate in religious events. The fact that she is the reason Caleb converts is her proving even though its a male dominated society , she can hold her own being smarter then her brother and converting others to Catholicism. CPor
It turns out that I misread some parts of Part 2, and that Bethia already made her decison on who she was to marry, but she still stays very close to Caleb until the very end. Bethia isn't feeling the greatest because she is now a much older woman, but she recalls back with the help of a box that she bought while in Italy with Samuel. In this box is all of her writing, and she reads most of them with a smile as she remembers her younger self. Part 3 also contained some sad moments, and I feel Bethia could have remembered them without needing any of the pages in the box. The first one is when Caleb's best friend Joel passes away, and she sees how much it affects Caleb. Bethia sees this, and tries to comfront him, but he pushes her away, not wanting her to see him weak. Some time later, Caleb graduates with very honorable awards, and after his graduation, Bethia realizes that he is very sick, and vows to take care of him. Bethia is there until his last breath. This friendship that was started by accident turned out to be the greatest thing for Bethia. She sa whis as a brother, and is very greatful to have had him in her life. At the end of the work, Bethia puts the papers down, and waits until she has to sing her death song, just as Caleb did.
In reading the first part of the novel, I have found Bethia to be a complex, unpredictable, persistent, and curious character; in that she was a Christian who wanted to learn more of other religions. Bethia and Caleb had intense discussions about their religions, Bethia worshiping one God and Caleb worshiping many. This was one of the reasons why Makepeace feared Caleb living with them. Also, throughout the first part, Bethia encounters many situations that make her challenge her religion. One of which is her encounter with the white community slaughtering a whale for oil, which she say as theft. However, the part of this event that challenged her religion was when she went back for firewood, and saw the Wampanoag people worshiping and dancing around the whale. She went returned to bring back the wood, however, later that night, she went back to the ceremony, where she was drawn in by the music and energy. The thing that sits heavily on my mind is, did all of Bethia's curiosity come from the fact that her father embedded Christianity into her head, or was it out of pure curiosity? Since she stated, "But our austere worship had never stirred my soul as did this heathen's song." (Chapter 4, pg. 30)
I agree, Bethia is potentially the most complex character so far due to her differences between herself and her family. I believe it's Bethia's young age and eagerness to learn that make her so different. These details could also explain why she questions what his father plans for her. Also her interactions with Caleb deepen her characterization, in truth the first that I believe she had was the day she was born. Bethia believes she had killed her mother when she gave birth to her, and because of that Bethia believes he had broken the fifth commandment for that very reason. Her father also seems to have embed it deeply into her head often scolding her for questioning it sometimes. With that it's another reason for Bethia's community to hate Caleb for worshiping multiple gods including the Bethia's father, even though he teaches Caleb. With that said I wouldn't be surprised if Caleb is given open discrimination from the community later in the story.
I agree with your views about Bethia's character; very good analogy. I also believe she was caring toward Caleb; she was rebellious and reckless with life as well. She was curious to learn, but at times put her life at risk to do it. Any day she could have run into Indians along the way when she met Caleb. She was brought up in a Christian home and believed in God. While she taught Caleb Christianity, her own identity should be questioned. She knowingly disobeys her father about learning and leaving the property by herself. Her father knows she wants to learn, so he should have taught her as well. Even though that is not what was expected of women it certainly wasn't sinful for a woman to learn. Society had agendas even back then. There were parts that puzzled me too. When Bethia got caught up in the music with the Indian dancing and worshipping she allowed her soul to be penetrated by evil. She later drinks from the gourd with the white hellebore, which held "the poisonous path to visionary power." She felt evil had power over her. She was curious, but what did she really expect to gain from this all knowing? She knew it was wrong, but the temptation was too strong for her. Being rebellious and curious is one thing, but taking part in an evil ritual is just sinful. She says, "I yearned to experience, once again, that sense of holy ecstasy that had fallen upon me at the cliffs." Learning and experiencing everything is not always in your best interest as it wasn't with Bethia. She later blames the death of her mother on her very own actions.
Part 1 Upon first reading about Bethia Mayfield one notices her many unique characteristics about her, one being her strong faith in her religion. This is a faith installed in her from the moment of her birth by her father, a minister attempting to convert the local Native American tribe. It is her intense belief in her own religion that leads her to make the decision to teach her faith to a young Native American boy whom she decides to rename Caleb. The second quality one noticed about Bethia is her unrelenting curiosity, shown when she begins to desire to learn of the Native American religions. This is first made present when she notices one night a ceremony occurring on the beach and eventually joins in with it. However it is through her curiosity that she becomes very critical of herself and believes that she is committing sins. She comes up with the notion that because of her curiosity, God is punishing her through the death of her mother. It is also noted that she feels that through her involvement in the native's religion she feels that it is bringing her closer to Satan than God. This idea is most prominent when after drinking a concoction made by a Native American priest she then has a hallucination of meeting face to face with Satan himself. In conclusion, Bethia Mayfield appears to be an intriguing character, one that a reader can look forward to in hearing of her development in the next segment of the book. -JAss
I am going to have to disagree with you when you say that Bethia's faith seems strong in part 1. I feel that her faith in God is challenged many times throughout the work. Due to her curious personality, she is constantly questioning God's ways and is always looking for answers. When she can't find answers, she makes up her own reasons as to why God put things on this earth. She also drinks the potion, which she knows is a sin, but does it anyway because she feels that she is already a sinner, so it would not matter if she sinned again. Also, as you read into part 2, you will see that she commits a sin with Samuel Corlett, and does not regret it because she feels she is already a sinner. However, I do agree withy you when you say that she feels that she is becoming closer to Satan than God. Throughout the rest of the work, she feels the powers of Satan and sin overpowering the goodness of God.
Part 2 I personally found the second part of this book to be much more captivating than the first part. I feel that it was the segment where we saw a great amount of development in both Bethia and in Caleb. Caleb has converted to the Catholic faith and become almost a prodigy of Bethia's father. It is quickly is noticed that Caleb is a young man who portrays a great capacity for learning and is very intelligent, even more so than the son of the minister himself, Makepeace. This is a way where he breaks the fourth wall in some cases as no one would expect such knowledge to come from a Native American boy. In Bethia's case at the start I had concerns because she had been sold by her older brother to serve at the school run by Master Corlett, which eventually is where Caleb would attend school. But as part 2 continues I notice that she has become someone who will act more on her own beliefs then that of either her father, who tragically died at sea, or her brother. This is made most prominent when during her time at the school she offers as much assistance as she can to a Native American girl named Anne, whom she discovers was impregnated months before her arrival at the school. Eventually in order to save face for Anne she sneaks her out of the school and back to the island where she had grown up, something that was considered unacceptable during that time period. During all of this Bethia and Caleb remain very close to one another, which leads me to ask what part 3 holds in store for them. -JAss
I too believe that the second part of this novel is much more interesting than part one. In this section Bethia and Caleb both grow alot, Caleb excels in his studies and Bethia grows more comfortable in the situation she is in. The death of Bethia's father is very tragic and I too was worried about what would happen since Caleb, Joel and Makepeace no longer have anyone to teach them. You wrote that Makepeace sold Bethia to Master Corlett but Bethia was the one who decided to go there. She chose to become and indentured servant at the school so that Caleb, Joel and Makepeace would be able to continue their studies since there teacher is now gone. Even though she chose to go there i was still concerned because she had never ventured so far from home for so long without her father. Now that her father is dead she must go back to the mainland to work for strangers so her ungrateful brother can continue his education.
The second part of this novel defiantly goes more in-depth than the first. Its seems that everyone has a destiny already set in stone. The more you read the more you notice the impact that death plays on every character. Ever since the first ten pages of the book we've already experienced two tragic deaths; Bethia's unnamed baby brother and shortly after her mother. According to theology back in those days, the more religious you are the less likely it is to experience death within the family. This makes me realize how precious life really is back in the 17th century. This is why I believe it is so important for the coming together of the English and the Natives. I felt their connection the most when Bethia's father tragically died at sea. Both the Indians and English would place a white stone on the beach to honor his death and show their gratitude. Not only does this show their connection but it also shows the Indians respect towards the English. Cabel is a good example of the potential that the Indians possess, he converts to Christianity and takes part in the settler's learning allowing himself to progress and attend Harvard. This goes to show that no one is any better than anyone else. Makepeace has trouble accepting this but that is expected from someone like him. Are the Indians as barbaric as the English portray them to be? ARai
As I read the ending of Part 3 of the novel, I found that I was quite happy with how it turned out. Bethia married Samuel Corlett and she went on to live a full and happy life. The work sums up what occurs in her life after Part 2. To summarize some of the key points, Joel, unfortunately perishes, but dies a noble death, Caleb mourns his old friend and pushes Bethia away from him so as to keep from being seen as weak when she tries to confront him and comfort him. Bethia and Samuel have a child whom they name Ammi Ruhama. Caleb goes on to graduate with the rest of his class as one of the most intelligent individuals present. Some time after, Caleb falls gravely ill and Bethia desperately tries to save him. Her attempts are unsuccessful and Caleb passes on. We then return to an old dying Bethia who is awaiting her inevitable death. This final part of the work gave me a very bitter sweet ending, as this whole thing began as a very dark secret and it blossomed into one of the most impressive displays that friendships can have for people whom truly see it as so and will do anything to preserve it and persevere for it.
In this part of the novel, I came to realized that Makepeace is more interested in his own well being than that of his sister, considering that his father just unfortunately died. An example of this is seen when Makepeace and Grandpa Mayfield "indentured" Bethia into work at the school. Her work was part of an agreement that his father made with Master Corlett in order for Makepeace, Joel, and Caleb to receive free tuition. However, Makepeace couldn't fulfill the obligations of his studies, and wanted to return home, in result, leaving Bethia at the school. As a result of Makepeace leaving the school, he sold the remainder of Bethia's indenture to the Merry family, where Bethia was told she has to marry Noah. Bethia than puts a curse on Makepeace, and she is later beaten and forced to confess her sins at a meeting as a punishment. I feel that this situation puts Makepeace at an all time low. Considering this is a male dominant society, how will/could Bethia redeem herself?
I have to agree with your statement in the fact that Makepeace reached new lows in this section of the book. He is someone who will do anything simply to get whatever he wants, even going as far as to sellout his family; a characteristic that none of his family could be proud of. The way that he carelessly sold his sister just so he could avoid the responsibility he had towards his studies proves that he is the weakest character in the book. As far as Bethia’s current situation goes, allow me to remind you that had Makepeace not committed such a cowardly act, Bethia would not be in the position that she is now. As far as your question goes I feel that Bethia can and will redeem herself. I understand that this is obviously a male dominant society, but she has had men try to control her actions most of her life. Remember that her father had attempted to keep what was considered back then an ordinary girl, but failed in his attempt due to the fact that the power of her curiosity was greater than his power over her. She is one of the strongest willed characters within the book, and with Caleb and Joel with her; there is no doubt that she can and will overcome this great obstacle. -JAss
I'm sure most will agree that Makepeace is in fact the weakest character in the novel, but as the story line continues he does develop into a more positive character. Yes, he did indirectly force Bethia into becoming an indentured servant but he does make his amends. I feel as though Brooks develops Makepeace into a very dynamic individual throughout the story. She emphasizes on his mistakes and faults. But his mistakes are what make him human. One can interpret Makepeace's mistake as what truly makes him imperfect, what makes him a human. Makepeace evidently learns from his mistakes and reforms his way of life. I disagree with the fact that Makepeace is the weakest character in the novel. His "weaknesses" make him stronger. I feel as if Makepeace is one of the stronger individuals who develop as the novel goes on because he has the strength to fix his mistakes. It's harder to change for the better than to stay the same. The other character such as Bethia and Caleb have always had overall favorable qualities. It was Makepeace that went through the toughest change. I feel as though Brooks enlightens us readers and shows us that making mistakes is a part of life, its what we do with those mistakes that matter. In this case Makepeace learned from his mistakes of being so jealous and self conceited and became a better individual. -TNgu
Bethia's life becomes truly tragic in part two of Brook's work. I found it shocking that, shortly after the death of her mother, that Solace drowns in a well. Even more sudden is the death of her father in a shipwreck. Bethia feels that her destiny changes with every death, and wonders what God's plan for her truly is. Bethia's brother, Makepeace, becomes a particularly interesting character at this point in the book. He is a hard worker who has enormous jealously of Caleb's intelligence. While Makepeace struggles to succeed in scholoarly work, Caleb is able to do so flawlessly and with ease. In this way, I can relate with Makepeace, as I too have much trouble doing well on topics such as foreign language. While others may be able to memorize a topic quickly and for the long term, I need to study hard and will likely forget the information in a few days. Bethia's grandfather sends Makepeace to a college-prep school, and has Bethia become an indentured servant to pay off the loan. With the death of her father, Bethia feels that this may be God's destiny for her and accepts the indenture. Bethia's arguments with Makepeace and discussions with Master Corlett reveal the limited freedom that women have during this time period. What's interesting, however, is that Mistress Bradstreet's poems are well respected by scholars in said time period. The poems discuss the limitations of women, with Samuel Corlett admiring Bradstreet's courage.
I was amazed at how Caleb had adjusted from the life of a Native American to that of one of the colonial settlers, and was fascinated at how he had become extremely fluent in English as well as Latin and eventually even learned Greek. He started his life living among his people, happy to live in the wilderness that he had spent most of his young life in. But Bethia came into his life, and she became his mediator, she was the bridge that he would cross to gain access to the lives of colonial settlers. As he left his people, he dealt with many hardships, being looked down upon as a salvage and a heathen, but he kept his head up nonetheless, and kept on moving forward towards success. Towards his years at the college, Caleb even earned the respect of his classmates, although it took a very long time. His courage and determination shows that in the face of discrimination, one can still persevere and survive.
I was glad that Anne escaped to the island in the final third of Brook's work. She was being treated harshly by the English for her pregnancy, and innocent students such as Caleb and Joel were among the accused. I was also happy that Merry decided to marry Tobia instead of Bethia, as she was unwilling to go along with her brother's plan. When Bethia gains freedom, she decides to work at the college, listening to Chauncy's lectures. I was annoyed by Master Corlett's ignorance of Bethia, urging her not to work there or listen to these lectures due to her status as a woman. In section three, Bethia marries Samuel Corlett. Their son, Ammi Ruhama, eventually becomes a shipbuilder and has his own children. Joel, sadly, is murdered on a journey by natives. I feel that Brooks uses these natives to represent a stereotype of their race: war-hungry and with hatred of the English takeover. The fact that they kill Joel represents how race means nothing to them; they are willing to kill another native as part of their extremism. Bethia's telling of the death to Caleb is truly tragic. Caleb becomes ill, resulting in Bethia turning to Caleb's uncle, Tequamuck. I was very surprised by Bethia's decision to do this, as she is putting faith in a paganistic ritual before God. Even more shocking is when she refers to Satan as God's angel, working in obscure ways. She restates Tequamuck's verses to Caleb, resulting in his peaceful death.
I agree with all you have said Chris. Bethia’s freedom to choose what makes her happy was the thing I wanted to happen most at the end of the novel. I think the reason she achieved her dreams of freedom and happiness was because of her strong hope. Even after being sent away by her brother to be a servant to the Corletts, she still has faith that she will be able to choose what makes her happy. I think hope is a common theme throughout the two novels we have read. Without hope, I feel like Ahalya and Sita would have never been reunited, Thomas and Priya’s marriage woul have never been reconciled, and Bethia would reamina servant and never have the freedom to go to college or have a family that she loves. Hope is the driving force for all these characters and hope is the reason these characters had a happy ending.
I must agree with your statement mentioning the natives. I feel that through their killing of Joel, Brooks is noting the stereotype that they are nothing more than mindless killing machines. They are people with the idea that they must kill anyone who they consider a threat to their way of life, even if it means killing one of their own. I was also surprised to hear of Bethia's decision regarding Caleb. After everything that they had gone through I was stunned that she chose to go to Tequamuck for Caleb. I however feel though that this decision was based on the fact that Caleb was still a native. Much like the natives are stereotyped, I feel that Brooks displays the English in a stereotypical manor as well. They are portrayed as a group of people who if you did not follow their beliefs exactly, you are a worshiper of Satan. She was afraid of what they might do to Caleb in his weakened state and therefore did not trust him in English hands. Instead she felt that only his people would give him the peaceful death that he so rightly deserved. -JAss
I was simply amazed by the opening few chapters of this book. Bethia made a complete 360 from being a minister’s daughter to being a rebel because she was in a so-called relationship with Caleb who is a Native American. Native Americans are considered devil worshipers and should be avoided at all costs unless converted to Christianity. When she saw the whale, she thought that her own kind were steeling form the Native Americans due to the explanation from Caleb that this was traditionally Native American property. She had also viewed a Native American traditional dance that she admired from a distance which she was supposed to be participating in as made clear by Makepeace. She has completely abandoned her old lifestyle for the Native American way of life. From reading this, it has solidified my view point on Bethia; she has abandoned her own way of life for good and I am fairly certain that she will continue intermingling with the Native Americans. This reminded me of how many people act towards people from the Middle Eastern countries and how to “stay away” I don’t understand this because they are people just like you and me. They go to work the cook and clean and they have families. Yet just as in this book if they are not “civilized” or turned Christian they are horrid people they we are told to avoid.
Although Bethia is rebellious in some aspects, I think that she finds some guilt in her involvement with the Native Americans. Bethia, above everything else, strives to learn. The only way she can truly do this is through Caleb. When her father realized that she was picking up from her brother's lessons, he would kick her out of the house. These lessons were considered not fit for a woman's ears, whose job was to be a dutiful wife. When involving herself with the Native Americans, she feels that she is following in the ways of Satan due to their pagan views and traditions. She sees the Native as misguided people who are truly good, and wants to teach them in the way of Christianity. Her father also sees it this way, as seen through his preaching, healing, and admiration of these people. I can see the relation between Middle Eastern people and the Natives, but perhaps in a different way. People fear the religious extremists of the Middle-East much like how the English fear the dances and prayers of the Natives, especially of the wizard Tequamuck.
Reading this eye opening novel, I've learned many life lessons and well as morals. Like Chris said, it is evident that throughout the book, Brooks satirizes religion in general when she puts emphasis on the two religions of Christianity and paganism. She shows just how strong the differences in cultures are through religion. Brooks makes us readers think about our religion as a whole. Is there really one legitimate religion? I'm sure most agree that Bethia is a symbol for the bridge between religion. She converts Caleb to Christianity but also takes in some of his paganistic beliefs as well (although she does not follow them she still learns about them). Bethia is a symbol of how a strong individual can make a difference in society. My interpretation of Brooks' message is that we must rise as strong individuals to make a difference in this world. I agree with Chris's statement and would like to reflect how people in our society are so quick to judge others without full understanding of where they come from. Brook teaches us that we should be conform to society, but rather be strong thinking individuals, individuals who think for ourselves not what is fed to us. -TNgu
At the conclusion of this novel, I was very happy with the results for Anne and Bethia. Anne finally escaped with her baby healthy in her stomach from a horrible life. Bethia also had her happy ending. She isn’t forced into the marriage with Merry because Merry choses Tobia over her. I feel like this happening really shows that Bethia was meant to be free and make her own choices for her life. She decides to go to college and expand her already huge mind. This was the most exciting part of the end of this book because I feel like learning was the thing Bethia wanted to do the most. She always tried to learn different languages and the many other things her father was trying to teach Makepeace. Also, Bethia gains the freedom to choose her love. She chooses to marry Samuel Corlett. She is genuinely in love with him. The only part of the end of the novel I was disappointed about was the death of Caleb. Caleb did nothing but work hard and love others. He did not deserve to die. Some may even call Caleb a tragic hero because he really changed the life of Bethia for the better. Bethia’s freedom at the end of the novel is the happiest occurrence for anyone who read this book.
I have to agree with you on the points you have made. I too was happy about Anne and her safety to the island. I was pleased to see that she escaped from the English to live her life on the island. I was also pleased about Bethia and how she turned out to be. I agree with you about Bethia's knowledge and her learning capabilities. Clearly, learning is in her nature and she enjoys doing it. You see that throughout the book. She picked up learning other languages from overhearing her father. She learned about other cultures from when she met Caleb. I was also dissappointed about Caleb's death. He was a good friend to Bethia and to see him die was upsetting. However, I too believe he was a traic hero because he did help Bethia change for the better. But besides Caleb's death, Bethia lived her life in freedom and to the fullest. - ACar
I agree with most of the points both of you have made. Ann escaping from the English was pleasing because now she can live a harmless life and take care of her newborn. Bethia was truly born to learn and it is nice to see that she finally can learn without any restrictions. I also agree that Caleb's death was one of great disappointment. If he would have survived, his friendship with Bethia would have continued to flourish. However, I don't agree that Caleb is a tragic hero. A tragic hero, by definition, is a person who was born of noble birth but has one tragic flaw that leads to thier demise. I don't believe Caleb was born of a noble birth and in my eyes, Caleb has no tragic flaws because never harmed anyone
The death of Caleb was a huge disappointment to me. Caleb represented the bond of the Indian and English people and his death was very tragic. Although that was very sad, Ann escaping and moving on to take care of her child was a happy moment for me. Also Bethia didn't have to marry Merry and got to marry Samuel Corlett. Bethia advancing her education by going to college proves a point that women can do just as much as men. For the 17th century that's more than any women can imagine on doing. I believe that these are steps in the right direction for the English settlers. Caleb proved to the English the capabilities that the natives possess and the potential for good relations between the two. Bethia and Caleb shared a bond together like nothing else in the novel. I too don't view Caleb as a tragic hero because even though his death was tragic he doesn't have any tragic flaws that cause his death. ARai
As reading part 2 the view of Bethia is still much rebellious. In the start Makepeace is willing to sell Bethia as a wife. Bethia does not want this to happen to her as she knows he is only doing this for himself and not for her. Selling into marriage would make Bethia like the other women in the society, and we know she wants nothing to do with that. Bethia still wants to learn more but Bethia's future is changed after the argument with her brother. Bethia is sent to Master Corlett who in return for her arguing is now a servant. Her new role in society is actually the complete opposite of what she really wants to be. She has to learn the ways of being a servant, and when doing so meets Ann, a pregnant servant. Bethia shows her rebellious nature even when helping Ann leave the school. Later on in part 2, We realize that she really does love and want to be with Caleb. When they are together she feels free, which is the exact opposite when she is living in her society. Caleb is the only way that, I can see as of now, that will allow her to be the person she wants to be in her life. When she is in the society she is restricted and limited to the things she can do. The role of her as the servant is ironic because in her mind she is a servant everyday of her life living in her society, but with Caleb she is full of freedom. Being sent to Master Corlett was just a way for her to be taught better manners in the society. Bethia must continue to be herself as she can and will help other with her unique characteristics of nonconformity.
Looking back, I agree that Bethia is consistently rebellious throughout the work. When she found out about Makepeace's plan, she was devastated for the simple reason that Makepeace arranged it. In reality, she was fond of Merry. In any other scenario, she likely would've gladly accepted his marriage. While Bethia wants to differentiate from other women in her society, she sadly has little choice to do so. Bethia wasn't sent to Master Corlett due to her arguing. She voluntarily chose to be there because she had no idea what to do after the death of her Father. She felt that working at the school may have been the will of God. Bethia is much more than a servant to Master Corlett, as he greatly appreciates her company. While he feels that Bethia shouldn't acquire scholarly knowledge (much like her father), he feels true affection toward her. He even encourages Bethia to marry his son, stating he would be privileged to call her "daughter". Ironically, becoming a servant leads to Bethia's intellectual freedom; she is able to work at Harvard and listen to the lectures given there.
Of the issues shown in this book, the lack of woman rights is one of the issues that are very oblivious. Bethia is looked down upon and is given a fixed role in society. She struggles to except this, and at times only to not insult her mother. When her father leaves her the copy of Homer's works it shows that he knows woman and men are equal unlike many men of the time. Caleb also looks at her the same way. Not as someone below him but an equal and even at one point Makepeace admits her being more intelligent. For being able to learn Native American and Latin and more, she does have many mistakes. One of the largest is drinking the white hellebore from the Native American’s cup. How could that ever e a good idea? She says this is one of the sins that led to her mother’s death; it was bad but didn’t cause her death and she shouldn’t blame herself for it.
The two cultures in this book couldn’t be anymore different, especially the values. The Native Americans raise their kids to be free and the Europeans think they should learn how to behave as a kid for adulthood. The respect for women is also very different. In the Native American society the woman are given much more respects and are treated as equals. They are given much more strenuous activities in the Native Americans culture than in the European. Another difference is how they view each other. Europeans view Native Americans as lower people, who will go to hell for not believing in their God (A very foolish belief.) The Native Americans view Europeans as people who waste and destroy the environment, never giving back from what they took. The Europeans have no right to force upon others their beliefs, and the Native Americans are absolutely correct about the Europeans being wasteful and destroying the environment.
Part 3 The last section of the book leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand there are many joyous parts held within it. I was left glad to know that Anne was now safe on the island away from her English prosecutors and free to have a happy life for both herself and her baby. We also her of the prosperity of Bethia, who after Noah decided to marry Tobia instead of her was free to marry Samuel Corlett. The two would conceive a son named Ammni Ruhamma, who would up to be a shipmaker and give birth to children of his own. On the other hand there are many tragic events which occur as well such as when Joel is killed by natives, thinking of him as a traitor. The most tragic event though is the death of Caleb, who was suffering from a severe illness. With all that had happened between the two I found it odd when Bethia had returned Caleb to his uncle, Tequamuck. What shocked me even more is when she noted that Satan was merely one of God's angels, something that goes against everything we are taught as Catholics. This final statement proves to me that one of my theories about the story was correct. That through her entire adventure, she had become closer to Satan than she was to God. -JAss
I have to agree with you, I was very relieved when Bethia was not chosen by Noah to marry him. I feel that was the moment that finally set her free to do what she really wanted with her life. Which was go to college and marry Samuel and have a baby with him. After Bethia said that Satan was merely one of Gods angels, I wasn't very shocked I feel that Bethia was always closer to Satan than she was with God. Her whole life was essentially spent sinning rather than doing good. She was never really obedient and wasn't the greatest follower of her faith. That is shown all throughout the book, and she even acknowledges it many times. -ACuc
After reading the first part of Caleb's Crossing I found it very strange for someone who is part of a very religious family, Bethia, wasn't the best follower of her faith. She even acknowledged her sins and knew she was committing them. I was also very confused that when she met Caleb she mocked him for believing his religion and following it. When she started instructing Caleb in her religion I felt she wasn't really in the right place to be teaching someone else since she didn't truthfully follow her religion. I was very surprised and annoyed how Bethia was treated in her family. All Bethia wanted was to be educated but her father told her it was unnecessary for a woman to be educated more than she already is. Bethia's father always sends her out on errands to run while he teaches her brother, Makepeace. Without Bethia's fathers instruction to go clamming she would've never been introduced to the Native American culture and Caleb. -ACuc
After meeting Bethia for the first time in part one of Caleb's Crossing, I realized that she is not your average girl, she is rebellious and doesn't believe in the ways of her faith. I feel hat Bethia was treated very unfair by her brother and father. All Bethia wanted to do was become educated like her brother Makepeace. Her father turns her down, reminding her that the women do not learn but do their chores. While Bethia is out doing her chores, she encounters a Native American man named Caleb, who is different and brings life to Bethia. They spend afternoons together, as Caleb teaches her the Native language. The thing I admire about Bethia is her outgoing attitude to be an individual. -CCro
While Bethia’s belief is tested at times, she still maintains her beliefs. She often thinks to herself in tones such as “the heathens” and knows her catechism. She even was excited to teach Caleb English and to teach him the ways of the English God. At no point in part one did Bethia ever say she lost her faith, she was more intrigued by Caleb’s beliefs rather than eager to follow them. Probably the most amazing thing about the encounters between Bethia and Caleb is the exchange they had and the influence they had on each other. Caleb is grown to be a leader, being that he is the chieftain’s son; meanwhile in Bethia’s culture she is a second class citizen whose only right is to be educated enough so that she is useful to man. This is evident in the preferential treatment Makepeace gets in their father's instructions. Whenever Bethia and Caleb were together, they stood as equals. Both had their share of teaching and learning experiences from each other.
After reading the last part of Caleb's Crossing, I was left happy and dissappointed. I was glad to hear that Anne was safe on the island. I was happy to see the true transformation of Bethia. In the beginning, she was youthful and outgoing but, as a mature, elegant and graceful woman, she is seen responsible and takes matters in her own hands. She makes her own decisions and has a mind of her own especially about marriage. Because she does not get married to Noah, this shows that she was a free spirit all along. I was glad to see that about Bethia. However, I was dissappointed about Caleb's death. All his life, he was a hard worker and achiever to his duties. It was upsetting to read about how this was the way he turned out. Overall, I was pleased with the book. It was interesting to read about the character's lives and the moral lessons they provided. - ACar
I too, was very happy yet disappointed with how the novel came to a close. Although I was happy that Anne escaped the island, I also felt bad for her because her husband Joel was killed by the Native Americans on an island when his boat was washed up onto an island. I am also happy for Bethia, that she lives with Samuel happily married. As you stated, Bethia not getting married to Noah shows that she is free spirited, and she doesn't care about whatever someone tells her to do. I think the way Bethia cares for Caleb when he was ill shows the impact that he had on Bethia's live. They were close friends, and as you said, he was a hard worker. I tend to think Bethia helping Caleb shows that there long lasting relationship goes to the very end, and it is also a way for Bethia to say "thank you" to Caleb for him being a part of her life. When Caleb died, she felt that she did her very best to help him, and she also feels that she is forgiven for "sins."
Upon completing part I of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks I think the author was able to demonstrate the conflict of that time period with this Puritan family, the Mayfields, trying to convert the Native Americans. I guess you could say that the flow of the language was a bit odd to me at first as was all the parts of part one, yet not enough to make me put the book down and walk away. In fact, it was that very use of language that was able to bring Bethia and the colonial 17th century to life. I was only a little surprised that by the end of part one Caleb and his friend seem to be completely open to Christianity even calling themselves Christians as well as learning the English language. While Caleb and Bethia couldn’t be any more different from one another, their desire to learn at all costs is very much the same. Since her mother’s death, Bethia has all of the responsibilities of her mother; this seems to have her guilt ridden and rebellious all at once. I found that Brooks did a good job in making Bethia’s feelings relatable.
Part II of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks takes an abrupt change of scenery from part one and has Bethia thinking of her mother even more, if that is possible. During this part of the book Brooks is able to demonstrate how Bethia being a woman at that time, was not considered important enough or equal to the men. An example of this can be seen when the idea that she can be sold into marriage is entertained as well as in how valuable Bethia finds the paper to be, the same paper that the Master discards as useless. The rebelliousness of Bethia remains a constant throughout this part of the reading as it was in the first part. I found it ironic that Bethia only feels free when she is with Caleb, much the way she felt in part one when she stumbled upon Caleb with his tribe. I find it interesting how they each fit so perfectly into the others world, which is completely opposite from one another. I was surprised by the deaths in this portion of reading. With the guilt Bethia feels over her mother’s death I was caught off guard by the death of not just her father but even more so by Solace. I suppose these deaths are a sign of those times and just how things were.
I too was surprised by the deaths that took place. However at the same time I expected that someone was going to die eventually. I figured that Bethia's Father would die because he brought Caleb into a contrasting religious community who worshiped one god where Caleb's community worshiped many. However I did not expect Solace to die which is a bit disappointing to me and leaves me a bit empty because I wanted to see how Solace turns out as a character. Of course this is the 1600s where there is no proper medicine at this point of time and there was no way to deal with illnesses and infections. I also like how Bethia and Caleb fit perfectly as well it's much like the yin and yang which complement one another, and I like how both are interested in each other's religions and both seem to enjoy each other's company and discussing each their religions.
I feel Chad speaks for everyone that the deaths in part two were quite puzzling and in perspective, disappointing. Once reading about how Bethia's father went out on a voyage to convert others to the mission, I knew something was going to happen. Sadly my suspicions came true and the minister died. After that, I feel it really hit Bethia and Caleb hard knowing their mentor died. However, no way could I of predicted the death of Solace that was devastating to the family. It makes you hope the saying "only the good die young" stays true and that God has a plan for everyone. The only other reason I can comprehend why she died was so Brooks can make the situation more dramatic and gloomy. Furthermore, I still love that Bethia is a maverick and still does the best to be unique. She really becomes more then the average women of the colonial times. but almost becomes a leader like her father. Like you guys said as well, Caleb and Bethia still seem to fit each other perfect and help one another develop.
I found part III of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks to be very powerful. The very idea that Bethia welcomes death as it will be easier than mourning all of her losses is almost shocking. Although it should be taken into account that this part of the book is many years later than the last part of the book. What I have referred to as rebelliousness throughout this reading actually proved to be pure determination. Bethia did not ever give up on getting her education. She may have had to hide and sneak but she was educated. Again I can only use the word powerful in the description of Calebs death or perhaps that was his crossing. Until this part of the book I thought the titled referenced his crossing into Bethia’s world. Truth be told I often thought the book was more about Bethia’s crossing than Calebs; until his death is described that is. On page 308 it is described, “He sand out his death song, and died like a hero going home” / “Caleb was a hero, there is no doubt of it.” He was Bethia’s hero, that there is no doubt about, even visiting her in her dreams. -CGar
Bethia's welcoming of death is especially shocking considering that she expects to go to hell. She even states that her pain may be little more than a foretaste of what awaits her in eternity. One detail that I like considering Bethia's education is when she is discussing a lecture with Samuel. Corlett at first frowns upon her discussion, but he later starts to participate in these seminars; he accepts the fact that women can participate in a debate. I agree with how powerful Caleb's death scene is. The title of the book is interesting in the various ways that it can be interpreted. Caleb crossed from his old lifestyle to the lifestyle of the English. At the same time, Caleb is stuck between two spiritual worlds. The words that Tequamuck give him help him find Joel in the afterlife. However, in doing so he risks abandoning his ancestors, as his spirit will on in Heaven. The fact that Caleb completes his crossing proves the faith and trust he has in the English people. Much like how Caleb is Bethia's hero, Bethia is a hero to Caleb.
I agree with you on this section to be powerful and I also agree that some of Bethia's rebelliousness was actually determination to better for herself. That is what she ultimately wanted. It's odd that she welcomes death especially since she doesn't know exactly where she stands with God. We don't know exactly what Tequamuk tells her in the wetu since she wouldn't tell Noah, but it affected her greatly. She whispers in Caleb's dying ear what Tequamuk told her. After that he takes a deep breath and sings his death song. Is he calling out to God, is he calling for Joel to meet him, is he calling for his ancestors? We don't know. We do know that Joel is in Heaven. He was going to be a preacher and grew up only knowing the English God unless Caleb told him otherwise when they spent so much time together. The author doesn't expand on their conversations other than they spoke to each other in Indian at times when they were alone. I agree with Christopher the title of this book can be taken in more than one way. Caleb crosses over from his Indian ways to the English ways, however has he really spiritually crossed over to Christianity? He seems to be caught in the middle. Does he want to be with his ancestors or does he want to be in Heaven with the one true God. Bethia questions her own eternity because of the choices she has made and the things she has done. She even questions if it would have been better to have left Caleb where she found him with his own world of gods and spirits. A true Christian wouldn't believe this.
As I completed Part 1 of Caleb’s Crossing, I have found Bethia to be a character that has multiple sides to her. We get a unique opportunity to see her grow from age 12 to 15 and the personality change is evident. When she is younger and had just met Caleb, her outlook is more innocent and curious as opposed to her older self that is more observant and daring. For instance she was excited to learn Caleb’s words for the creatures and plants that she had no name for in her language and to learn Caleb’s ways. As we see signs of her maturing she switches roles to the teacher and instructs Caleb on English and God. When Bethia is 15 years old and Caleb has gone away on his journey, she becomes slightly more spiteful toward daily things and seems bored with the people she is familiar with. This is shown when her father takes her to the Merry’s house and she has no real interest in them. Despite her changes, parts of her remain the same such as her adventurousness as when she was younger she took the chance of staying and talking to Caleb. For all she knew Caleb could’ve killed her. This stays with her when she is older when she drinks the poison just so she can see the visions the Indians see.
I agree with what you said how from the ages 12 to 15 Bethia's personality changed greatly. Due to meeting Caleb she becomes more rebellious and aware, unlike when she was younger. The example you gave really showed her change in thought, she was interested in learning new things that she didn't know before but as time went on she taught Caleb English and all about her religion. Bethia's attitude did change completely when Caleb left to never speak to her again. She stop going outside and venturing out drawing her mother's attention. I believe her curiosity returns when she finds the potion that her brother Makepeace spoke of, the potion that was basically poison but not a big enough dose to kill. -ACuc
In part 2 I was very surprised of the death of Bethia's father. We know previously that she put so much blame on her mothers death because of her sins, and she probably feels the same way about her father. After her father's death, Makepeace is in charge of Bethia. Makepeace is ready to sell Bethia into marriage, this honestly didn't surprise me because Makepeace was never a caring person in the first place. He never seemed to care about anything other than himself and his education. He did little to no work other than his lessons with his father and made Bethia do all the labor, his excuse being to further his education. Makepeace sold Bethia into marriage to a man named Master Corlett. At one point Bethia argued with Master Corlett and is forced to work as a servant. This book continues to show how cruel women were treated at these times and how they had no opinion or place other than servants in society. While being a servant for Master Corlett she meets a pregnant woman named Ann, who she later helps escape. I thought this part of the book was interesting because it showed who Bethia really is, a girl who doesn't really want to be a part of anything that tells her what to be. -ACuc
I found Makepeace to be a distasteful person. He always was sly and a sloth who always tried to cut corners. He would always try to make himself feel superior to Caleb and Joel even at the dinner table with the family. After the death of his mother I get the feeling that he somehow knew or at least had an idea that Bethia was somehow at fault, thus causing him to treat her even worse. While Bethia never told anyone about her interaction with Caleb, she has said before that she had an extreme feeling of guilt because she felt that her being with Caleb caused her mother’s death. Perhaps she had shown signs of remorse over it and he put two and two together? Further on, we see that after Bethia is sent to the school, she is a highly independent person. In Part one, Bethia cried and pouted over her not being able to take part in the lessons anymore with Makepeace. She always knew that she got the short end of the stick and she learned to deal with it: This materialized into Caleb.
I agree and disagree with what you said. I was also surprised at the death of Pastor Mayfield. I had thought he would live on to guide the Native Americans Caleb and Joel along with his own kids on the right path in life, but instead his life was cut short. Though the grandfather had to take over officially, in a way Makepeace and Bethia needed to become more independent as they lived their lives away from home in Cambridge. I disagree in the sense that even though I had never liked Makepeace up to this point, I had hope that he would change when he needed to. However, he initially proved me wrong when he continued to make Bethia's choices for her and continued to think he knew what was best for her. Bethia is more independent than most women seem to be at that time and being as independent as she was she would never consent to any major decision in her life made by another. Although Makepeace does change, through most of the novel he remains a selfish lackadaisical boy who does not care about what Bethia wants.
At the conclusion of the book I had a lot of mixed feeling of what has happened. The thing i felt most definitely happiness towards Ann and Bethia, who both got what they wanted. We learned early in the book that all Bethia wanted to do was learn about everything, she taught herself languages and read anything she could get her hands on. I was very relieved for Bethia when she went too college and finally got what she has been longing for. For Ann I was extremely happy when she got away from everything and escaped to the island with her baby. I feel a major issue that was shown all throughout this novel was how women were treated during this time. It is even shown to the very end when Bethia was almost forced into marrying a man she didn't love and didn't want to be with. The mixed feeling come in with the death of Caleb, I was really saddened by this death in the book. He was a very devoted and caring person that really didn't deserve to die. -ACuc
Mixed feelings is a great way to describe this book left me feeling as well. I was surprised by a lot in the last part of this book. I think Bethia marrying Samuel, although her nurturing nature was demonstrated throughout, shocked me most because I thought Bethia and Caleb would marry. With that said, it was good to read of happy times and the birth of her son. After all that she lost, she deserved happiness. Her education, as you pointed out- something she longed for, was finally obtained. Although she was being educated throughout her life, college was a huge accomplishment. I was surprised and disappointed by Joel’s murder as well as Caleb’s death. I thought Bethia;s description of Caleb’s death was the most powerful part of the entire book. Despite Bethia marrying Samuel, her connection to Caleb is something that can’t be put into words. They understood one another all along on a different level; they are connected even to the point that after his death he visited her in her dreams. -CGar
After concluding Caleb's Crossing, I, too had mixed feelings about whether to hate or like this touching novel. There were many parts that I loved such as Bethia's ability to be a strong individual and reach out to Caleb as well as the bonds they created. I hated how Bethia always blames herself for her mother's death and the death of Joel I feel was completely unnecessary, I felt as if that was just to add dramatic suspense. I was really dazed when Brooks decided to make Bethia feel guilt for her mother's death after building her up to be such a strong individual.I can see why you think that Bethia and Caleb would marry each other in the end Chad, but if you read closely and analyzed how Caleb had a "sickness" you would have inferred that he wasn't going to make it. Caleb's sickness can be interpreted to foreshadow his death. I feel as though you don't understand the difference between friendship and love. Although Bethia and Caleb had a special bond unmatched by any other doesn't mean they did in fact love each other. Bethia's chance to have an education, I would think, is the highlight of this story. Her education is what she was fighting her for the whole story. It proves how strong thinking individuals can fight the unequal odds of this biased society. I believe Brooks teaches us a lesson through Bethia. Her success proves how the work you put in is the result that comes out. -TNgu
All of you have great analysis for the final section of Brook's novel. Andrew you are without a doubt right about how the author puts emphasis on how women were treated during these ages. It seemed that whether it be Bethia or Anne, they must fight a strenuous battle in order to achieve what they want. We can see examples in Bethia trying to learn more, but be denied by her father to do so. Anne had to escape the grip of her culture in order to be happy with the man she loved as well. Despite the hardships, these women exceeded in accomplishing their goals. Still though, it was sad to hear about Caleb's death and Joel's death. In both situation it seemed premature and extremely bias for all they went through. However, it does show the historical and culture impact of that time with the Native tribes and diseases. -Kdra
I believe Part two of Caleb's crossing is much more interesting and eventful then part one. Although Bethia wasn't exactly thrilled with the way she was currently living since her mother's death, because she had no other woman who truly understood her, she was still fairly happy. After a short sequence of events her life totally changes. First her little sister, Solace, dies this was particularly hard on Bethia because since the day of her mother's death she took over and began to raise Solace on her own. Next the most tragic thing happens. After Bethia's father decides to go to England to try and raise some money for their mission a terrible storm comes and destroys the ship the father is on. The town soon gets word that the father is dead. Because of the Fathers death Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel can no longer continue their education their and must be sent off to complete it somewhere else. The only way this would become possible would be for Bethia to become an indentured servant to the school they are going to study at. After all going away to this school did not wind up as bad as it initially seemed, I believe this is so because if she was not at the school who knows what might have happened to Anne, a Native American girl who comes to the school not knowing she was pregnant until she has a miscarriage while at the school. Bethia helps her escape to the island where Bethia comes from. -GNea
I feel every character who starts to be developed in this book dies. Bethia’s mother die, which isn’t very surprising due to how many people, died of illnesses during the 1600’s. Next Solace died, this was one of the more ridiculous deaths. I would expect a child who could walk would be at least able to turn itself over. This death was the hardest of them all because it showed death affected everyone even the innocent. Then Bethia’s father died which was provider for the family and sent them into having a money problem (he brought all the money with him.) When Joel died I didn’t care too much, he wasn’t as developed as the other characters and wasn’t a big impact on the plot. Then finally Caleb died which was terrible. He did all this work to better his people, to learn European culture and even go to Harvard to just die right after graduation. In conclusion this author would get along very well with George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones author.)
The ending of this novel has a classic happy ending. Anne and Bethia both escaped and are now living free in their own mind. Bethia doesn’t have to be forced into marriage and can be the person she wants to be. Bethia later gets married to a man named Samuel Corlett, and together have a son who also makes a family of his own later on in his life. Bethia also was able to obtain more knowledge with schooling. Anne is now safe on the island with her baby unharmed. Although this is all happy, there was a fatality that left me disappointed with the novel. The death of Caleb made me upset because of the great m,an he once was. Caleb was an honest working man who has changed Bethias life for the better. The novel was otherwise a very enjoyable read. The novel had it points of joy, conclusion, sadness, and inevitably wanting to learn more and more about the characters -aaci
After reading through part two I found there to be many differences than in part one. It open with Bethia telling us that she is now in Cambridge, although her position was difficult she is now in a position to use paper which she believes is good because most women couldn't use paper, or at least recognize it as a resource. Bethia's father finally introduces Caleb into the village. One thing to note is that Bethia's father is really taking a huge risk because he will be opposition from some members of the community. However he has plans for the Aldens who hope to challenge Bethia's father after seeing Caleb being put at a prominent place during their worship service. The Father however also has a strategy for them by having the eldest of the Aldens read a Good Samaritan passage. It strategy worked as they were stopped as a threat. Moving further on there is much further to come which brings peril to our current protagonists. Later on Bethia's father dies which I was taken sort of by surprise and Solace, Bethia's sister also dies. And near the end of the chapter Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel aren't able to finish his education and Bethia might become an indentured servant which is intresting because were seing all these characters being moved around much in A walk across the sun and how they traveled from one place to another. The character that I am most intrigued by is Makepeace, Bethia's brother who is older by only one year. Makepeace is completely against Caleb's arrival mainly because of religious differences. He's afraid that Caleb will be draw Bethia into his beleifs which will create conflict. At one point he outright challenges his father saying "not favor making our tidy English field into an unruly savages' hillock and an object for our neighbors' jests" (Makepeace page 103 line 16-18). The father scolds him for his objections to his risk of bringing Caleb into the village.This is interesting because it's much like how he scolded Bethia in Part one when she questioned her role that Bethia's Father plans for her. I'm most certainly looking forward to how Makepeace turns out in part three in this change of events.
Part 2 of Caleb’s Crossing seems to be more enticing than the first. Caleb had converted to Christianity but was still clinging to some beliefs he had such as worshiping the sun as it rose every single morning. Makepeace shows signs of jealousy because he despises the idea of him being outdone by the likes of Caleb and Joel. Solace was a great emotional outlet for Makepeace because she was the only person that he showed any real affection for. It was a real shame when Solace died which probably only added to Makepeace’s bitter aurora as a character. A strange occurrence is when Bethia goes to serve at the school: she is more independent than ever despite being indentured. Could this be because of the newfound freedom of her father’s teachings to be able to discover on her own? Or is it simply the isolation from her familiar family?
I agree with all the points you have made James. To answer your question, I believe that Bethia's newfound freedom comes from a combination of using her father's religious teachings and being isolated from her past family. As we know, Bethia willingly assented to her grandfather's plan of her becoming an indentured servant. Bethia believed it was God's plan/punishment to be servant. As you may know, Bethia means in Hebrew "Daughter/Servant of God". Using her father's teachings and believing in her religion, Bethia is able to be more independent than ever because she is living God's plan. I also believe that by leaving her family, Bethia is able to think freely and live her own life. Makepeace isn't around to control her and she doesn't have the same expectations as she had in her home. As a result, Bethia is able to exercise her individuality without hiding it.
In the last part of the novel, I have learned that Bethia is strong willed and opinionated, as she faced many challenged throughout the novel. Her struggles include: The struggle to find her identity, her struggle to conform to a religion, and her struggle to find redemption for what she believed were her sins. It seems to me that Bethia was most comfortable around Caleb, because Bethia can be her normal self, and not feel like an outsider. The reason why she didn't feel like an outsider, was because she was with one. Her struggles to conform to a religion would haunts her the whole book. Even at an old age, she acknowledged that there may be more spirituality than what here Christian faith lead her to believe. Her final struggle that she faced throughout the novel was her struggle to find redemption for her sins. She felt that through helping Caleb and Anne, she found redemption for her sins, and that she will be reborn into heaven. This struggle is mainly in part due to the death of her mother, as she feels she is responsible because of her sins. Even as Bethia grew older, I believe she still is a complex, unpredictable, persistent, and curious character.
I agree with the points you have made about how the book ended. Bethia certainly struggled with finding who she really was in her Puritan society. She definitely faced many challenges on her journey to adulthood, most of them concerning her true place in the world. Because she hung out with person who was fighting the same internal battle as she was, she had someone to confide in. Caleb was an different from all the others in his community, just like Bethia was in hers. They went along through life together and developed a strong friendship that they both gained comfort in. I also agree with you that Bethia found the redemption she was looking for throughout the whole novel. Because she helped Caleb and Anne, she was able to put her mind at rest and believe she would be accepted into heaven. Since she put so much blame on herself for the death of her mother due to her prior sins, this was a nice way to end her struggles.
Like Tom,I also agree with your statement made. Bethia did struggle with being who she wants to be in her society. Upon aging she had gone through many hardships. She always wanted to be different and to find someone different. Caleb was that different person from all the others in her society. They did helped other with learning what they both believed in and their friendship grew as time went on. I also agree with you that Bethia gained her redemption. Because she helped Caleb and Anne, she was able to put her mind at rest and believe she would be accepted into heaven. Since she put so much blame on herself for the death of her mother due to her prior sins, this was a nice way to end her struggles. The death of Caleb was however tragic but Bethia is now at peace and free. -aaci
After completing part two, of the novel, I wasn't really surprised with the actions of Makepeace. Although I did feel that once Bethia and Makepeace's father died, Makepeace would take on the fatherly role and take care of his sister. But instead his selfish actions to save himself, leads him to selling his sister to Master Corlett as a servant. Being a servant is the total opposite thing for Bethia, because she is rebellious and different, she can't be like everyone else, she is unique. But throughout her time as a servant, one can see how Bethia grows to be more like the other girls. But her relationship with Caleb is only getting stronger and I can not wait to see what happens with Caleb and Bethia's relationship.
Like you, I believed that Makepeace would assume the protective position of his father over his sister once he passed away. I was not, however, too surprised when he acted monetarily. In Puritan society, the men are seen as overly inferior to women. They could take control over their actions and essentially do what they want with them. Makepeace was greedy and thought he could make a quick buck from selling his sister. This is not surprising due to the fact Puritan men concern themselves mainly with social rank and personal wealth. In my opinion, being sold as a slave does a great injustice to Bethia’s unique personality. Now that Bethia must conform to the ways of woman’s work like the rest of her society, she is forced to not act like herself. She must set aside her personal goals to learn and achieve to act as a servant to a house of men.
Upon completion of part one of Caleb's Crossing, I have drawn to the conclusion that Bethia Mayfield is truly a maverick or one who goes against the "status quo". With the absence of her mother, Bethia is able to express herself freely. Instead of carrying her mother's traits, she carries her own traits. She yearns to learn about nature and education. The problem is her gender. She is a female and in Puritan society females are housemaids who carry a trait of listening rather than one of talking. One clear event that shows Bethia as a rebel or maverick is when she meets Cheeshahteaumauk, a young Native American boy who belongs to the Wampanoag tribe. Bethia gives him the Christian name Caleb, a follower of Moses. For most of her childhood days, Bethia communicates with Caleb and they develop a meaningful friendship. This is the prime example of why I believe Bethia is a maverick in part one. The Wampanoag people are seen as "Devil Worshippers" who should never be negotiated with unless they wanted to be converted to Christianity. Bethia communicates with Caleb because she wants to learn about his tribe and lifestyle. If Bethia ever got caught she would be severely punished for disobeying Puritan beliefs.
I definitely agree that the character of Bethia Mayfield is truly seen as a maverick. The "status quo" in her society is completely horrendous for the women and girls. All they are allowed to do is follow the orders of the male superiority. Most of the time they are told to just do their chores around their area or inside the house. Bethia's characteristic as a maverick is surely seen as she yearns for education as Daniel said, and she listens to hear father teach Makepeace the different languages. Daniel is right about Bethia developing her own traits, rather than her mother. Her mother looks like she always conformed to society and did what she was told to do. Bethia is different in that she befriends a Native boy who is seen as a salvage, and they develop a bond that shall continue. Their friendship really surprises me since no other girl at that time would do that. I also agree with Daniel that if she was ever caught she would have be punished and I think probably be limited to certain areas she could be in.
I have to completely agree with you on what you are saying. Bethia lacks a mother figure in her life; therefore, she really does not have a role model to look up to. This could explain why she always tends to act out from her place in her Puritan society. Like you said, in the Puritan society women are expected to behave a certain way. Because Bethia did not have a mother to learn these expected behaviors from, she did what she wanted to do. Bethia grew up in a house with men, so it was only natural for her to act the way she did. She took it upon herself to learn the lessons her father taught her brother, which is something most girls do not do. Because her mother was not there to guide her and teach her the way of the Puritan women, she disobeyed again by befriending the Native American boy.
I couldn’t agree more. I too see Bethia as a maverick. In a female oppressive society, it is thrilling to see such a young girl go against the crowd. I admire the fact that even though Bethia knows it is wrong for her to be educated, she still pushes herself to further her knowledge. I can’t believe how far things how come since puritan time. When you look at the world today, women are a part of almost every occupation. It’s hard to believe that a one point in history women were only allowed to work in the house. Also, I like the point you make about her rebellious ways when she becomes friends with Cheeshahteaumauk. Bethia is only trying to expand her cultural views. It is depressing to think that interaction between different cultures is prohibited. In today’s society, it doesn’t matter what race you are, you can make friends with anyone. I am curious to see how Bethia develops as she gets older.
Like many of my fellow classmate said, part two is more interesting than part 1. With Caleb converting to Christianity, Solace and Bethia's father dying, and Bethia becoming an indentured servant, as a reader I couldn't put the book down. While all of these events are interesting, the event that was most enticing to me was when Bethia's introduces the reader to Giles Alden. In the beginning of part two, a morning service is being held and Caleb is attending and is sitting in a prominent place because he is now a Christian. Bethia's father calls forth Giles Alden to read from the scriptures. According to Bethia, Giles is her father's chief antagonist. He has always ridiculed Bethia's father for trying to convert the Native Americans because they are "pernicious creatures". While I was reading this, I was wondering why Bethia's father would make Giles read in front of Caleb if Giles hates Native Americans. It turns out that the passage was The Good Samaritan and it said to welcome all foreigners. Giles was completely neutralized and he praised and welcomed Caleb. This scene showed me Bethia's father's wit but more importantly that there is a physical antagonist living in the Puritan society.
After completing Part 1 of Brooks's work, we see Bethia Mayfield a young girl who does not like to conform to society. She can seen as eccentric and most especially as a rebel. Since she is a female in her society she must carry on doing all her chores through the day, while her brother Makepeace learns different languages from his father. Bethia listens to her father teach and ends up understanding the lanugages more than Makepeace. I was surprised she became friends with one of the Native boys Cheeshahteaumauk. In her society the Natives were seen as salvages and they were only communicated for conversions into Christianity. Amazingly both Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk became great friends to the point where they gave each other nicknames. Bethia chose Caleb as the nickname for Cheeshahteaumauk and Bethia became "Storm Eyes." Significantly the name Caleb was from the companion of Moses in the wilderness who was fearless. Later in Part 1, Bethia and her father are needed for asistance for the Natives when someone was sick. Bethia is told to stay around meanwhile she finds a potion that she drinks, and regrets doing so since she thinks it caused the death of her mother in the future. Like the rebel she is, I don't blame Bethia for being curious. She just wants to be different from the other girls in her society who all must conform to the standards and traditions.
Upon completion of part three of Caleb's Crossing, I was extremely confident that Bethia would gain her freedom, marry Caleb, have a couple children, and live happily ever after! I was completely wrong, part three left me equivocal and ambiguous. There were many happy events like Bethia getting married to Samuel Corlett and gaining her freedom to pursue her own dreams and goals. Also, Ann was able to escape while pregnant and she was able to live a life without being ridiculed. But with all these joyous events came horrible events, While on an innocent journey, Joel was ambushed and killed by natives. Also, probably the worst event of all, Caleb died a slow and painful death from a severe illness. Throughout the whole novel, I believed that Caleb and Bethia's friendship would be everlasting but I guess the quote "All good things come to an end" is indeed true!
I completely agree with Daniel above with many of the points he argued. It seemed to good to be true starting from the beginning of the story. I seriously thought that Bethia was going to marry Caleb and "live happily ever after" as you stated. From the start, we have seen Bethia and Caleb develop a special type of bond that was extraordinary. That bond continued on from when Caleb was taken upon the father of Bethia to learn the knowledge of the different languages. Whenever both Bethia and Caleb were together, there was never a dull moment. In the beginning Makepeace always thought he was superior than Bethia, but Caleb never treated Bethia that way and Caleb was respectful. Part three also left me indefinte and hazy with the extremely unpleasant events. Of all the events, I agree with Daniel that Caleb's death had to be the worst of all. Bethia lost one of true friends she ever had that was seen as a brother. The death of Caleb can also be seen as good because Caleb is reunited with Joel which was the main thing that bothered him before he died.
I agree with all the points you have stated, I also felt that Caleb and Bethia had something special that would last forever. From the beginning of the novel the relationship between Caleb and Bethia was eternal. But I also felt that Bethia choosing to marry Samuel Corlett was a good thing because it represented how Bethia matured and developed into a women with structure. I agree with your quote, "All good things must come to an end" because Caleb was unique and different and taught Bethia things that she would have never learned. Caleb falling ill and dying was a tragedy because he brought life Bethia but agreeing with Steven it can be seen as a good thing because Caleb is now with Joel in heaven and I feel his legacy and uniqueness will always be in Bethias heart.
At the beginning of the novel, we meet Bethia and her family. Her family, as well as the members of the community she lives in, is very devout in their religious faith. Her father, a minister, teaches his children all they need to know concerning their religion. Bethia, on the other hand, is more indifferent towards her Christian faith. She is more unique and rebellious amongst the other members of her society, and this is shown by the way she constantly acts out. She does not follow the rules of womanhood that the young girls should be following. For example, when her father is teaching her brother, Makepeace, the many different languages, she pays attention and learns along with him. However, she learned faster and learned more than her brother did. This is highly unusual in their time period because men are suppose to be superior to women. Another example of her defiance to the rules would be when she befriended a Native American boy named Cheeshahteaumauk. The people within her religious society are told to never interfere with Native Americans because of their contrasting religious beliefs. Bethia becomes very close with the Native American boy. They even teach each other about their own religions as well as giving each other nicknames.
While there is no doubt that Brooks portrays Bethia as rebellious, she really had no choice. In order for her to learn, she had to be defiant and unique, as you put it. Her ability to listen and learn without being noticed can be seen as a gift her mother passed along to her. We learn in this part of the reading that In 1660 Martha’s Vineyard was where the Mayfields called home. We learned that at that point all that was left to their family was15 year old Bethia, her brother, Makepeace, their sister Solace, and their father the pastor. We know that the family suffered great loss through death: the mother, the baby she was giving birth to, and Bethia’s twin Zuriel. I suppose all the death they faced is a sign of those times, it just seems like a lot for one family to deal with; not necessarily the wrath of God for Bethia’s sins, but a lot nonetheless. While Bethia’s attraction to the Native culture and Caleb is described as rebellious, I see how their traditions free her from the repression she feels from her Puritan ways. -CGar
As the plot of the story evolves, we see more development in each character and their relationships with each other. Cheeshahteaumauk, now renamed as Caleb by Bethia, assimilates himself into Betha’s world. He becomes accustom to her lifestyle and culture, and he also converts to her religion of Christianity. He learned how to speak multiple languages fluently due to his love for knowledge. He picked up the lessons from Bethia’s father quickly, even though his own son struggled tremendously. Caleb was greatly impacted by leaving the Native American community and joining Bethia’s. Unfortunately, Bethia’s father eventually passed on and she was left under the care and guidance of her brother. Makepeace, who I believed would be a loving and caring guardian to his little sister, tries to sell her into marriage. Bethia, as predicted because of her independent personality, simply refused this arrangement. She did not want to be like all the other girls who have to settle into a bought marriage. Eventually, she is given over to Master Corlett as an indentured servant in order to pay the debt of her brother’s and Caleb’s tuition bills. While staying at Master Corlett, Bethia encounters a pregnant woman named Ann. Bethia sympathizes with her, thus helping her escape. Also while staying there, Bethia develops a relationship with the master’s son, Samuel Corlett. He eventually proposes to her.
In the final chapters of the book, we see how each character fully developed throughout the story. I was relieved to find out that Ann had safely and successfully made it to the island in which she wanted to escape to, and she managed to keep her baby healthy and alive. Bethia was freed from her obligation to Merry due to the fact he chose to marry another woman, Tobia. Bethia, now free to marry whomever she chooses, accepts Samuel’s proposal. Bethia, now free, seizes the opportunity to attend college. Even though she was labeled as rebellious as a young girl, I now see that she was only curious about the world. She wished only to learn about and gain experience from different things than everyone else she knew. She was an outgoing girl who knew what she wanted in life, and she didn’t let anyone come between her and her dreams. I admire her perseverance through the many hardships she encountered in life. She later on winds up happily married to Samuel Corlett. They had a son, Ammi Ruhama who grows up to have children of his own. However, Caleb did not get the happy ending all of the other characters got to enjoy. He fell ill due to a severe illness and ultimately passed on. Caleb lived his life only wanting to work hard and achieve. In conclusion, each character’s life was changed for the better.
I think Part two of Brooks's novel was where all the climax of events mostly occurred. As many of my classmates have said, Part two was truly more engrossing than Part one. After reading of the tragic events of the death of Solace and the death of Bethia's father, it was jaw-dropping since I did not expect Brooks to include such terrible disasters in Bethia's life including Makepeace. I assummed Makepeace to consider taking on the father role and make the decisions for Bethia, although she was a rebel. When Makepeace made the decision for Bethia to become an indentured servant for Master Corlett, I thought of how foolish of a brother he was. Bethia later on agreed to do the job since she felt it was God's calling to her, but it stopped her rebellious side. I thought Makepeace was a good brother, but yet again he makes another decision to have Bethia marry Noah Merry. When I continued reading I had it already with Makepeace and his dumb decisions. To me, I find the conversion of Caleb and Joel to Christianity the most important thing in Part two. Both of them left their old Native ways in order to continue their path to learning and knowledge. I feel that Caleb had it harder than Joel because Caleb's uncle Tequamuck thought negatively of the English and Joel's father Iaccomis already converted. Besides Bethia being a rebel, I see that Caleb and Joel are rebels in their own unique ways.
After completing the final part in Brooks's work, I am happy yet I am sad. I really thought the story was going to end with Bethia being married to Caleb and having children. Yet Brooks has her own way making the story have mix feelings. I was truly happy for Bethia marrying Samuel Corlett, although I thought it should have been Caleb. I was shocked to learn that Bethia has a son named Ammi Ruhama that later gets married and lives his own life. Another shocker was that Makepeace finally became a man and appreciated Bethia and her decisions. I would have never thought that Anne would be married to Joel and would live a life together. For Caleb, I felt bad for him because he never gets married to anyone and he has no real family anymore besides uncle Tequamuck. Uncle Tequamuck was through with Caleb ever since Caleb left for the Christian life. Even with all the good, the bad must also balance out. The death of Joel I think was unexpected. It was such a tragedy that he and the people on his boat were ambushed, killed, and washed ashore. When Bethia told of the death of Joel to Caleb, Caleb just walked out on Bethia showing no emotion but deep down inside he was hurt. Besides the death of Joel, Caleb also suffered a painful death with illness. I was yet again happy to see Bethia’s rebellious side when she asked Tequamuck for help about Caleb.
I agree with you that the ending was in many ways surprising. I too saw Bethia and Caleb getting married due to their closeness, but I soon learned that their relationship was one of brother-sisterly love. As far as Makepeace goes, throughout most of the novel I disliked his character and the choices he made, I liked how he grew into a better man and brother to Bethia. Joel's death was most definitely a tragedy as he didn't get to officially graduate. Caleb at least died after he graduated and finished what he started. As for Bethia's decision to go see Tequamuck I was shocked. Even though Bethia is different from many other women and people in general at that time, I did not expect her to seek the pagan man that so many Native Americans feared and hated. Despite what she did throughout it seemed as if she always stayed true to her religious beliefs and that is why I was shocked to see her go to a pagan let alone one as supposedly powerful and influential as Tequamuck. Though the meeting between him was definitely interesting. I think the ending had both happy and sad aspects to it like you said though I think it was an appropriate ending and I am not disappointed with it.
Upon finishing the beginning parts of Geraldine Brooks' novel, we learn of a young girl named Bethia who is being raised to be extremely critical of herself and strong in religion. Being the age that she is, she wants to rebel against her authority figures and test the limits of her religion and society. We then meet a boy named Caleb who is from an indian culture and has the complete opposite(almost) religious views of Bethia. These two children were taught that the other's culture was evil and full of bad people. When Bethia and Caleb meet each other they are eager to learn more about the other's religion and way of life. Bethia even takes part in drinking some poison from the indians in order to try and see the visions that they speak of which are "from the gods". I Hope to see more interaction between Bethia and Caleb throughout the course of this book! Great so far!
After completing part three of the novel, everything I didn't expect to happen, happened. As I stated in my last blog I thought that Caleb and Bethia had an unconditional love that would eventually lead to "the happy ending", where they would be married and live happily ever after. Although Bethia didn't not wind up marrying Caleb, she was freed and accepted the marriage request of Samuel Corlett, togather they live happily together with a child. I was very shocked that Bethia accepted the request of marriage, but than I realized that she has matured into a women and was ready to start her life. I was also very pleased to hear that Ann had escaped and conceived a healthy baby. The tragic plot twist was when Caleb caught a nasty illness, and died. Although he did not get his happy ending, I feel his legacy will live forever. The conclusion of the novel was not very happy,but it depicted the development and growth of every character.
You have made some very interesting points and I completely see where you’re coming from. I feel like it is only natural for anyone to expect a “happy ending,” but life is not always so fortunate. People unexpectedly pass away all of the time and we can never go back and change that. You have proven though, that life always finds a way of resolving past conflicts to better someone’s future. Although Bethia does not marry Caleb, which we all thought was a strong possibility; she marries possibly the next best man. Samuel treated Bethia the way any woman deserves to be treated like but I was not that shocked by her acceptance of the marriage proposal. Samuel Corlett made her feel good as a person and I was especially glad to see her become a mother. Caleb lived a great life, despite his tragic death because he set the bar for every Native American to come. He aspired to become successful and he absolutely did that when he graduated from Harvard College. -DMcA
As Geraldine Brooks' novel opens, we meet the daughter of a minister, Bethia Mayfield. Bethia was a curious girl who wanted to learn more than anything but was refused an education past the age of nine due to the fact that she was a woman. Later on Bethia meets an Native American boy, later called Caleb, whose religious views are vastly different than her own. Not surprisingly, she takes an interest in this boy and he makes her seek answers in parts of her own religion that she cannot justify. Like Bethia, Caleb too comes to be curious about the religion of Bethia's community and wishes to understand it. She drinks a Native American potion and she learns of their ways from Caleb. All of this convinces Bethia she is a sinner and is responsible for her mother's death. I do not believe her actions directly caused the death of her mother. Bethia seems to believe that God wills thing as he may at their proper time. With that being said it is more likely that it was time for Bethia's mother to die when she did and that it had naught to do with her actions. This curiosity of hers is recurrent through the work and causes her to overstep her bounds from time to time. However, I do not think it is responsible for the death of her mother nor anyone else throughout the novel, if anything it has bettered the lives of some. -DD'Am
After reading the final part I'm not too sure what say, it didn't really end the way I wanted it to. I expected maybe Caleb and Bethia to be together for the rest of there lives, although her side of the story seems to end on a good note and a very noticeable gain of personal growth, so at least it doesn't end tragically. The same goes for Ann who also ended on a note of hope in which she has a baby. Unfortunately though Caleb undergoes a tragic death through an illness which is quite shocking and depressing because he went through persecution for his beliefs throughout the novel so it's unfortunate to see him get through the end of book after we see him achieve further personal growth. Although this novel was not as depressing as A Walk Across the Sun, this book left me empty a bit because they killed off one of the main protagonists that was with us since Part 1. Other than that though it ends well for the other protagonists, they all gain personal growth and it looks to be a bright future for the protagonists
The second part of the work is more eventful than the first as it follows Caleb, Joel and Makepeace when they go to Cambridge in preparation to attend Harvard College at Master Corlett's school. Despite Bethia not being able to attend as a student she too accompanies them as an indentured servant at the school. Makepeace and her grandfather try to persuade her to comply and she does because she saw God's will at work. After her father's shocking death I expected Makepeace to take on a more fatherly role to Bethia, but he did not initially. In fact he mostly thought of himself and his family's reputation rather than what Bethia wanted. He arranges to have her married to Noah Merry in exchange for her freedom because he cannot continue at the school. When a Native American girl named Anne comes to the school she eventually has a miscarriage which turns into a big scandal. Bethia conspires with Noah to bring her to the Takemmy people for her safety. I was surprised when Makepeace went along with it. Just when it seems Makepeace will never be a good brother he changes, helps Bethia and apologizes. Noah freed Bethia and she went to the college as a servant in the buttery to learn from President Chauncy's lectures secretly. This section shows how Bethia remains true to her curious self continuing to do what she loves by learning covertly and paving her own path in life with the help of others.
The final part of this book took some unexpected turns and did not end how I thought it would. When I read the first part of this story I expected Bethia and Caleb to end up happily married to each other due to how well they got along. However, she did seem happy with Samuel and remained friends with Caleb and Joel along the way. Bethia is old in this part of the story and she tells what has transpired since that first year of college. She eventually ended up with a son and his family back on the island. Joel died before he could technically graduate and Caleb graduated but died soon after. The end was not as happy as I may have guessed. Also, the help Bethia sought to bring Caleb back to health was unexpected along with his death itself. The novel ends with events unfolding to show how unlikely it is for the British and the Native Americans to get along for much longer. However, Caleb was a martyr as he died the first Native American graduate of Harvard College and proved all those who thought a Native American could not be educated as the English could wrong.
It's sad to see some of the main characters killed off at the end of the novel. I was hoping to see all of these characters live on because of the challenges they had to face such as Caleb's persecution throughout the novel. At the same time, I'm happy to see Caleb die as a martyr but still sad because the characters such as Caleb had to go through all of these challenges only to be rewarded by an early death in life. Now granted it's great to see that Ann and Bethia grow throughout the novel and be rewarded with happiness and overall we see all the protagonists grow as the novel progressed. However I'm also surprised how Bethia turned out as well when she married Samuel. It seemed that Bethia and Caleb were very close so I thought they would be together but Caleb's unfortunate death and Bethia marrying Samuel completely threw that out of the window. But I do agree with Dan that Caleb was martyred at the end proving that Native Americans could be educated which effectively proved the English wrong.
After finishing part one of Caleb’s Crossing I was somewhat shocked at Bethia’s secret rebelliousness. When she wanders off on her own to complete her chores and meets Caleb, their innocent friendship begins to develop. This is something that would not be acceptable during the 1600’s in a Puritan society. Yet, today their relationship would be a normal friendship between children of different cultures. As a woman living in her times she was given barely any freedom’s as an individual and unable to express her true potential without someone calling her sinful. For example when she over hears her father teaching Makepeace and she knows the answers that Makepeace struggles with she is told that pride is sinful. I don’t blame Bethia at all for being a free spirit and communicating with Caleb, even though it was against her father’s wishes. In a way I feel sorry for Bethia because she embraces and enjoys learning but in her society a woman is not educated past a young age. Bethia and Caleb have two very different lives and are each curious about the other’s lifestyle. -DMcA
As the novel started we find out that she lost one of her brothers during a miscarriage, she lost a seven year old brother named Zuriel who died in an accident and her mother died due to the miscarriage but Bethia blames herself because she asked questions to her brother Makepeace and her father that questioned her faith. I felt really upset for her as I read this novel because we find out that when her mother died Bethia had to take care of the family and then we find out that her sister Solace drowns herself in the well that they made to help cure Caleb’s father. She then loses her father as he is sailing to England a vicious storm hits the island and the father is killed. I also found it ironic that she wanted to marry Caleb instead of Noah Merry but instead she doesn’t marry either of them and as we continue to read she marries Samuel. - ASar
As I read this novel Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks I found it ironic when Bethia a young girl who tries to teach her religion of the Christian faith to Caleb who she likes and he begins to listen to her but as we continue to read we find out that he continues to pray to his many gods like for example when he prayed to the sun god when they found Solace dead in the well. I also find crazy is that when Bethia tries to spread her religion yet when her family is skinning the whale that got stranded on the beach she can’t watch them skin the whale so she leaves and finds the Wampanoags doing a celebratory dance and feast and Bethia stays and watches them from above becoming fascinated by this. Then when she returns to her campsite she couldn’t sleep so she goes back to the area and dances alone to The Wampanoags drumming. -ASar
I also find this very ironic; this book if anything is not very bias. It shows that both religions can prevail. Caleb only converted because he saw the power of the bible and realized he could only survive if he converted (not true he just had to become Europeanized.) Then it also shows Caleb’s Uncle Tequamuck had the power (coincidence) to kill Bethia’s father with the storm. When Bethia danced with the Wampanoags and felt amazing it showed a mix in faith. Another mix in faith was when Caleb prayed to Keesakand (sun god.) In the beginning of the book Caleb asked some very hard questions for Bethia to answer. For example when Caleb asked about how original sin is fair, or when the tribe asked “if god wanted us in this house (heaven) then he would have sent our ancestors such a book (bible.)” When you look at either religion from the opposite cultures view they just seem ridiculous. -KWie
As I continue to read the first part of this novel we find out that Bethia is having a conversation with Caleb about God. Caleb finds her faith ridiculous which made Bethia consider watching her father preach. Her father agrees to bring her on one of his missionaries and Bethia pretends that she cant speak the language and watches her father preach his sermon while everyone in the community listens and Bethia realizes how he treats everyone with respect. Its is then said a few years have passed and Caleb is getting better and better at reading and speaking English and he tells Bethia that they cant be friends anymore because he is about to start a ritual transformation from boyhood to manhood and that he must go on a path chosen by his visions. Bethia feels that Caleb will be reuniting his soul with the devil so she starts to cry and runs away. I felt sad for Bethia because she lost her best friend but I also felt good inside because she wanted to see her father preach. -ASar
As I start to read part two of Caleb’s Crossing I started to find out that Bethia encounters Caleb by the water who was coming back from the woods and told her that he was greeting his sun god. Bethia is Christian and believes that God created everything so I find it ironic that Caleb would say that God created everything but then he goes on to say that it is okay to sing praising the sun. Later, we find out that Bethia is doing her chores and she feels that they will help her get rid of her sins against her mother which she feels is the reason for her mother’s death. As I continue to read I find that Joel and Caleb become close friends and Bethia becomes really close with Solace her sisiter has she continues to take care of her. I feel that Bethia shouldn’t blame herself for her mother’s death. -ASar
As I continue to read this novel we find out that the Wampanoag’s set up a memorial for Mayfield’s death. Makepeace and Bethia both visit it every day. One day while Bethia and her brother Makepeace are visiting their father’s stone they start to argue with each other about Caleb if he truly changed and if their father was killed by Tequamuck. We start to find out that Makepeace is jealous of Bethia and Caleb because of their success in learning and he also believes that Caleb killed Solace because he was their when they found her dead in the well. Afterwards we find out that Makepeace and Bethia meet with their grandfather who begins to read them their fathers will and reveals that they will be continuing their studies in the school of Master Corlett in Cambridge. I feel sad for Bethia because she lost a lot of people in her family and now she is in a disput with her brother. -ASar
As I begin to read Part three the final part in the novel Caleb’s Crossing we start to find out that Bethia is a lot older now and that she is married to Samuel. Bethia reveals to us that her health is falling but she still has her memories. She starts to read papers that she had written and now reading them she seems that it was foolish to write them. She tries to write for one last time but the pain hurts her but she continues anyway and she talks about how her wedding and that they got married in Italy so Samuel can continue his medical studies. She writes that on their way back from Italy Bethia was pregnant and that she had a boy. She continues to tell us that her son married a daughter of Noah Merry and he became a boat builder. After reading I felt happy for Bethia because she was able to have a son and she was able to witness him become a man and to marry one of Noah’s daughters. -ASar
In the end I wish Bethia married someone else. Even though Samuel was a great guy who understood her and gave her the basic human rights that woman were not given at the time. There are two characters I’d rather her marry, Caleb or Noah. Caleb was like her soul mate, they knew each other’s culture and adapted to each other. I feel if Caleb didn’t die, then this book would of ended differently. Sadly I can’t complain because it is based on a true story and you can’t change history. The person that I most wanted to marry Bethia was Noah. He always visited her when he didn’t have to and asked how everything was. He took special interest in her but sadly she did not have the same feeling back. She did admit he was very funny and handsome and wouldn’t mind being married to him. She is much smarter than him but that isn’t something you can help for example Makepeace. -KWie
I agree with your statements about who Bethia married. I also like Samuel he is a good guy , but I real would love to see Bethia marry Caleb. During the novel, I thought the story was being set up that Caleb and Bethia were going to get married.It just seemed to me that they were the perfect pair , like they were meant to be. They were always around each other and Bethia was even the reason Caleb converted to Catholicism. It just ruined the book a little for me because I wanted to see how Caleb and Bethia's baby was like and how they would raise it. All in all , I'm just happy that Behtia married someone who didn't treat her less then equal and treated her with the respect she deserved to be treated with. I also believe if Caleb didn't die , there would be some sort of love interest between Bethia and Caleb. CPor
Progressing through Brook's novel Caleb's Crossing i am mesmerized by the rapid development and captivating events that take place. Caleb and Bethia's character's both grow and increasingly begin to show adult-like qualities. Bethia's father sadly dies in a tragic accident out at sea. Makepeace should have filled in the father role but he didn't, rather than doing what he was supposed to he sold Bethia to make himself some money. He sold Bethia to work at a school, the school where caleb would attend soon after. Bethia meets an indian girl named Anne who was impregnated before coming to this school and she wants to go back to the island where she was born to have her child so Bethia daringly helps Anne. Bethia returns Anne to the island where she was born and this truly shows that Bethia is not afraid to act on what she believes is right, whether or not it could have gotten her in serious, serious trouble within the society she lives. Caleb also begin's to show adult-like qualities and this second part of this book truly keeps me interested and guessing what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to continue reading and learn more about these two main characters.
The conclusion of Part I reveals Bethia's growth as an individual. We are offered to see her grow into her teenage years. Her personality was more innocent when she had first met Caleb but then she had become curious. Caleb had passed down his stories and knowledge of creatures and plants onto Bethia. Throughout her growth she had returned the favor and taught Caleb how to speak English and about God. Once Caleb had gone away her whole personality and outlook on life had changed. Even though she became a different person she still kept her quality as outgoing and still tried to be with Caleb. This got her killed in the future when she wanted to be a part of the Indian's ritual and drank the poison.
As I read on to Part II Bethia was greeted by Caleb in the woods, who had come back from greeting his sun god. Caleb claims to believe in God the way that Bethia does, that he created everything meanwhile he's worshipping another god, the sun god. Deeper throughout the novel, Bethia starts to do good deeds around the house to make herself feel more comfortable in the situation of her mother's death. Eventually Caleb connects with Joel meanwhile Bethia starts to bond with her sister again as she takes care of her. It's not fair that Bethia should feel the way she does about her mother because it wasn't her fault. She should just let it go and try to move it.
Part 1 In the first section of Caleb's Crossing we are introduced to Bethia, her family and an Indian named Cheeshahteaumauk. We learn about a time in history that is very different from today. During the 1600's women had specific roles that didn't include schooling and classroom learning. Their family would usually choose their husband, and girls would become mothers and servants to the family. They did the housework, chores, and took care of the family; there was no life beyond that, no education. Bethia doesn't agree with this and takes it upon herself to learn as much possible, whatever the cost. She defies her minister, father, and listens to him in secret while he is teaching her brother Makepeace. Because he is a boy he is privileged and has the opportunity to learn and be anything he chooses. Bethia must feel so oppressed. Her brain is like a sponge and she wants to learn. She takes a big risk when she meets the Indian boy she renamed Caleb. She is not supposed to interact with these people unless they turn from their pagan ways and conform to Christianity. She delights in learning about Caleb and his Indian ways; she teaches him about Christianity, and he eventually converts later on. Bethia is intelligent and a nonconformist who is curious and rebellious at the same time. I think she struggles with her Christianity. I believe she is deceived when she drinks the poison because she knew not to do so. It was part of the pagan religion of the Indians. She later blames herself for her mother’s death because she did this. Bethia's character is very deep, controversial, and complex. I can't wait to see how the author is going to develop her character as an adult.
Part 2 In the second part of Caleb's Crossing, Caleb comes to stay at the Mayfield home after his father Nohnoso dies. At first I found this a bit perplexing. Caleb grew up with pagan beliefs and rituals all his life and went through that crazy ritual into adulthood. You would think that he would have stayed with some other Indian family. When a person truly finds our God there is usually a transformation in his/her life that brings them to Christ. Bethia's words must have really touched Caleb. I believe this is the impact that Geraldine Brooks is trying to convey to the reader. Bethia's father teaches Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel and prepares them for higher education. He also continues to preach and bring the gospel to the Indians. Many are converting, however Caleb's uncle Tequamuk installs fear into his people telling them that they would be doomed if they accepted the Christian God. Bethia and Makepeace believe that Tequamuk cursed their father. While setting sail for England to secure money for a new schoolmaster for the Indian school, their father is killed in a horrible storm. As a result of his death, their grandfather secures an agreement with Master Cortlett to have Bethia work at the school as an indentured servant in exchange for Makepeace's education. She unhappily accepts and believes it is her lot in life just as it was to take care of Solace after her mother died. She believes God can use her at the school. Makepeace decides to leave the school because he can't cut it and he is struggling, so he makes a deal with Noah to marry Bethia. She doesn't agree and stays at the school, while cursing her brother. He rats her out and she pays the consequence. He certainly does not show Christianly love for his sister.
I agree with your points. For someone who is so independent and curious, Bethia resigns herself to matters of fate when thinking about the events that happen in her life. She believes all the deaths and dramatic events in her life are God's way of punishing her. And it is funny how Bethia, the child thought to be un-Christian, is the more compassionate, open-minded, and accepting of the two children.
Part 3 In the last part of this novel, Bethia finishes writing the story she began many years prior. She is old and dying and recounts her memories. She marries Samuel Cortlett and works in the college. Makepeace's character changes and he isn't so harsh. Even though he is not ordained he takes his fathers position as a minister, gets married, and has a stepchild. Anne was safe and became a tutor to the Merry girls. Iacoomis, grandfather, and Peter Folger continue father’s work of bringing catechism and teaching school in Manitouwatootan. Bethia has a baby boy, and Joel and Anne marry. Joel is killed on a boat heading back to Cambridge for commencement. I think this was one of the saddest parts in the book. He strived so hard and was going to be valedictorian. He was going to be a minister and wanted to continue schooling to be ordained. I thought it was terrible that Joel wasn't even mentioned at commencement. The other saddest moment of the book is when Caleb died. Both characters overcame so much and strived so hard much like Bethia. Caleb was a Christian, but when he died there was question as to what he really believed while he was dreaming and hallucinating. Bethia surprised me when she went to Tequamuk for help with Caleb. It seriously made me question her faith. Was her father's work in vain? Would God want her to go to a witch doctor for healing? Bethia's character is still as perplexing as it was in the beginning of the book.
It was a relief for me to see Makepeace’s character change for the better. In the first 2 parts of Caleb’s Crossing I thought that it was ironic that someone named “Makepeace” would be such an agitator. I always thought from the moment Caleb converted to Christianity that he only wanted to appear Christian. Or perhaps he legitimately thought he was Christian but just went about it through his old ways. Just like in Part 2 when he said he would get up early every morning to worship the sun god. Just like you were saddened when Joel died and nobody cared: I was infuriated. I literally threw my book across the room and then proceeded to throw A Walk Across the Sun across the room as well. The same exact thing happened with agent DeFoe in Addison’s work. Is it just me or do authors just not care about some characters? -JGen
Concluding the first section of this very influential novel, it's evident that Bethia is no normal girl, especially in a society where male dominance reigns supreme. As the book unravels, I learn that Bethia is a very unique individual. She's not only rebellious but extremely agile as well. Bethia lives in a historic society where women are treated as inferior to man. They do simple house chores and care for their children. Women aren't educated nor given an opportunity to better themselves. In the biased novel the one individual that stands out is the protagonist, Bethia. She fights all odds thrown against her. Through Bethia one can interpret that ,one of, if not the main theme of this story is individuality. Brooks stresses just how hard Bethia fights to educate herself. Bethia does in fact rebel against conformity. She rebels against her father the minister and secretly learns from makepeaces lessons. I interpreted Bethia's drinking of the potion as an experience. Even though she may think she causes her mothers death by drinking this I feel as if Brooks wants the readers to understand that experiences and mistakes are what makes us individuals. Curiosity complements individuality. When Bethia meets Cheeshahteaumauk (soon to be named Caleb), it is a new step in her life. I feel like Brooks' introduction of Caleb to the novel hints the experiences that develop Bethia as an individual. -TNgu
As I wrap up the second part of Caleb's Crossing, Bethia's bond with Caleb strengthens as he is allowed to live with her due to Nohnoso's death. The fact that Caleb was accepted into the household appalled me at first. A boy who is raised with his traditional indian beliefs being accepted into a Puritian household seems almost too good to be true. I believe that Brooks wants her readers to understand the power of individuality. Bethia's strong personality and character evidently rubbed off on Caleb as well as her family. Without Bethia, they never would have allowed Caleb to dwell in their household. Bethia's presence has an alluring impact on the others around her. Throughout the second part of this novel, I feel as though Brook's developes Bethia's father into an amiable individual. As the story goes on, he educates his kids as well as Caleb. Brooks then makes a dramatic turnaround in the novel with the death of the minister. Everything was fine until his death. One can interpret the father's death as the symbolic reality of life. We can interpret Brook's message that life is not easy but we must learn to live on. This is evident when Bethia is forced to work for her brothers education, even though she is more intelligent. The ending of part two of this dramatic novel is mind boggling. Brooks' style of writing keeps the reader curious and thinking. -TNgu
I was also shocked that Caleb was allowed to live at Bethia's house especially that her father is a minister. It's also shocking that Caleb changed his beliefs and turned to Catholicism. Bethia being so unique actually affected her family into being more liberal and allowing Caleb to stay and be part of their family. I also agree Bethia's father is a very iconic character and very noble. The fact that he is teaching his daughter and a Native American boy to be educated. Bethia's father dying had a huge impact on the story because they had no care taker , her brother had to take care of them. I fully agree with the fact that Brooks' style does keep your mind going worrying in anticipation to what happens next. I enjoy the way Brooks' emphasizes individualism and how unique she made Behtia. I agree and enjoy Brooks' style of writing. CPor
After reading the first section , you can see who Bethia is , even though its early in the novel. Bethia lives in a society that is male dominated, where women aren't allowed to be educated. Most of the work women did were work for the men and do housework. Behtia wasn't like most though , she did everything she could do to be educated. Behtia believes she is a sinner though , but she tries to teach a Native American Catholicism. This Native Americans name is Cheeshahteaumauk. Cheeshahteaumauk since being Native American believes in pagan gods. Behtia is very constant in trying to convert Cheeshahteaumauk to Cathlocisim. In her effort to convert Cheeshahteaumauk she changes his name to Caleb. Bethia maybe rebellious but she is very hard on herself. After drinking the potion , she believes that since she drank it thats why her mother died. I see this as just another obstacle she has to overcome CPor
I understand what your saying about Bethia. Shes a non conformist of her time that has taken up some interesting and unique traits. Most women of that time were designated midwives that would have sons, daughters, and care for the family and house. Some women didn't even have a say in who they would marry. Instead a patriarch of the family decided on what man was suitable for that specific women. Also education for women was usually allowed to wealthier citizens of that period. Yet, we have Bethia doing the impossible. She is self teaching herself silently and hungry to be more then a simple midwife. This could be the reason she has taken such an interest in Caleb and showing him the ways of the Lord as you previously said. On the other hand, you are on point about how she puts too much blame on herself for being a sinner and contributing to killing her mother. Hopefully she will understand that she is not this awful sinner she makes herself to be out to.
Upon reading section two, it boggles me a little bit that Bethia's family allows Caleb to enter their house.It shows how different and open-minded , bringing in a Native American into his household and educating his daughter. In this society, both of those things are so uncommon, no one would think about teaching a women education. Nor would anyone bring in a person who believed in many gods. The minister does both though , its very saddening to see him pass though. I saw him as a great leader and father to Bethia and in a way Caleb as he educated him as well. Once the minister died though , nothing was the same. Bethia's brother got the education instead of her, which shows what they thought of women back then because Bethia was much smarter. This is just another obstacle Bethia and Caleb have to overcome. Bethia already is a women in a male dominated society who went against the rules and became educated and Caleb is a Native American in a white dominated society. CPor
Upon concluding the final part of the novel , it fast forwards to when Bethia is now old. A lot has changed in the time from the end of part two to the beginning of part three. Bethia is married to Samuel , Caleb and Joel both die.Although I like Samuel , I'd much rather Bethia marry someone else like Caleb , throughout the story I though that was what was going to end up happening. The deaths of both Caleb and Joel were saddening to me. The hardships both of them went through were a lot and to see both of them die was sad. Joel was on his way to graduate at head of the class , it was an honor he deserved and it was sorrowing that he never got to receive it. Caleb it was sad because he went through so much a transition from a believer in many gods to convert to Catholicism. Caleb got questioned about what he believed at the end after death , when he had many dreams. CPor
Part two of Caleb’s Crossing was definitely better than part one because character introductions were out of the way and the storyline started to make more sense. Geraldine Brooks truly grabs the reader’s attention because I feel that at this point any important character can pass away. The author introduces Caleb’s transition from his Native American belief of polytheism to monotheism. In Caleb’s case, any family will have that one family member to disagree with your choices. Even though Caleb’s decisions did not seem right to Caleb’s uncle at the time, Caleb knew it was the right path for him in his quest for knowledge. Another character that didn’t seem to be making the right choices was Makepeace as he arranged for Bethia to work for Master Corlett. I feel horrible for Bethia because it seems like she is slowly losing everything that she ever cared about. Bethia only wanted to be able to make her own decisions for her future but was basically given the opposite. This is a complete injustice to Bethia because it is stifling her intellect and it is a reprehensible offense to waste such intelligence.
I agree with the fact that part 2 was definitely easier to read. The plot certainly begins to make more sense. I like that you stated that you feel as if at this point any character can pass away. It makes me feel as if I were watching Game of Thrones. Also, I am glad to see that Caleb has converted to Christianity. This act shows that like Bethia, Caleb is not afraid to follow his own path. Just because Caleb was born into the polytheistic faith, that doesn’t mean that he truly believes in these gods. I like that Bethia desire to be unique has rubbed off on Caleb. Though Caleb’s uncle doesn’t agree with his choice, I am delighted that Caleb continued. Not everyone is going to like what you do and that is OK. As long as you are proud of the choices you make that is all that counts. Furthermore, I agree with the point you bring up about Makepeace. I think as a brother, he was being a tad bit to harsh on Bethia. He should be showing her love and support rather than punishing her for wanting to take control of her own future. In my opinion, Bethia is being unfairly treated.
Bethia appears to be much more complex then she seems during the first few chapters. When reading "Caleb's Crossing," by Geraldine Brooks, I was reminded of the time period and how different a woman's place was back in the colonial times of the 1600s. So everything Bethia seemed to do was in many ways remarkable. Possessing many traits of her mother, she grew to be a fast learner and silent learner. However, this as looked down upon in society as well by her father and brother. Both of these male dominating figures tried to suppress her talent into a mere form of just a simple mid wife. Its shocking really to compare our two different cultures now. In today's world, a girls talent would be supported and expressed. Not shunned and ignored, especially by her family. Despite this, I love Bethia's reaction to what her family said. She knows its wrong, but keeps learning silently and does not want to grow up to be fully like her midwife mother. That is why I love Bethia because she reflects a modern rebel or maverick. Bethia even be friends Caleb which would be abnormal for that time.She takes on the challenge of her life and position in society.
I definitely see what you’re saying about Bethia being such a great learner. Someone that intelligent should never be held back by a “male-dominating” society because any person that smart can prominently contribute to his or her community. Her father and brother were only looking out for themselves at times, which angered me. If these men were brought to the future in our society they would definitely be surprised by the rights and equality women today have. I was moved by Bethia’s motivation to get smarter and secretly learn what her father had been teaching her brother. Even most people today aren’t that thrilled to learn, let alone sneak around satisfying their thirst for knowledge. I guess it is just human nature to desire what you don’t have, which is another reason for Bethia to make friends with Caleb. She knows what she is doing is wrong when she secretly meets with him but persists anyway because to her it is the right thing to do. This is clearly why I have such a strong admiration for Bethia. -DMcA
In Part 3, I was saddened to see Caleb fall to his illness. Of all the characters he was my favorite. He didn’t blindly accept ideas that people told him he always thought his own way while being open to the ideas of others. He was the type of person to act on his own reason which is a trait that is lacking in today’s world. It was good to see Bethia get her freedom back and marry Samuel. That seemed to be one of the few things that actually go well for her. As far as the novel itself goes, I personally hated this book. Caleb’s Crossing was difficult to read between the Native American words mixed in with the pretentious/complex English. It was certainly no help that the plot was told in the form of flashbacks. However the flashback perspective does give us the opportunity to see how things unfolded in the long run since Bethia was writing many years later and she welcomed death. She sadly believed she was going to hell to for all the things she believed she did wrong. -JGen
I like and agree 100% with what James said in his blog. It is all very true especially because Caleb is also my favorite character in this book. he was his own person and didn't listen to what people told him to do. I'm many ways he was like Bethia. I also agree with James when he was talking about how difficult the book was to read. the flashback even tho they did help at some parts, they were confusing and difficult to understand along with the native american language/traditions. even tho it had a good plot, setting, time period and characters i did not personally enjoy the book as much as id like to.
As many of my fellow classmates have discussed already, we see major developments in the characters of Bethia and Caleb. In some ways they even seem to be replicating Calvinist minister Mayfield. At the very start of this section we see Caleb's full transformation into the Catholic religion from his clothing to the way he acts. When Bethia finally recognizes him, she notices that he is wearing a good plain doublet, a jerkin, a white linen collar, and boots looking like a younger vision of Bethia‘s father. He even starts to sing in tune with everyone during the sermon. Moreover, his biggest change was done to his hair which was cut short symbolizing his conversion to Christianity. We must also take into consideration that in colonial times people found this in some ways appalling as the Alden’s did. Picture walking into a room where everyone judged you on your ethic background. Its uncomfortable to deal with as well as brave to face. Hence, it was brave for Bethia’s father to take Caleb under his wing as well as Caleb taking the risk by living with the Mayfield’s. In addition, we see how Bethia matures into a woman after her father’s death. Bethia makes the choice to help Anne escape back to the island just like her dad would of done. Another example of Bethia’s maturity is when she deals with her backstabbing brother and falls upon Caleb to fill in that spot as brother and protector. As a result, these characters become deeply developed into excellent role models that I truly care for.
I have to say, after the completion of this rather complex novel, I began to admire just how well writen Caleb's Crossing was. The intricate and delicate way Brooks developed the characters made us feel an emotional connection to them. The book wraps up with Bethia living happily with her son and Makepeace reforms himself towards the ending, changing to a better individual. I feel as if throughout the novel as a whole, aside from religious beliefs, Individuality really stands out. Brooks develops each and every character in the story as we read what kind of person they are. She further expands on Caleb's, Makepeace's, and Bethia's individuality as the book unravels. Caleb's conversion to Christianity prove just how much he's changed throughout the story. Makepeace's transformation is what stands out to me the most. In the beginning of the story he was the one I expected least to change, being a follower not a leader. Last but not least, we read about Bethia's development throughout the novel. She changes from being a rebellious, childish kid to a mature and sophisticated individual. I have to say Caleb's Crossing was a very intriguing book. Brooks really pushes her readers to think throughout Caleb's Crossing. I have learned a great moral lesson to follow what I believe in, not the crowd. My take on this book is that individuality is important because it's what makes us unique, it's what makes us humans. -TNgu
After finishing part 1, I was intrigued to see the character development that took place. We meet Bethia, a well-informed, intelligent, and independent young girl. This is extremely uncharacteristic for the time period, as young girls were restricted to learning their chores and to never enrich themselves with knowledge or to learn different subjects as it is seen as rude by them to show the same knowledge a man knows. The most interesting part of this section was Bethia meeting the young native Cheeshahteaumauk. As they keep bumping into each other, Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk debate their beliefs and customs. through their conversations, we are posed with the question: Can the Christian God be seen in the gods of the natives, and vice versa? It was interesting to me to see that after they got friendly, Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk exchange names for each other, Bethia giving Cheeshahteaumauk the name Caleb and Cheeshahteaumauk giving Bethia the name Storm Eyes. It is sad, however, to see Bethia reluctant to continue being friends with Caleb and both teaching and learning from him. Her sect of Christianity dictates this friendship would be honoring false gods and dishonoring her mother and father. However, it is only natural for a teenager to want to learn of new cultures as they mature, making Bethia second guess herself. DBer
Part 2 leads to many interesting plot developments. Caleb ends up coming to live among the Englishmen, and stuns the community when he is one of Bethia's father's top students. He excels at every task put in front of him. Makepeace, Bethia's brother, even comes to see some jealousy towards Caleb. Things could be going better for Bethia, however. Her younger sister, Solace, who she is charged with the care of, drowns in a deep puddle while unattended. Bethia's father also dies in a shipwreck while out at sea. Bethia pins all these uncontrollable events on herself, seeing them as consequences for sinning and becoming friends with Caleb. Bethia and Makepeace are orphans overnight. Their grandfather can put Makepeace through college, only if Bethia agrees to indeture herself to Mr. Corlett, who works at the college. Bethia agrees, seeing as her punishment for her sins. It was interesting to see Bethia's motherly instincts kick in when Anne came to board with her in the kitchen at the college. She nurtured the shy Native American girl through a pregnancy and defended her when she was presumed to be potentially sleeping around with local men or students. It was nice to see a genuine romance blossom between her and Corlett's son Samuel, after seeing her intial reluctance and not wanting to marry anyone and try to cling to some shred of independence forever. DBer
Geraldine Brooks wrote a touching novel called "Caleb's Crossing." It was an incredible experience through the eyes of Bethia and Caleb during colonial times. They grew to become unique friends that went against a patriarch society of the 1600s which looked down upon them. Throughout the story we see them bond over experiences and journeys. We see how Bethia continues to be a rambunctious woman of her time that disregards societies place for her. When she got a kitchen job at Harvard, she was clever enough to leave a hatch open to further her knowledge and education. Similar, Caleb acted in the same way by being a native American that picks up Christianity and graduates Harvard university as the first Native American ever. Brooks ends this with a bitter, sweet taste. Caleb passes away shortly after graduating at the side of Caleb. However, Bethia continues to live her life back on the island with her family. Their friendship will last for eternity and neither shall ever forgot each other. Brook's novel gave me a message to be unique no matter what and die accomplishing your goals. This novel really was beautiful and could not be happier to read it. -KDra
As the novel began we find out that she had lost one of her brothers during a miscarriage. Also, she lost a seven year old brother named Zuriel who died in an accident . Her Mother died due to the miscarriage but Bethia blames herself because she asked her brother Makepeace and her father so many questions, who also questioned her faith. I felt terrible for her as I read this novel because, as readers, we find out that when her mother died, Bethia had to take care of the family and we then find out that her sister Solace drowns herself in the well that they made to help cure Caleb’s father. She then loses her father when the island is hit by a massive storm. I also found it ironic that she wanted to marry Caleb instead of Noah but instead marries Samuel
Part 3 wrapped up all the major points presented to us throughout the novel. It was interesting to see how different all of our characters ended up being. Bethia, who intitially detested the idea at first, ended up marrying Samuel and have a child, Ammi Ruhama. Joel marries Anne, the sheepish girl Bethia cared for during her time as a servant. Caleb graduated from college, along with Joel and Makepeace, who saw a drastic change in his personality, becoming very light hearted. Bethia contiunes writing in her old age, talking of how Joel died at sea, and Caleb is dying of old age/fever. Bethia also feels her death coming, feeling weaker as time goes on. What stuck out to me was the question Bethia posed after the death of Caelb. Was he received in Christian Heaven, or did his spirit go west, like his people believed. Caleb can be seen in that respect, as a man with no identity, since after all he went through in life, the Native American rituals, and an eventual conversion to Christianity, there is no certainty where his spirit would be received, and that is alittle upsetting to me as a reader. DBer
Your points are excellent, however I feel that Bethia's questionable choice of going to see Tequamuk isn't neccessarily her doubting her faith, but her showing her humanity. She was scared of the thought of Caleb dying, so she was trying to do whatever was in her power to save her friend. Like James said, its compareable to when Caleb would pray to his sun god, yet had already converted to Christianity. I was howvever, annoyed that Bethia chooses to not disclose what it was Tequamuk told her, and what Caleb and her said to each other before he passed on, making one final crossing. DBer
It is refreshing to see how far we have come as a society. After reading part one of Brooks’ novel, it is shocking to see the difference in the role of women. During this male dominated time period, women were expected to do household work as well as take care of their husbands and children. Women were not allowed to be educated. After reading about Bethia, she appears to possess the traits of a rebel. Bethia is an avid and eager learner. She looks to expand her education even though it is frowned upon but not only by society, but also her own family as well. Both her father and brother attempt to cleanse Bethia of her talent in hopes that she will take on the roll of a mid wife. It is depressing to see a family completely disapprove of a child’s talent rather than encourage her to peruse her dreams. I admire Bethia for disobeying the beliefs of society. With out objectors, how would society develop? Bethia continues to improve her knowledge and even friends an Indian boy named Cheeshahteaumauk. People of this society are not supposed to interact with those of other cultures. It is pleasing to see this young girl follow what she believes in. You should be able to be yourself and not have the beliefs of others corrupt you.
As the novel opens up we are able to see how challenging the daily life is for a family in the 17th century. Not even 10 pages in and Bethia's mother and brother are both death. This shows how valuable human life really is and the importance of friends and family for that time. Blaming her mothers death on sinful thoughts is outrageous yet really harsh for a young girl to think. In a community like that education is very limited and by visiting a native American like Cheeshahteaumauk her need for knowledge has the opportunity to be satisfied. Especially for a women education is very limited, she is expect to do things like tend to her home and her husband, learning science and history isn't seen to serve any purpose. Religion on the other hand is way more dominate from a readers perspective. After becoming comfortable with him, she begins to teach Cheeshahteaumauk Christianity. This was a breaking point in the book because it demonstrated how open each of them were. He even accepted the name of Caleb, a companion of Moses during the Jews exile from Egypt. Not only is Caleb open to the teachings of Christianity but Bethia is open to the religious customs of the natives. Disregarding everything she was told to believe she gladly listens about Caleb's pagan religion, not because she has faith in the religion, but because she has respect for Caleb and his people. Together they represent the potential bond that the English and Natives could have if they settled their differences. ARai
i believe Bethia is not like all the other girls of her era. She reminds me of the mavericks who fought and continue to fight for women's equality. She wants to learn and become more cultured than the other women in her community. Her rebellious side is what fuels the fight for her right to be equal and know what the boys know. She really goes against the odds and has great tenacity from constantly being ridiculed and put-down by the men in her community.
Upon completion of Part III Anne and Bethia are finally living freely again. Bethia has gained her natural rights back and isn't compelled to do anything. Bethia continues her family line to Sam and has grandchildren, due to all of these children Bethia was able to improve her knowledge because of school. Meanwhile, Anne is intact with her child. Caleb's passing was extremely upsetting to me because he was an honorable man. He helped Bethia fight through her struggles and improved her life. This is the kind of book that leads you on to wanting to know what's going to happen with the plot and the characters, it shows each character through their worst and their best, one of the best books I have definitely ever read.
I totally agree. I am so glad to see that Bethia is doing so well for herself. While I thought she was going to end up marrying Caleb, I am pleased she ended up with Samuel. Bethia is now able to live a free life and chase after her dreams. I agree with you that Caleb was an honorable man. He stood up for what he believed in. He wasn’t afraid to question himself and make decisions on his own. I was saddened by his death. It is terrible to lose a character that has been with you for the entire story. I really took a liking to Caleb. Also, I too am glad to have read a book that takes you through the journey of self-growth. While this is not one of my favorite books I have ever read, I am glad to see a fellow classmate enjoy what was a pretty good story.
In the first part of the book Bethia is having a conversation with Caleb about God. He finds her faith obserd which made Bethia question what she beieves in. Her father agrees to bring her on one of his missionaries and she watches her father preach his sermon while everyone in the community listens. she then realizes the way he treats his listeners. A few years later Caleb has gotten better at reading and speaking English. He then has to explain to Bethia that they cant be friends anymore because he is about to start a Native American journey from boyhood to manhood and that he must go on a path chosen by his visions. Bethia feels that Caleb will be reuniting his soul with the devil. I felt really bad for Bethia because she lost someone so close to her. -JGra
Concluding part two we see a more dramatic and shocking shift taking place within the story. I've never thought about how evident death actually is back in those days. Throughout the course of the book Bethia has already lost her mother, brother, and now her father. Although his death was very tragic I saw a lot of good come out of it. Some may disagree with me but when the Englishmen and Natives came together to place white rocks as a symbol of his resting place it was situation where origin didn't matter. It was truly a step in the right direction for the relations between the two communities. Also we begin to see how rebellious Bethia is compared to the other women of her time. Not only does she spend immense time with Caleb, a native American, she is eager to learn more than expect from a soon to be midwife. Similar to Bethia, Caleb is also incredibly motivated to reach beyond his boundaries. Even though he is looked down upon being an Indian he still shares the common virtues of the Englishmen. Makepeace on the other hand represents the stereotypical Englishman doubting the abilities of the Indians. This mentality is a major set back because both communities would benefit from the help of one another. I am also glad to see that Anne escaped back to the island with the help of Bethia. Understanding what her father would have done she took action and gave Anne her deserved freedom and right to live the way she chooses. ARai
How tough this must be for Bethia! After the completion of part 2 of Brook’s novel, I find myself feeling both sorrow and pride. After the death of his father, Makepeace takes charge of Bethia. Makepeace plans to sell his sister into marriage. He believes that marriage will help to benefit Bethia’s future. From early on in the novel, we are able to see that Bethia is a unique individual. She is a rebellious young lady. Her desire to be unique only adds fuel to the fire in her fight with her brother. Makepeace punishes his sister by selling her to Master Corlett as an indentured servant. While staying with Corlett, Bethia is introduced to Ann, a young pregnant woman. Bethia once again shows her rebellious lifestyle when she helps get Ann out of school. I am pleased to see that Bethia’s desire to be unique positively affects the lives of others. She helps people like Caleb and Ann find who they really are. I like the way Bethia has developed. She has grown up without losing touch with her self. Her personality remains constant as she ages.
After finishing Caleb’s Crossing, I was filled with mixed emotions. Throughout reading this book I have always seen the connection that Caleb and Bethia shared. I wanted them to end up together because the two shared a special bond. They had basically defied their parents by meeting with each other and from the start I thought that their relationship would continue to grow. It was a huge accomplishment being the first Native American to graduate from Harvard especially with the language barriers overcoming adjusting to new living conditions. At one point Bethia had overheard Englishmen saying how fortunate the Indians were to be living in Cambridge. Bethia was “galled” by this statement because she knew that the Native Americans had lived in more spacious living conditions and had better access to food in comparison. I believe that Caleb had achieved goals by “earning success by those who had been swiftest to dismiss him.” Although Caleb was truly a hero for his people, someone who shared this quality was Joel who was just as great of a young man as Caleb. In the beginning of Geraldine Brook’s story it was harder for me to understand as well since she had Bethia going back and forth between past and present. Later on the story became more compelling and I started to enjoy this great book. -DMcA
Part 3 begins with Bethia talking about her happiness once she returned to the island several years before and starting a family with Samuel. She describes how she and Samuel married, went to Europe to enable Samuel to study medicine, and had a son, the first of several descendants. Bethia also describes how Caleb and Joel's studies transcended the racially-defined judgments and negative attitudes imposed upon them by their teachers and their fellow students, raising them to the top of the class. Shortly before their graduation, Joel is murdered by natives resentful of white incursions into their territory and spirituality, while Caleb falls ill with tuberculosis. A desperate visit made by Bethia to Caleb's uncle, a powerful pawaaw (medicine man) results in her being given the means to give Caleb a comfortable death. The book draws to a close describing Bethia's claim that the story she has told in these pages is not a story of triumph, but a lament.
Brooks really knows how to throw the reader a curveball. Upon completion of the novel, I am truly shocked by the events that have unfolded. I would have bet money that Bethia would have married Caleb. The two just seemed so right for each other. I would like to point out that I am glad Bethia married Samuel Corlett. Bethia is now free to chase her own dreams. She is able to take full advantage of her unique personality. Additionally, I was shocked to see the amount of death. Joel was ambushed and killed. Even more surprising, Caleb suffered a slow and painful death. His illness was got the best of him. On a positive note, I was glad to see the development of Bethia throughout the story. Brooks was able to provide the reader with a great tale of person development. Overall, I wouldn’t say this was one of my favorite books, but the development of the characters really kept me going.
(Part 1)
ReplyDeleteI feel that Bethia puts too much blame on herself for the death of her mother. She feels that this is her punishment for committing sins of idolatry and temptation, despite her awareness of her sins. Bethia's temptation begins as she meets a Native American named Cheeshahteaumauk. She spends many childhood days together with him, communicating fluently thanks to the lessons she overheard from her father. One interesting aspect of the Native American culture is how they are renamed. Instead of sticking to one name for life, their names come and go as they find a more suitable one. Bethia's desire to teach Christianity to Cheeshahteaumauk is more clear than ever when she renames him Caleb, the companion of Moses. I found it odd that how, with Bethia's deep faith in God, she feels that she is sinning merely by learning of the pagan gods. She is simply curious, yet she feels her curiosity of another's culture is the temptation of Satan. This is especially puzzling considering her primary goal is to teach Caleb and convince him of the one true English God. Despite her teachings, Caleb remains critical and questions the stories, leading to her (indirectly) asking her father for advice. This conversation with her father is what I feel leads to her true temptation: the knowledge of the white hellebore and the visions that an overdose of this plant produce. When helping out her father, she comes across and drinks of this, leading to her encounter with Satan.
I have to agree and disagree with you on the points you have mentioned. I agree that you said that Bethia does put to much blame on herself for her rebellious acts and her mother's death. It could be because she is pressuring herself or fom the pressure of her father. She knows he wants her to be the average woman when she grows older. Her actions prove that she is her own person and I like that about her because it shows she has a mind of her own and that she does not fall into the ways of everyone else. I also have to disagree with you about lack of awareness for her sins. She does confess to herslef that she is doing the wrong things and she is aware of the punishments that could follow. I believe that she is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. I also believe her temptations exist because of her rebellious personality and because she is young and can just be curious. For the most part, she follows her way of life and continues to revolt against her father and his ways as well as being adventurous.
Delete- ACar
I have to agree with you on your statement I to feel that Bethia is someone who is very critical of herself. She is someone who gives new meaning to the phrase that "Curiosity kills the cat." She feels that through her curiosity she is sinning and God is punishing her for it. But that is something that she cannot be blamed for, there are too many catalysts in the story that would cause her to feel this way for blame to solely be put on her. there is the fact that her father is the minister of the community, and the person trying to convert the Wampanoag tribe to their Catholic faith. There is the community itself, which is one where you are considered a "dirty sinner" if you believe in any other faith than the Catholic faith. This is obviously not the case, she is simply entering the age where when we see something we don't fully understand, we build a desire to want to learn more about it, which eventually is what drove her to drink from the hellebore. What she needs to understand and I feel she will understand later as she matures, is that just because of her curiosity doesn't make her a sinner, it is simpy a part of her growing up.
Delete-JAss
I Also believe that she may be putting far too much blame on herself. In the society that she lives in you could very simply miss a Sunday mass and be criticized and branded a sinner and a believer of Satan. It is very easy to start being superstitious in a community such as this. If she does believe that the murdered her own mother by merely writing down her cruel and satanic thoughts to understand them, It is completely understandable. I’m not saying that she should believe that she did that but it is understandable because she was brought up by a catholic priest in the times of the pilgrims where even a change in the weather could call upon the death of another innocent live based off of an allegation made by an angry farmer that can’t grow his crops. Her mother’s death was a tragedy but none the less not Betia’s tragedy.
DeleteI think Bethia is essentially misplacing guilt in blaming herself for her mother's death. When I started the book, I remember thinking how ridiculous it was for Bethia to assume her mother's death could be caused by her own sins. However, after reading on I noticed that some of the book's central ideas seemed far more ridiculous than a teenager misplacing blame. In the context of her life, one so removed from society that it had only religion to find order within, it seems very plausible that she would believe it was her fault. She was conflicted and acting out of extreme guilt. But her mother died from a fever, not because of Bethia's unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
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DeleteI do agree with this statement, Bethia is too hard on herself death is just one of the natural order of things in this world, death is inevitable and there is nothing that anybody can do to stop it from occurring. I also agree with Steve most societies were out of touch and with this also including the nATIVE american tribes of the early America's makes it no different they were very out of touch and only to themselves for many years until the Europeans came in and took the land. They only believed in religion and with any tragedy or triumph it was based that the God or gods were responsible for it. her mother was ill not because she sinned and any illness back way then was incurable in most cases.
DeleteThere are multiple parts in part one of Caleb's Crossing that surprised me. I did not expect Bethia to react so kindly when she first met Caleb, being a ministers daughter and growing up in a town where they are constantly taught day in and day out that the Native Americans are Devil worshiping sinners one would expect her to be very scared and not want to deal with this person at all. Bethia does just the opposite of what would be expected of her and decides to befriend this stranger and try to teach him the ways of Christianity. Not only does she try to teach him about God but she also takes interest in his religion and listens to him teach her about his Gods, knowing that if anyone from her village found out about this she would be in great amounts of trouble because she would be learning about the devil from one of his followers. The most shocking part of part one is not just her interaction with Caleb and her learning about the pagan religion but is when she decides to drink from the gourd that belongs to the pawaaw. She directly defies everything she has ever been taught and decides to take part in a pagan ritual in which she drinks from a hollowed gourd filled with a poison that causes her to have visions which the Native American believe are caused by their Gods.
ReplyDelete-Gnea
I was not surprised by much in this section. Her interaction with Caleb is a major reason Bethia is characterized as rebellious. Bethia is smarter than most women and even some men in her society. She does not want to conform to the typical role of a woman in her community. She wants to be a leader and contribute something to her society. She wants to have a men’s role and not conform to a woman’s role in her community. By learning about Caleb’s religion, she is being herself. The learning of his religion is rebellious, but not because she wants to become part of his religion. She is a smart girl and a learner. Bethia wants to learn about the world and other societies. Also, by drinking the pawaaw, she is also learning by discovering rituals and drinks of Caleb’s culture. Bethia’s interaction with Caleb is not a surprise because of her rebellious attitude and her love for learning.
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I can see both of your points while reading this section. Upon first reading i thought the Bethia would not be so open minded to the Native American but as i later reflected i could easily see why she was so open to a man that is outside her society. I did not believe that she was teaching him about her religious views but in return she go tot learn about his religion, so she gained the knowledge she is always striving to learn about. i can agree that the most shocking scene in the book was when she drank from the gourd. Learning about a religion is one thing, but partaking in the spiritual events of the opposite religion is not right. Bethia is rebellious and wants to know more and more so i believe that is what made her drink from the, but it was definitely shocking.
Delete-aaci
I agree, I was also very surprised to see how Bethia and Cabel bonded throughout this section. They are both from completely different worlds and brought up to fear one another yet they still choose to become close friends. I believe that its the fact that society tells them they can not be friends that draws them so close together. In other words opposites attract. Its this rebellious temptation that makes it so hard to resist. Their curiosity for one another grows within each encounter. What interests me the most is their views on religion. Im surprised to how open Caleb is to the concepts of Christianity. Bethia being told all her life that Indians are pagan devil worshipers doesn't mind when Cabel tells her of his religious customs. Im also very impressed with some of the responses Cabel has to Bethias teachings of Christianity. When Bethia explains the concept of heaven and hell, Cabel shocks me with a very intelligent argument. He brings up the point that why would God create a hell if he intends on all humans to live a sinful life, why even give humans the option to sin if they are to be punished for it by God who gave them that right in the first place. This goes to show that the Indians are not as dumb as everyone in the colony thinks they are. They are a force to be reckoned with.
DeleteARai
I disagree with being surprised about how Bethia and Caleb reacted to each other. Bethia is of a rebellious age, she wants to push the limits of what she can and cant get away with, in her society it is extremely judgemental and strict and she wants to see how far she can go before they take action. I believe she took part in the ceremonies to explore another culture and she was so curious about his culture because she was raised to believe that Cabel's culture was full of devil worshipers and terrible people. Caleb was also interested in Bethia's religious views and wanted to see what Christianity was like. I disagree with Anthony Rainero about the colony thinking that the Indians are dumb, rather i just think they have different religious views. The Indians are far from dumb and the colony knows it, they just avoid each other and talk eachother down because their religious views are conflicted.
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When I first encountered Bethia in the beginning of the story, I thought that she had extremely rebellious personality that are in the work. What's interesting about this is that Bethia acts as many of us would now and to me, as the reader, I see truly how different society was back during the time this work is set. As the work begins to pick up and I begin to meet the rest of Bethia's family, I saw that Bethia wanted to be able to pursue knowledge and be able to be her own person. Eventually, her father and brother both disagreed to teach her, which probably was the cause for her pursuit of it in any way she may be able to seize it. This became even more apparent when she met the Native American whom toke the name Caleb. She came from a society that didn't tolerate any interaction with these people, unless they came to accept the "English God", or our one true God and give up their familiar spirits. Another thing that made this extremely bizarre and against the society of their day was that Bethia, the daughter of a minister, would have interaction with and begin the teachings of this young Native American man. Bethia is a very complex character, because she goes against what she was to taught, which was to take any haste to stay away from the Native Americans and instead befriended them and began to teach him. - JStr
ReplyDeleteI have to partially agree with you. I agree with the fact that Bethia has an urge to learn, however , I view Bethia's "rebellious" attitude as more of a curious attitude than anything. I see the interactions with Caleb, and the intense discussions they had, as ways for Bethia to learn more about other religions, rather than rebel against her father. When she saw the whale washed up on the shore, she stated that she was drawn in by the music, rather than saying she is rebelling against her father. As for befriending Caleb, I seem to think that, that is her fathers fault. She would always watch her father attempt to convert the Native Americans, and treat them with respect, while the rest of the white community would treat them with a lack of respect. But who knows, maybe Bethia really means to be rebellious against her father and brother, but through reading, I seem to think that she is more curious.
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I have read both of your responses and I think we can all agree that Bethia is a curious rebel. Her curiosity stems from her young age and desire for exploration. I see her curious nature when she drinks the potion and hallucinates severely. Bethia didn't know the effects of the potion and wanted to try it out for herself. As we grow up, we learn from our mistakes and Bethia completely acknowledges her sin of drinking the potion. Her rebellious nature stems from her role in society. Women in Puritan society are treated as servants who perform meaningless tasks with no required education. Bethia doesn't want to be a normal girl who gets treated as a slave. She wants to be educated like her brother. In doing so, she willingly listens to her father's teachings and learns other languages even though she is forbidden. I believe she is being rebellious when she listens because she wants to be more than her role in society. She knows that men are more powerful than women in Puritan society because they are educated. Bethia believes that if she were educated she would be treated as an equal to her brother.
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I agree with what you have said. I feel that Bethia's denial of a further pursuit of knowledge is what causes her to seek more information from Caleb. I see them both as two youths who don't understand why their respective factions are at odds with eachother, and are an example that if we are given the chance to hear a different person out, we can find they have something to contribute.
DeleteIn the first part of Caleb's Crossing, Bethia shows us that she is not going to be the girl that is expected of her in her community, starting off with the fact that she is learning different languages that her father is teaching her brother, Makepeace. She is also learning is quicker than him, which is like a slap in the face to him because women were seen as lesser than men in her society. Also, when Bethia befriends the young Native American boy, Caleb, it shows that she has a bit of a rebellious side because she was told not to interact with the Native Americans becuase of their beliefs of polytheism and witchcraft, which was different than what was taught to her by her father, who was a minister. Bethia and her father were called upon to visit Caleb's village when someone was sick, and they asked Bethia's father to try and heal him. This is where Bethia committed a sin so horrible that she feels it is the reason why her mother died. Bethia drank some of a potion that was conjured up for Caleb to drink. It is believed to turn boys into men, and it is very strong. Caleb told her about it, and she wondered what is was since then. She takes a small sip, and immediately feels its powers. She trips out, and then falls asleep. Bethia is trying to learn about the world on her own, and its clear that it is not going to be too easy for her. She is a very complex character, and I am seeing this more and more as I read further into the work.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I do not understand is if the white hellebore potion is used in the ritual to become a man and makes you throw up and hallucinate, why would they give it to a sick man? This is a very foolish thing in my opinion and I am surprised why the Native Americans don’t realize that. Europeans did believe that vomiting helped get rid of a disease but I think that was in Ancient Greece and didn’t carry to the 1600’s. Also Bethia says that she gives him the same herbs already given, and bloodletting doesn’t work. How did the Native American recover? It was said he recovered by prayer but prayer didn’t save Caleb’s village that was ravaged by disease. We always hear about how the Native Americans were killed by the European diseases but I wonder why we never hear about if any Native American diseases killed Europeans?
Delete-KWie
After reading the first part of Caleb's Crossing, I have become more aware of the difficulties for families living in early America. The Mayfield family is an average family that I find struggles more than others. They have a hard time keeping up with their food supply because of failure to produce crops and maintain a healthy livestock. Similarly, the family members begin dying as well. Bethia is a young and courageous girl who opens up to being a "mindful" sinner as well as a murderer which is the cause of her mother's death. Her father is a Calvinist minister seeking converts from the Wampanoag. Ironically, Bethia befriends one of them. His name is Caleb and the two of them meet with each other religiously. Speaking of religion, each time they meet, Bethia shares a story from the Bible with Caleb including the story of Moses. Every minute they are together, their bond becomes stronger. Unfortunately, this is not the same for Bethia at home. She fights with her brother and disobeys her father for putting too much pressure on her. Even thought they fight, they remain together because they love each other and need each other to survive.
ReplyDelete- ACar
I agree with all the valid points you have stated. I didn't realized the hardships that people had to go through trying to make a new life for themselves in the Americas. Not only was average daily tasks difficult but Bethia's family also had to deal with the deaths of her Mother and Brother. I was also surprised at how quickly Bethia was able to accept and befriend a Native american boy since she was the daughter of the man trying to convert these people. Not only did she talk to this boy but she was interested in learning the ways of his people. Lastly i was surprised at how Makepeace acts towards his sister and the Native Americans. One would think that since he grew up in the house of a preacher he would learn to be more accepting her and not be so nasty. He also has a very bad attitude toward the natives. Even though his fathers mission is to convert these people Makepeace looks down on them and does not want to accept them.
DeleteTo start off, I found Part 2 of Caleb's Crossing much easier to read than Part 1. It had much more to it, starting off with Makepeace trying to sell Bethia into marriage so that he could leave the school and not feel bad about indenturing his sister and not holding up his part of the deal. He wants to leave because he realized that he is not as intelligent as the rest of the boys, Caleb included. Bethia is furious, and curses Makepeace. She later is given punishment by Master Corlett and that punishment is delivered by no other than Makepeace. During her stay as an indentured servant, I have realized that she wants no part of her brother, and starts to become closer to Caleb. Caleb starts to seem like a brother to her, helping her make decisions about who to marry, and asking her what she really wants. Bethia is asked to be married by Master Corlett's son, Samuel, but they are interrupted by Anna, who is having a miscarrige. Bethia helps Anna through it, and figures out that she was impregnated many months ago. To protect her, she smuggles her out of the school and back to her island. Caleb is furious, and Bethia tells him to let it go for now, and he does. Without even knowing it, Bethia is taking up the role of a caregiver while she is at the school; helping Anne through the miscarrige, giving advice to Caleb, and helping Master Corlett avoid any legal charges that he may have came across in the crime with Anne. Also, the bond between Caleb and Bethia continues to grow. Maybe what Bethia really wants is Caleb, and him asking her that is a foreshadowing to something in Part 3 of the book.
ReplyDelete-GDiC
I agree with the points you have said above. Firstly, Makepeace was a fool for selling his sister as an indentured servant to Master Corlett, and Makepeace decides to stop his studies since he cannot complete and keep up with his work. If he had a struggle to learn from the beginning when his father taught him then why sell out your sister for nothing? I guess Makepeace wanted to continue and make his deceased father proud. Secondly, it is strongly agreed that Bethia seems to have a stronger bond to Caleb than her brother Makepeace. Bethia sees Caleb as Zuriel, whom was the brother she truly loved more than Makepeace. With the whole Anne thing, Bethia was smart enough to make the decision for Anne to leave elsewhere. Otherwise, Anne would indeed have to deal with the court and their biased power. Lastly, I see why you say Bethia really wants Caleb because I see she wants him to. Caleb is almost a brother to her, and he was always there for her in her tragic times.
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I was shocked by the drowning death of Solace, as if Bethia has not lost enough already! It is no surprise that the pastor preaches even more of hell than he did before. For some reason I wasn’t as shocked by the death of the father or that Makepeace blamed Tequamuck for that death. I was surprised, although I guess I shouldn’t have been by the choices Makepeace makes for Bethia including the idea of her becoming a servant. I found it so ironic that this independent rebel who was willing to learn at all costs was now a servant of sorts.
DeleteTo some degree working for Master Corlett proves to be a good thing. Like you have pointed out Bethia helps Anne through the miscarriage, she continues to help/advice Caleb, and she helps Master Corlett avoid legal troubles. I also sew the conversion of Caleb and Joel into Christianity an important part of this portion of reading. It is a testimony of their rebellion and determination.
-CGar
In the first section of this novel, we learn that Bethia is not a normal girl in her society. She is a rebel. She does not conform to the ways of the women in her society. I like this about her. She is an original. She is extremely smart and learns things that men are suppose to know. Bethia studies different languages that her father teaches her brother, Makepeace. She learns these languages extremely fast. Her father tells her what a woman’s role is. She doesn’t care and she does what she loves. Also, her society is not suppose to interact with Native Americans. She ignores this rule, as she does most of the rules in her society. During her chores at the river that she dreads because she feels she is above these basic jobs, she meets an Indian boy named Caleb. She immediately is drawn to Caleb because he is different and is not like any of the boys in her society. Her rebellious attitude makes her a character that I and many readers should admire.
ReplyDelete-aven
I agree with everything you have said about Bethia, she is a rebel and that's what I admire the most about her. The first part of this novel really portrays the character Bethia, and how she goes against her fathers wills and learns the language of the Indians. Even though her father told that the women in this society are not meant to learn, but to do their womanly chores. I feel that when Bethia meets Caleb for the first time, he is almost a "breathe of fresh air" because he is a Native American who is different than the rest of the men who her society associates with. I also feel that the death of Bethia's brother Zuriel has affected Bethia because Zuriel was not only her brother but her best friend. I believe that the death of her brother made Bethia stronger and meeting Caleb was the fire the Bethia needed to believe in herself and do the things she wanted to do.
Delete-ccro
I agree with what you say about Bethia. She is a non conformist and she emulates that human tendency of curiosity that pretty much everyone feels at some point in their lives today. She slowly rebels in ways that go unnoticed by most such as learning more than most women her age know by listening to others, chiefly her father. Her lack of obedience to the wishes of others shows how independent she is despite the role of women in her society and how they are expected to obey the commands of their male superiors. Meeting Caleb only strengthens her feelings as he feels that same curiosity about certain aspects of her society. She does not stop learning and doing what she loves despite most peoples' attempts to stop her. This is truly what most should be doing even today. We should find what it is we want to do it pursue it despite what others say or do to oppose it. If it is what we truly want than it will be more than worth it when we actually do achieve it.
Delete-DD'Am
I agree with what Anthony said about Bethia's characteristics. She is a rebel, original, extremely smart and maybe in some way, even an outcast herself because of the way she acts. I also agree with Danny when he said, "Her lack of obedience to the wishes of others shows how independent she is despite the role of women in her society and how they are expected to obey the commands of their male superiors.". This is shown when Bethia meets Caleb. Growing up as a ministers daughter she was taught from a very young age the Indians are devil worshipers and are outcasts among her town. the initial reaction to this would to fear the Indians but no, Bethia's befriends Caleb. This makes her friends with an outcast. Which in my opinion this is how she relates to him in a way.
Delete-JGra
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read through Part 2 of Caleb's Crossing, I felt that my thoughts of one particular character changed as I read on. This character was Makepeace. I thought that Makepeace was truly a good brother who would like to protect his sister, but instead sells out his sister for his benefit on a few occasions. One of them was to gain access to the school, and later on to be capable of leaving the school because it's too difficult for him. Bethia concedes to become indentured to Master Corlett. Makepeace openly sells Bethia out so he can leave the school. Bethia feels betrayed by her only living kin and curses him. Later she is publicly punished for this and this leads to her indirectly introducing herself to Samuel Corlett, the son of her caretaker. After this, Bethia denounces Makepeace as her brother and becomes closer to Caleb. After spending some time together with Samuel, he proposes to Bethia. But before she can answer, there is a dire situation, a young girl named Anne, whom unbeknownst to everyone, is pregnant. Anne has a miscarriage and thus is proven to have been pregnant months before coming to the school. Bethia helps to smuggle Anne off to the island. Bethia and Caleb still maintain their closely knit relationship and Caleb acts as primarily her guide now. Now this poses the question of what does Bethia really want, and it is apparent that there is to be a very surprising close to the book in Part 3. -JStr
ReplyDeleteUnlike yourself, I felt throughout part 1 that Makepeace is just like his father. He is more concerned with getting the quick buck rather than his sister being happy. Some may argue that Makepeace and his father are doing what is best for Bethia, but others know that they are not. Bethia wants to learn and be more than just a typical woman that is married, stays at home, takes care of kids, and cooks and cleans all day. Bethia gives up on her brother. She no longer considers him a brother anymore, but more as a slave owner. He is her owner because he sells her multiple times rather than asking her what she wants. A continuous theme in this novel is Bethia’s rebellious attitude. Her rebelliousness to ignore her family is shown even more in this section by her blocking out her brother. The only person Bethia has to go to is Caleb. He listens to her and wants her to do what makes her happy. After this section, I feel that Bethia and Caleb’s relationship will reach its strongest point in part 3.
Delete-aven
Agreeing with Anthony, I felt that Makepeace wasn't a good brother from the beginning of part 1. From the beginning, Makepeace was trying to put down Bethia by saying the she isn't allowed to learn the languages being taught by their father. Also, when Makepeace has the opportunity to study at a prestigious school at the cost of selling his sister into indentured work, he doesn't even ask Bethia if she wants to do that. Bethia feels it is what God wants her to do, so she goes along with it. The beginning of part 2 further strengthens my dislike for Makepeace, when he tries to bail out of his study by once again selling his sister for his own personal gain. This time he sells her into marriage, and Bethia is furious. Makepeace made this decision for her, and she is not happy about it one bit, and curses her brother. What even further strengthen my dislike for Makepeace was the punishment that Bethia was given because of her argument with her brother, and who else but Makepeace is the one to give her the punishment. Makepeace is not a good brother from the start of the work, and Bethia doesn't even call him a brother after this incident.
Delete-gdic
As Anthony said, I felt throughout part one of the novel, Makepeace was just like his father, stubborn and careless. But I also felt that once Bethia and Makepeace's father died, that Makepeace would step up to the plate and take on the responsibilities of caring for his younger sister. Makepeace only cares for himself and doesn't even hesitate or take the time to ask Bethia if she was okay with being sold into the marriage. Bethia realizes the immaturity of her brother when he sells her. After this incident she curses him and no longer considers him her brother, but just her owner. Bethia is a strong individual, who personality of being her own self is something I admire the most about her. Caleb understands and listens to Bethia, he cares for her, and is not like anyone Bethia has ever known that is why Bethia cares for and respects Caleb. I feel that Bethia and Caleb's relationship will only grow stronger as the novel comes to a close.
Delete-CCro
Part 2 begins with Bethia arguing with her brother, Makepeace. Makepeace is trying to sell Bethia into marriage. Just like every other person in their society, Makepeace is only concerned with wealth and social rank. By forcing Bethia into this marriage he feels he is benefitting her future. As the readers we know Bethia is rebellios and wants to be unique. She wants to learn and not conform to the norms of society. Her rebelliousness causes the fight to escalate to the point of Makepeace punishing her by giving her to Master Corlett to help her as a servant. During her stay with Master Corlett, she meets a young pregnant woman named Ann. To protect from her backbreaking, conformed life, she helps Ann get out of school. This act shows Bethia’s rebelliousness for authorities such as Master Corlett and her father. Also in this section, her relationship with Caleb grows as she helps him with advice and as he continues to teach her the ways of his world. Bethia’s rebelliousness not only helps herself to be unique and not conform but also helps others such as Ann and Caleb to find themselves.
ReplyDelete-aven
I agree with the points you have discussed. Bethia is still young and adventurous and she still is eager to learning. To see Makepeace send her to Master Corlett to be a servant is upsetting. As a servant, you learn to be respectful and obedient but that is the opposite of Bethia. She is still rebellious and unique in many ways. I agree on what you said about her not conforming into society. She is unlike any other girl, smarter than most and even smarter than some boys. She is fearless and enjoys being herself. You really see it when she is with Caleb. When they are together, their options are limitless but when she was with her brother or father, she was limited. To see that with Master Corlett is frustrating because they are restricting her to be her own person. It just shows that she wants to be someone different from the norms that society hopes for her to be.
Delete- ACar
I agree with all of your points made about Makepeace and Bethia. In the beginning, I thought that Makepeace was a good brother, as he was protecting his sister from the influence of Caleb. However, I feel he proves everyone wrong, and shows the readers that he isn't a great brother. As for Bethia, I feel that her rebellious attitude is shown strongest in your example given. When she is rebellious against her father or brother, you can argue that she listens to them all day, and is just tired of listening to them, but when she is rebellious toward an authoritative figure like Corlett, her personality is shown strongest. However, Bethia was not punished by being sent to Corlett to be a servant, that was part of a deal that Pastor Mayfield made with Corltt before he died in order for Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel to receive free tuition at Corlett's school. The punishment came after Makepeace found out that Bethia put a curse on her, and the punishment was a beating from Makepeace, and she had to confess her "sins" at a meeting.
Delete-VCal
I agree with your point that Makepeace believed he was benefitting Bethia in her future with Noah. It does seem like he cares about her, however, it is his fault that she is even at this school, and he doesn't know what else to do to make her situation better. If he acted like a caring loving brother she would not have been in this situation to begin with. He could have worked for his grandfather doing something else. He wanted to be a minister like his father, but at what cost. He had to use Bethia to accomplish what was best for himself and not for her. Shouldn't a Christian minister put others before himself? He should have stepped up to the plate when their father died. I agree with Vincent as for Bethia's punishment for cursing Makepeace. She had to confess her sins at the meeting and receive a beating from Makepeace. Even if Bethia was wrong by cursing her older brother, I think everyone would have done the same thing. Makepeace was a very selfish, self -centered individual. Not only did he try to keep her from learning all those years, he made sure she did her chores at home, and later basically sold her into bondage. Now he embarrassed her and subjected her to stares from the boys and beat her to top it off. What a spectacular brother! No wonder why she is considered rebellious. It is like a person being stifled and suffocated. Makepeace represents society back then. He steps on her hopes and dreams of being more than what a woman should be at that time. He should have been a better brother, especially since they have no parents or other siblings alive.
DeleteCMen
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DeleteI also agree, Bethia is a curious, and determined young girl. She wants to do ore with her life and not just new isolated like the way her people are and have always been. I also agree that Makepeace felt he was only doing what he thought was best for his little sister it was out of selfishness but he was only helping her in all the wrong reasons. But, being that he is her brother he should have acted more like one instead of like a fiend or a stranger doing a favor. This does lead to her very rebellious personality and more disconnection with her family. Make peace represents of the people in society who will cut others throats to get ahead and only look out for themselves even when family is involved and that is a shame when family should come first over anything even for ones self ambitions.
Delete-BMor
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ReplyDeleteAfter completing the second part of Caleb's Crossing, I was disappointed and shocked by what had happened. I was upset to hear the Bethia's father had died. Bethia is now alone with her brother without any parental supervision. Therefore, Makepeace would become her new guardian. I was shocked when Makepeace sold his sister out. He sent her to Master Corlett to be a servant. Thinking he was a good protective brother, he went and did this outrageous stunt to Bethia. However, I felt it was a good thing for her because she would mature and learn how to handle responsibilities. I was disappointed because it is not for Bethia. She is a girl with her own mind and unique personality and now she is being taught how to be like the average person. I was pleased that she kept her relationship with Caleb. As Bethia started to changed, I saw she helped guide Caleb through the same process. You can see that Bethia is started to mature and see life differently.
ReplyDelete- ACar
I have to agree that it was very upsetting that her father had passed away, but I was nervous when Makepeace is now her new guardian. This point had me thinking of how either strict or non-strict he will be as a guardian. I did believe he would follow in his fathers footsteps bu may go overboard with protection. I was also wondering if they would come together and be like a real brother and sister through this tough time and now no parental supervision of their own. Even though this was tough for her, she still was with Caleb and still wanting to be her own person. Bethia did mature in some aspects although she did still want to be free and not like the others in the village. Overall, I do agree with this post.
Delete-aaci
After reading chapters one through eight I think it's very obvious that Bethia is completely different from your average girl. She is an unsettled woman from any point of view because she questions what is planned for her but she also seems to blame herself for a few things as well. Early in the story she explains how she is the reason her mother died from childbirth and she had broken the fifth commandment. Besides this however she questions what she will become. She feels she is above most of the rules in her society and she wants more freedom, this leads to her questioning what her purpose is for her society. When her father says she cares for Bethia's present health as a wife, Bethia is offended to be called a wife at twelve years old and then her father responds saying "it is what you will be and soon enough." It doesn't help that his father also expects Bethia to raise sons also. Later in the story if Bethia attains this questioning nature of what she is to become, she could end up in very problematic situations that can lead to consequences. I am looking forward to see how Bethia's development turns out.
ReplyDelete-gand
I agree with you when you say that she is completely different from your average girl. This is true because the average girl in her society is expected to learn to do housework from her mother, but Bethia is doing many different things. She is learning new languages, which is only supposed to be for the males in society. She is learning them quicker than her brother, which is also a sign that she is not the average girl. Also, when she meets Caleb, it shows her rebellious side and her desire for exploration. She was always told to stay away from the Native Americans, but she comfronts Caleb, and it turns out she will make a friendship that lasts a lifetime. Although her curiosity sometimes leads to consequences, such as the time when she drank the potion that the Natives made, it also forms a character who learns from experience, and becomes very wise and knowledgeable from it.
DeleteI agree with Greg and Gerard, Bethia is an unusual girl for her time period. She reminds me of a girl in today's day and age. She is learning things only males are suppose to be taught and she is constantly questioning instead of just obeying. Bethia is smart and picking up on things that she over hears he father teaching her brother.
Delete-JGra
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ReplyDeleteReading part 1, I can see that Bethia is not like any other women in her society. She is outgoing, rebellious, and courageous. She has a desire to obtain knowledge that she doesn't have. Her brother, Makepeace, is learning different languages from their father. Bethia wanted to also learn these languages but was denied access to do so. Being the rebellious and outgoing character she is, Bethia learns the languages anyway. The difference between her and Makepeace is that she is picking up the languages much faster. Bethia is not only smarter than the women in her society but then her own family members that are male. Bethia is told about her roles in society by her father, and she wants nothing to do with those roles. Ironically, one of these roles helps her break another rule in the society. She meets a Native American boy names Caleb, who she is intrigued by. The reason she like Caleb is because he is different then every other man in the society, just as she wants to be different then every women in the society. The meeting of this boy helps her learn more then she doesn't know before, that is about pagan religious beliefs. Bethia is a character than readers everywhere should follow and try to be more like.
ReplyDelete-aaci
Bethia is one of a kind and a unique individual. I think this novel shows the importance of individualism and to be yourself. Bethia is very smart in a society where women are not suppose to be educated. The fact that Bethia is even smarter then her brother is also amazing. It shows how gifted Bethia is , she's different then every other character in the novel.Bethia is rebellious but not in a bad way , in a way that she wants to be treated equally , thats all she ever wanted. When she meets Caleb, he is a Native American who believes in pagan gods. Bethia converts Caleb to Catholicism. This also show her uniqueness , in this society women aren't allowed to participate in religious events. The fact that she is the reason Caleb converts is her proving even though its a male dominated society , she can hold her own being smarter then her brother and converting others to Catholicism.
DeleteCPor
It turns out that I misread some parts of Part 2, and that Bethia already made her decison on who she was to marry, but she still stays very close to Caleb until the very end. Bethia isn't feeling the greatest because she is now a much older woman, but she recalls back with the help of a box that she bought while in Italy with Samuel. In this box is all of her writing, and she reads most of them with a smile as she remembers her younger self. Part 3 also contained some sad moments, and I feel Bethia could have remembered them without needing any of the pages in the box. The first one is when Caleb's best friend Joel passes away, and she sees how much it affects Caleb. Bethia sees this, and tries to comfront him, but he pushes her away, not wanting her to see him weak. Some time later, Caleb graduates with very honorable awards, and after his graduation, Bethia realizes that he is very sick, and vows to take care of him. Bethia is there until his last breath. This friendship that was started by accident turned out to be the greatest thing for Bethia. She sa whis as a brother, and is very greatful to have had him in her life. At the end of the work, Bethia puts the papers down, and waits until she has to sing her death song, just as Caleb did.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the first part of the novel, I have found Bethia to be a complex, unpredictable, persistent, and curious character; in that she was a Christian who wanted to learn more of other religions. Bethia and Caleb had intense discussions about their religions, Bethia worshiping one God and Caleb worshiping many. This was one of the reasons why Makepeace feared Caleb living with them. Also, throughout the first part, Bethia encounters many situations that make her challenge her religion. One of which is her encounter with the white community slaughtering a whale for oil, which she say as theft. However, the part of this event that challenged her religion was when she went back for firewood, and saw the Wampanoag people worshiping and dancing around the whale. She went returned to bring back the wood, however, later that night, she went back to the ceremony, where she was drawn in by the music and energy. The thing that sits heavily on my mind is, did all of Bethia's curiosity come from the fact that her father embedded Christianity into her head, or was it out of pure curiosity? Since she stated, "But our austere worship had never stirred my soul as did this heathen's song." (Chapter 4, pg. 30)
ReplyDelete-VCal
I agree, Bethia is potentially the most complex character so far due to her differences between herself and her family. I believe it's Bethia's young age and eagerness to learn that make her so different. These details could also explain why she questions what his father plans for her. Also her interactions with Caleb deepen her characterization, in truth the first that I believe she had was the day she was born. Bethia believes she had killed her mother when she gave birth to her, and because of that Bethia believes he had broken the fifth commandment for that very reason. Her father also seems to have embed it deeply into her head often scolding her for questioning it sometimes. With that it's another reason for Bethia's community to hate Caleb for worshiping multiple gods including the Bethia's father, even though he teaches Caleb. With that said I wouldn't be surprised if Caleb is given open discrimination from the community later in the story.
Delete-GAnd
I agree with your views about Bethia's character; very good analogy. I also believe she was caring toward Caleb; she was rebellious and reckless with life as well. She was curious to learn, but at times put her life at risk to do it. Any day she could have run into Indians along the way when she met Caleb. She was brought up in a Christian home and believed in God. While she taught Caleb Christianity, her own identity should be questioned. She knowingly disobeys her father about learning and leaving the property by herself. Her father knows she wants to learn, so he should have taught her as well. Even though that is not what was expected of women it certainly wasn't sinful for a woman to learn. Society had agendas even back then. There were parts that puzzled me too. When Bethia got caught up in the music with the Indian dancing and worshipping she allowed her soul to be penetrated by evil. She later drinks from the gourd with the white hellebore, which held "the poisonous path to visionary power." She felt evil had power over her. She was curious, but what did she really expect to gain from this all knowing? She knew it was wrong, but the temptation was too strong for her. Being rebellious and curious is one thing, but taking part in an evil ritual is just sinful. She says, "I yearned to experience, once again, that sense of holy ecstasy that had fallen upon me at the cliffs." Learning and experiencing everything is not always in your best interest as it wasn't with Bethia. She later blames the death of her mother on her very own actions.
DeleteCMen
Part 1
ReplyDeleteUpon first reading about Bethia Mayfield one notices her many unique characteristics about her, one being her strong faith in her religion. This is a faith installed in her from the moment of her birth by her father, a minister attempting to convert the local Native American tribe. It is her intense belief in her own religion that leads her to make the decision to teach her faith to a young Native American boy whom she decides to rename Caleb. The second quality one noticed about Bethia is her unrelenting curiosity, shown when she begins to desire to learn of the Native American religions. This is first made present when she notices one night a ceremony occurring on the beach and eventually joins in with it. However it is through her curiosity that she becomes very critical of herself and believes that she is committing sins. She comes up with the notion that because of her curiosity, God is punishing her through the death of her mother. It is also noted that she feels that through her involvement in the native's religion she feels that it is bringing her closer to Satan than God. This idea is most prominent when after drinking a concoction made by a Native American priest she then has a hallucination of meeting face to face with Satan himself. In conclusion, Bethia Mayfield appears to be an intriguing character, one that a reader can look forward to in hearing of her development in the next segment of the book.
-JAss
I am going to have to disagree with you when you say that Bethia's faith seems strong in part 1. I feel that her faith in God is challenged many times throughout the work. Due to her curious personality, she is constantly questioning God's ways and is always looking for answers. When she can't find answers, she makes up her own reasons as to why God put things on this earth. She also drinks the potion, which she knows is a sin, but does it anyway because she feels that she is already a sinner, so it would not matter if she sinned again. Also, as you read into part 2, you will see that she commits a sin with Samuel Corlett, and does not regret it because she feels she is already a sinner. However, I do agree withy you when you say that she feels that she is becoming closer to Satan than God. Throughout the rest of the work, she feels the powers of Satan and sin overpowering the goodness of God.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePart 2
ReplyDeleteI personally found the second part of this book to be much more captivating than the first part. I feel that it was the segment where we saw a great amount of development in both Bethia and in Caleb. Caleb has converted to the Catholic faith and become almost a prodigy of Bethia's father. It is quickly is noticed that Caleb is a young man who portrays a great capacity for learning and is very intelligent, even more so than the son of the minister himself, Makepeace. This is a way where he breaks the fourth wall in some cases as no one would expect such knowledge to come from a Native American boy. In Bethia's case at the start I had concerns because she had been sold by her older brother to serve at the school run by Master Corlett, which eventually is where Caleb would attend school. But as part 2 continues I notice that she has become someone who will act more on her own beliefs then that of either her father, who tragically died at sea, or her brother. This is made most prominent when during her time at the school she offers as much assistance as she can to a Native American girl named Anne, whom she discovers was impregnated months before her arrival at the school. Eventually in order to save face for Anne she sneaks her out of the school and back to the island where she had grown up, something that was considered unacceptable during that time period. During all of this Bethia and Caleb remain very close to one another, which leads me to ask what part 3 holds in store for them.
-JAss
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DeleteI too believe that the second part of this novel is much more interesting than part one. In this section Bethia and Caleb both grow alot, Caleb excels in his studies and Bethia grows more comfortable in the situation she is in. The death of Bethia's father is very tragic and I too was worried about what would happen since Caleb, Joel and Makepeace no longer have anyone to teach them. You wrote that Makepeace sold Bethia to Master Corlett but Bethia was the one who decided to go there. She chose to become and indentured servant at the school so that Caleb, Joel and Makepeace would be able to continue their studies since there teacher is now gone. Even though she chose to go there i was still concerned because she had never ventured so far from home for so long without her father. Now that her father is dead she must go back to the mainland to work for strangers so her ungrateful brother can continue his education.
DeleteThe second part of this novel defiantly goes more in-depth than the first. Its seems that everyone has a destiny already set in stone. The more you read the more you notice the impact that death plays on every character. Ever since the first ten pages of the book we've already experienced two tragic deaths; Bethia's unnamed baby brother and shortly after her mother. According to theology back in those days, the more religious you are the less likely it is to experience death within the family. This makes me realize how precious life really is back in the 17th century. This is why I believe it is so important for the coming together of the English and the Natives. I felt their connection the most when Bethia's father tragically died at sea. Both the Indians and English would place a white stone on the beach to honor his death and show their gratitude. Not only does this show their connection but it also shows the Indians respect towards the English. Cabel is a good example of the potential that the Indians possess, he converts to Christianity and takes part in the settler's learning allowing himself to progress and attend Harvard. This goes to show that no one is any better than anyone else. Makepeace has trouble accepting this but that is expected from someone like him. Are the Indians as barbaric as the English portray them to be?
DeleteARai
As I read the ending of Part 3 of the novel, I found that I was quite happy with how it turned out. Bethia married Samuel Corlett and she went on to live a full and happy life. The work sums up what occurs in her life after Part 2. To summarize some of the key points, Joel, unfortunately perishes, but dies a noble death, Caleb mourns his old friend and pushes Bethia away from him so as to keep from being seen as weak when she tries to confront him and comfort him. Bethia and Samuel have a child whom they name Ammi Ruhama. Caleb goes on to graduate with the rest of his class as one of the most intelligent individuals present. Some time after, Caleb falls gravely ill and Bethia desperately tries to save him. Her attempts are unsuccessful and Caleb passes on. We then return to an old dying Bethia who is awaiting her inevitable death. This final part of the work gave me a very bitter sweet ending, as this whole thing began as a very dark secret and it blossomed into one of the most impressive displays that friendships can have for people whom truly see it as so and will do anything to preserve it and persevere for it.
ReplyDeleteIn this part of the novel, I came to realized that Makepeace is more interested in his own well being than that of his sister, considering that his father just unfortunately died. An example of this is seen when Makepeace and Grandpa Mayfield "indentured" Bethia into work at the school. Her work was part of an agreement that his father made with Master Corlett in order for Makepeace, Joel, and Caleb to receive free tuition. However, Makepeace couldn't fulfill the obligations of his studies, and wanted to return home, in result, leaving Bethia at the school. As a result of Makepeace leaving the school, he sold the remainder of Bethia's indenture to the Merry family, where Bethia was told she has to marry Noah. Bethia than puts a curse on Makepeace, and she is later beaten and forced to confess her sins at a meeting as a punishment. I feel that this situation puts Makepeace at an all time low. Considering this is a male dominant society, how will/could Bethia redeem herself?
ReplyDelete-VCal
I have to agree with your statement in the fact that Makepeace reached new lows in this section of the book. He is someone who will do anything simply to get whatever he wants, even going as far as to sellout his family; a characteristic that none of his family could be proud of. The way that he carelessly sold his sister just so he could avoid the responsibility he had towards his studies proves that he is the weakest character in the book. As far as Bethia’s current situation goes, allow me to remind you that had Makepeace not committed such a cowardly act, Bethia would not be in the position that she is now. As far as your question goes I feel that Bethia can and will redeem herself. I understand that this is obviously a male dominant society, but she has had men try to control her actions most of her life. Remember that her father had attempted to keep what was considered back then an ordinary girl, but failed in his attempt due to the fact that the power of her curiosity was greater than his power over her. She is one of the strongest willed characters within the book, and with Caleb and Joel with her; there is no doubt that she can and will overcome this great obstacle.
Delete-JAss
I'm sure most will agree that Makepeace is in fact the weakest character in the novel, but as the story line continues he does develop into a more positive character. Yes, he did indirectly force Bethia into becoming an indentured servant but he does make his amends. I feel as though Brooks develops Makepeace into a very dynamic individual throughout the story. She emphasizes on his mistakes and faults. But his mistakes are what make him human. One can interpret Makepeace's mistake as what truly makes him imperfect, what makes him a human. Makepeace evidently learns from his mistakes and reforms his way of life. I disagree with the fact that Makepeace is the weakest character in the novel. His "weaknesses" make him stronger. I feel as if Makepeace is one of the stronger individuals who develop as the novel goes on because he has the strength to fix his mistakes. It's harder to change for the better than to stay the same. The other character such as Bethia and Caleb have always had overall favorable qualities. It was Makepeace that went through the toughest change. I feel as though Brooks enlightens us readers and shows us that making mistakes is a part of life, its what we do with those mistakes that matter. In this case Makepeace learned from his mistakes of being so jealous and self conceited and became a better individual.
Delete-TNgu
Bethia's life becomes truly tragic in part two of Brook's work. I found it shocking that, shortly after the death of her mother, that Solace drowns in a well. Even more sudden is the death of her father in a shipwreck. Bethia feels that her destiny changes with every death, and wonders what God's plan for her truly is. Bethia's brother, Makepeace, becomes a particularly interesting character at this point in the book. He is a hard worker who has enormous jealously of Caleb's intelligence. While Makepeace struggles to succeed in scholoarly work, Caleb is able to do so flawlessly and with ease. In this way, I can relate with Makepeace, as I too have much trouble doing well on topics such as foreign language. While others may be able to memorize a topic quickly and for the long term, I need to study hard and will likely forget the information in a few days. Bethia's grandfather sends Makepeace to a college-prep school, and has Bethia become an indentured servant to pay off the loan. With the death of her father, Bethia feels that this may be God's destiny for her and accepts the indenture. Bethia's arguments with Makepeace and discussions with Master Corlett reveal the limited freedom that women have during this time period. What's interesting, however, is that Mistress Bradstreet's poems are well respected by scholars in said time period. The poems discuss the limitations of women, with Samuel Corlett admiring Bradstreet's courage.
ReplyDelete-CPar
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DeleteI was amazed at how Caleb had adjusted from the life of a Native American to that of one of the colonial settlers, and was fascinated at how he had become extremely fluent in English as well as Latin and eventually even learned Greek. He started his life living among his people, happy to live in the wilderness that he had spent most of his young life in. But Bethia came into his life, and she became his mediator, she was the bridge that he would cross to gain access to the lives of colonial settlers. As he left his people, he dealt with many hardships, being looked down upon as a salvage and a heathen, but he kept his head up nonetheless, and kept on moving forward towards success. Towards his years at the college, Caleb even earned the respect of his classmates, although it took a very long time. His courage and determination shows that in the face of discrimination, one can still persevere and survive.
ReplyDelete-ALih
I was glad that Anne escaped to the island in the final third of Brook's work. She was being treated harshly by the English for her pregnancy, and innocent students such as Caleb and Joel were among the accused. I was also happy that Merry decided to marry Tobia instead of Bethia, as she was unwilling to go along with her brother's plan. When Bethia gains freedom, she decides to work at the college, listening to Chauncy's lectures. I was annoyed by Master Corlett's ignorance of Bethia, urging her not to work there or listen to these lectures due to her status as a woman. In section three, Bethia marries Samuel Corlett. Their son, Ammi Ruhama, eventually becomes a shipbuilder and has his own children. Joel, sadly, is murdered on a journey by natives. I feel that Brooks uses these natives to represent a stereotype of their race: war-hungry and with hatred of the English takeover. The fact that they kill Joel represents how race means nothing to them; they are willing to kill another native as part of their extremism. Bethia's telling of the death to Caleb is truly tragic. Caleb becomes ill, resulting in Bethia turning to Caleb's uncle, Tequamuck. I was very surprised by Bethia's decision to do this, as she is putting faith in a paganistic ritual before God. Even more shocking is when she refers to Satan as God's angel, working in obscure ways. She restates Tequamuck's verses to Caleb, resulting in his peaceful death.
ReplyDelete-CPar
I agree with all you have said Chris. Bethia’s freedom to choose what makes her happy was the thing I wanted to happen most at the end of the novel. I think the reason she achieved her dreams of freedom and happiness was because of her strong hope. Even after being sent away by her brother to be a servant to the Corletts, she still has faith that she will be able to choose what makes her happy. I think hope is a common theme throughout the two novels we have read. Without hope, I feel like Ahalya and Sita would have never been reunited, Thomas and Priya’s marriage woul have never been reconciled, and Bethia would reamina servant and never have the freedom to go to college or have a family that she loves. Hope is the driving force for all these characters and hope is the reason these characters had a happy ending.
Delete-aven
I must agree with your statement mentioning the natives. I feel that through their killing of Joel, Brooks is noting the stereotype that they are nothing more than mindless killing machines. They are people with the idea that they must kill anyone who they consider a threat to their way of life, even if it means killing one of their own. I was also surprised to hear of Bethia's decision regarding Caleb. After everything that they had gone through I was stunned that she chose to go to Tequamuck for Caleb. I however feel though that this decision was based on the fact that Caleb was still a native. Much like the natives are stereotyped, I feel that Brooks displays the English in a stereotypical manor as well. They are portrayed as a group of people who if you did not follow their beliefs exactly, you are a worshiper of Satan. She was afraid of what they might do to Caleb in his weakened state and therefore did not trust him in English hands. Instead she felt that only his people would give him the peaceful death that he so rightly deserved.
Delete-JAss
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ReplyDeleteI was simply amazed by the opening few chapters of this book. Bethia made a complete 360 from being a minister’s daughter to being a rebel because she was in a so-called relationship with Caleb who is a Native American. Native Americans are considered devil worshipers and should be avoided at all costs unless converted to Christianity. When she saw the whale, she thought that her own kind were steeling form the Native Americans due to the explanation from Caleb that this was traditionally Native American property. She had also viewed a Native American traditional dance that she admired from a distance which she was supposed to be participating in as made clear by Makepeace. She has completely abandoned her old lifestyle for the Native American way of life. From reading this, it has solidified my view point on Bethia; she has abandoned her own way of life for good and I am fairly certain that she will continue intermingling with the Native Americans. This reminded me of how many people act towards people from the Middle Eastern countries and how to “stay away” I don’t understand this because they are people just like you and me. They go to work the cook and clean and they have families. Yet just as in this book if they are not “civilized” or turned Christian they are horrid people they we are told to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlthough Bethia is rebellious in some aspects, I think that she finds some guilt in her involvement with the Native Americans. Bethia, above everything else, strives to learn. The only way she can truly do this is through Caleb. When her father realized that she was picking up from her brother's lessons, he would kick her out of the house. These lessons were considered not fit for a woman's ears, whose job was to be a dutiful wife. When involving herself with the Native Americans, she feels that she is following in the ways of Satan due to their pagan views and traditions. She sees the Native as misguided people who are truly good, and wants to teach them in the way of Christianity. Her father also sees it this way, as seen through his preaching, healing, and admiration of these people. I can see the relation between Middle Eastern people and the Natives, but perhaps in a different way. People fear the religious extremists of the Middle-East much like how the English fear the dances and prayers of the Natives, especially of the wizard Tequamuck.
Delete-CPar
Reading this eye opening novel, I've learned many life lessons and well as morals. Like Chris said, it is evident that throughout the book, Brooks satirizes religion in general when she puts emphasis on the two religions of Christianity and paganism. She shows just how strong the differences in cultures are through religion. Brooks makes us readers think about our religion as a whole. Is there really one legitimate religion? I'm sure most agree that Bethia is a symbol for the bridge between religion. She converts Caleb to Christianity but also takes in some of his paganistic beliefs as well (although she does not follow them she still learns about them). Bethia is a symbol of how a strong individual can make a difference in society. My interpretation of Brooks' message is that we must rise as strong individuals to make a difference in this world. I agree with Chris's statement and would like to reflect how people in our society are so quick to judge others without full understanding of where they come from. Brook teaches us that we should be conform to society, but rather be strong thinking individuals, individuals who think for ourselves not what is fed to us.
Delete-TNgu
At the conclusion of this novel, I was very happy with the results for Anne and Bethia. Anne finally escaped with her baby healthy in her stomach from a horrible life. Bethia also had her happy ending. She isn’t forced into the marriage with Merry because Merry choses Tobia over her. I feel like this happening really shows that Bethia was meant to be free and make her own choices for her life. She decides to go to college and expand her already huge mind. This was the most exciting part of the end of this book because I feel like learning was the thing Bethia wanted to do the most. She always tried to learn different languages and the many other things her father was trying to teach Makepeace. Also, Bethia gains the freedom to choose her love. She chooses to marry Samuel Corlett. She is genuinely in love with him. The only part of the end of the novel I was disappointed about was the death of Caleb. Caleb did nothing but work hard and love others. He did not deserve to die. Some may even call Caleb a tragic hero because he really changed the life of Bethia for the better. Bethia’s freedom at the end of the novel is the happiest occurrence for anyone who read this book.
ReplyDelete-aven
I have to agree with you on the points you have made. I too was happy about Anne and her safety to the island. I was pleased to see that she escaped from the English to live her life on the island. I was also pleased about Bethia and how she turned out to be. I agree with you about Bethia's knowledge and her learning capabilities. Clearly, learning is in her nature and she enjoys doing it. You see that throughout the book. She picked up learning other languages from overhearing her father. She learned about other cultures from when she met Caleb. I was also dissappointed about Caleb's death. He was a good friend to Bethia and to see him die was upsetting. However, I too believe he was a traic hero because he did help Bethia change for the better. But besides Caleb's death, Bethia lived her life in freedom and to the fullest.
Delete- ACar
I agree with most of the points both of you have made. Ann escaping from the English was pleasing because now she can live a harmless life and take care of her newborn. Bethia was truly born to learn and it is nice to see that she finally can learn without any restrictions. I also agree that Caleb's death was one of great disappointment. If he would have survived, his friendship with Bethia would have continued to flourish. However, I don't agree that Caleb is a tragic hero. A tragic hero, by definition, is a person who was born of noble birth but has one tragic flaw that leads to thier demise. I don't believe Caleb was born of a noble birth and in my eyes, Caleb has no tragic flaws because never harmed anyone
Delete-DFes
The death of Caleb was a huge disappointment to me. Caleb represented the bond of the Indian and English people and his death was very tragic. Although that was very sad, Ann escaping and moving on to take care of her child was a happy moment for me. Also Bethia didn't have to marry Merry and got to marry Samuel Corlett. Bethia advancing her education by going to college proves a point that women can do just as much as men. For the 17th century that's more than any women can imagine on doing. I believe that these are steps in the right direction for the English settlers. Caleb proved to the English the capabilities that the natives possess and the potential for good relations between the two. Bethia and Caleb shared a bond together like nothing else in the novel. I too don't view Caleb as a tragic hero because even though his death was tragic he doesn't have any tragic flaws that cause his death.
DeleteARai
As reading part 2 the view of Bethia is still much rebellious. In the start Makepeace is willing to sell Bethia as a wife. Bethia does not want this to happen to her as she knows he is only doing this for himself and not for her. Selling into marriage would make Bethia like the other women in the society, and we know she wants nothing to do with that. Bethia still wants to learn more but Bethia's future is changed after the argument with her brother. Bethia is sent to Master Corlett who in return for her arguing is now a servant. Her new role in society is actually the complete opposite of what she really wants to be. She has to learn the ways of being a servant, and when doing so meets Ann, a pregnant servant. Bethia shows her rebellious nature even when helping Ann leave the school. Later on in part 2, We realize that she really does love and want to be with Caleb. When they are together she feels free, which is the exact opposite when she is living in her society. Caleb is the only way that, I can see as of now, that will allow her to be the person she wants to be in her life. When she is in the society she is restricted and limited to the things she can do. The role of her as the servant is ironic because in her mind she is a servant everyday of her life living in her society, but with Caleb she is full of freedom. Being sent to Master Corlett was just a way for her to be taught better manners in the society. Bethia must continue to be herself as she can and will help other with her unique characteristics of nonconformity.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I agree that Bethia is consistently rebellious throughout the work. When she found out about Makepeace's plan, she was devastated for the simple reason that Makepeace arranged it. In reality, she was fond of Merry. In any other scenario, she likely would've gladly accepted his marriage. While Bethia wants to differentiate from other women in her society, she sadly has little choice to do so. Bethia wasn't sent to Master Corlett due to her arguing. She voluntarily chose to be there because she had no idea what to do after the death of her Father. She felt that working at the school may have been the will of God. Bethia is much more than a servant to Master Corlett, as he greatly appreciates her company. While he feels that Bethia shouldn't acquire scholarly knowledge (much like her father), he feels true affection toward her. He even encourages Bethia to marry his son, stating he would be privileged to call her "daughter". Ironically, becoming a servant leads to Bethia's intellectual freedom; she is able to work at Harvard and listen to the lectures given there.
Delete-CPar
Of the issues shown in this book, the lack of woman rights is one of the issues that are very oblivious. Bethia is looked down upon and is given a fixed role in society. She struggles to except this, and at times only to not insult her mother. When her father leaves her the copy of Homer's works it shows that he knows woman and men are equal unlike many men of the time. Caleb also looks at her the same way. Not as someone below him but an equal and even at one point Makepeace admits her being more intelligent. For being able to learn Native American and Latin and more, she does have many mistakes. One of the largest is drinking the white hellebore from the Native American’s cup. How could that ever e a good idea? She says this is one of the sins that led to her mother’s death; it was bad but didn’t cause her death and she shouldn’t blame herself for it.
ReplyDeleteThe two cultures in this book couldn’t be anymore different, especially the values. The Native Americans raise their kids to be free and the Europeans think they should learn how to behave as a kid for adulthood. The respect for women is also very different. In the Native American society the woman are given much more respects and are treated as equals. They are given much more strenuous activities in the Native Americans culture than in the European. Another difference is how they view each other. Europeans view Native Americans as lower people, who will go to hell for not believing in their God (A very foolish belief.) The Native Americans view Europeans as people who waste and destroy the environment, never giving back from what they took. The Europeans have no right to force upon others their beliefs, and the Native Americans are absolutely correct about the Europeans being wasteful and destroying the environment.
ReplyDeletePart 3
ReplyDeleteThe last section of the book leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand there are many joyous parts held within it. I was left glad to know that Anne was now safe on the island away from her English prosecutors and free to have a happy life for both herself and her baby. We also her of the prosperity of Bethia, who after Noah decided to marry Tobia instead of her was free to marry Samuel Corlett. The two would conceive a son named Ammni Ruhamma, who would up to be a shipmaker and give birth to children of his own. On the other hand there are many tragic events which occur as well such as when Joel is killed by natives, thinking of him as a traitor. The most tragic event though is the death of Caleb, who was suffering from a severe illness. With all that had happened between the two I found it odd when Bethia had returned Caleb to his uncle, Tequamuck. What shocked me even more is when she noted that Satan was merely one of God's angels, something that goes against everything we are taught as Catholics. This final statement proves to me that one of my theories about the story was correct. That through her entire adventure, she had become closer to Satan than she was to God.
-JAss
I have to agree with you, I was very relieved when Bethia was not chosen by Noah to marry him. I feel that was the moment that finally set her free to do what she really wanted with her life. Which was go to college and marry Samuel and have a baby with him. After Bethia said that Satan was merely one of Gods angels, I wasn't very shocked I feel that Bethia was always closer to Satan than she was with God. Her whole life was essentially spent sinning rather than doing good. She was never really obedient and wasn't the greatest follower of her faith. That is shown all throughout the book, and she even acknowledges it many times.
Delete-ACuc
After reading the first part of Caleb's Crossing I found it very strange for someone who is part of a very religious family, Bethia, wasn't the best follower of her faith. She even acknowledged her sins and knew she was committing them. I was also very confused that when she met Caleb she mocked him for believing his religion and following it. When she started instructing Caleb in her religion I felt she wasn't really in the right place to be teaching someone else since she didn't truthfully follow her religion. I was very surprised and annoyed how Bethia was treated in her family. All Bethia wanted was to be educated but her father told her it was unnecessary for a woman to be educated more than she already is. Bethia's father always sends her out on errands to run while he teaches her brother, Makepeace. Without Bethia's fathers instruction to go clamming she would've never been introduced to the Native American culture and Caleb.
ReplyDelete-ACuc
After meeting Bethia for the first time in part one of Caleb's Crossing, I realized that she is not your average girl, she is rebellious and doesn't believe in the ways of her faith. I feel hat Bethia was treated very unfair by her brother and father. All Bethia wanted to do was become educated like her brother Makepeace. Her father turns her down, reminding her that the women do not learn but do their chores. While Bethia is out doing her chores, she encounters a Native American man named Caleb, who is different and brings life to Bethia. They spend afternoons together, as Caleb teaches her the Native language. The thing I admire about Bethia is her outgoing attitude to be an individual.
ReplyDelete-CCro
While Bethia’s belief is tested at times, she still maintains her beliefs. She often thinks to herself in tones such as “the heathens” and knows her catechism. She even was excited to teach Caleb English and to teach him the ways of the English God. At no point in part one did Bethia ever say she lost her faith, she was more intrigued by Caleb’s beliefs rather than eager to follow them. Probably the most amazing thing about the encounters between Bethia and Caleb is the exchange they had and the influence they had on each other. Caleb is grown to be a leader, being that he is the chieftain’s son; meanwhile in Bethia’s culture she is a second class citizen whose only right is to be educated enough so that she is useful to man. This is evident in the preferential treatment Makepeace gets in their father's instructions. Whenever Bethia and Caleb were together, they stood as equals. Both had their share of teaching and learning experiences from each other.
Delete-JGen
After reading the last part of Caleb's Crossing, I was left happy and dissappointed. I was glad to hear that Anne was safe on the island. I was happy to see the true transformation of Bethia. In the beginning, she was youthful and outgoing but, as a mature, elegant and graceful woman, she is seen responsible and takes matters in her own hands. She makes her own decisions and has a mind of her own especially about marriage. Because she does not get married to Noah, this shows that she was a free spirit all along. I was glad to see that about Bethia. However, I was dissappointed about Caleb's death. All his life, he was a hard worker and achiever to his duties. It was upsetting to read about how this was the way he turned out. Overall, I was pleased with the book. It was interesting to read about the character's lives and the moral lessons they provided.
ReplyDelete- ACar
I too, was very happy yet disappointed with how the novel came to a close. Although I was happy that Anne escaped the island, I also felt bad for her because her husband Joel was killed by the Native Americans on an island when his boat was washed up onto an island. I am also happy for Bethia, that she lives with Samuel happily married. As you stated, Bethia not getting married to Noah shows that she is free spirited, and she doesn't care about whatever someone tells her to do. I think the way Bethia cares for Caleb when he was ill shows the impact that he had on Bethia's live. They were close friends, and as you said, he was a hard worker. I tend to think Bethia helping Caleb shows that there long lasting relationship goes to the very end, and it is also a way for Bethia to say "thank you" to Caleb for him being a part of her life. When Caleb died, she felt that she did her very best to help him, and she also feels that she is forgiven for "sins."
Delete-VCal
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ReplyDeleteUpon completing part I of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks I think the author was able to demonstrate the conflict of that time period with this Puritan family, the Mayfields, trying to convert the Native Americans. I guess you could say that the flow of the language was a bit odd to me at first as was all the parts of part one, yet not enough to make me put the book down and walk away. In fact, it was that very use of language that was able to bring Bethia and the colonial 17th century to life.
ReplyDeleteI was only a little surprised that by the end of part one Caleb and his friend seem to be completely open to Christianity even calling themselves Christians as well as learning the English language. While Caleb and Bethia couldn’t be any more different from one another, their desire to learn at all costs is very much the same. Since her mother’s death, Bethia has all of the responsibilities of her mother; this seems to have her guilt ridden and rebellious all at once. I found that Brooks did a good job in making Bethia’s feelings relatable.
-CGar
Part II of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks takes an abrupt change of scenery from part one and has Bethia thinking of her mother even more, if that is possible. During this part of the book Brooks is able to demonstrate how Bethia being a woman at that time, was not considered important enough or equal to the men. An example of this can be seen when the idea that she can be sold into marriage is entertained as well as in how valuable Bethia finds the paper to be, the same paper that the Master discards as useless. The rebelliousness of Bethia remains a constant throughout this part of the reading as it was in the first part. I found it ironic that Bethia only feels free when she is with Caleb, much the way she felt in part one when she stumbled upon Caleb with his tribe. I find it interesting how they each fit so perfectly into the others world, which is completely opposite from one another.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by the deaths in this portion of reading. With the guilt Bethia feels over her mother’s death I was caught off guard by the death of not just her father but even more so by Solace. I suppose these deaths are a sign of those times and just how things were.
-CGar
I too was surprised by the deaths that took place. However at the same time I expected that someone was going to die eventually. I figured that Bethia's Father would die because he brought Caleb into a contrasting religious community who worshiped one god where Caleb's community worshiped many. However I did not expect Solace to die which is a bit disappointing to me and leaves me a bit empty because I wanted to see how Solace turns out as a character. Of course this is the 1600s where there is no proper medicine at this point of time and there was no way to deal with illnesses and infections. I also like how Bethia and Caleb fit perfectly as well it's much like the yin and yang which complement one another, and I like how both are interested in each other's religions and both seem to enjoy each other's company and discussing each their religions.
Delete-GAnd
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DeleteI feel Chad speaks for everyone that the deaths in part two were quite puzzling and in perspective, disappointing. Once reading about how Bethia's father went out on a voyage to convert others to the mission, I knew something was going to happen. Sadly my suspicions came true and the minister died. After that, I feel it really hit Bethia and Caleb hard knowing their mentor died. However, no way could I of predicted the death of Solace that was devastating to the family. It makes you hope the saying "only the good die young" stays true and that God has a plan for everyone. The only other reason I can comprehend why she died was so Brooks can make the situation more dramatic and gloomy. Furthermore, I still love that Bethia is a maverick and still does the best to be unique. She really becomes more then the average women of the colonial times. but almost becomes a leader like her father. Like you guys said as well, Caleb and Bethia still seem to fit each other perfect and help one another develop.
Delete-Kdra
I found part III of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks to be very powerful. The very idea that Bethia welcomes death as it will be easier than mourning all of her losses is almost shocking. Although it should be taken into account that this part of the book is many years later than the last part of the book.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have referred to as rebelliousness throughout this reading actually proved to be pure determination. Bethia did not ever give up on getting her education. She may have had to hide and sneak but she was educated.
Again I can only use the word powerful in the description of Calebs death or perhaps that was his crossing. Until this part of the book I thought the titled referenced his crossing into Bethia’s world. Truth be told I often thought the book was more about Bethia’s crossing than Calebs; until his death is described that is. On page 308 it is described, “He sand out his death song, and died like a hero going home” / “Caleb was a hero, there is no doubt of it.” He was Bethia’s hero, that there is no doubt about, even visiting her in her dreams.
-CGar
Bethia's welcoming of death is especially shocking considering that she expects to go to hell. She even states that her pain may be little more than a foretaste of what awaits her in eternity. One detail that I like considering Bethia's education is when she is discussing a lecture with Samuel. Corlett at first frowns upon her discussion, but he later starts to participate in these seminars; he accepts the fact that women can participate in a debate. I agree with how powerful Caleb's death scene is. The title of the book is interesting in the various ways that it can be interpreted. Caleb crossed from his old lifestyle to the lifestyle of the English. At the same time, Caleb is stuck between two spiritual worlds. The words that Tequamuck give him help him find Joel in the afterlife. However, in doing so he risks abandoning his ancestors, as his spirit will on in Heaven. The fact that Caleb completes his crossing proves the faith and trust he has in the English people. Much like how Caleb is Bethia's hero, Bethia is a hero to Caleb.
Delete-CPar
I agree with you on this section to be powerful and I also agree that some of Bethia's rebelliousness was actually determination to better for herself. That is what she ultimately wanted. It's odd that she welcomes death especially since she doesn't know exactly where she stands with God. We don't know exactly what Tequamuk tells her in the wetu since she wouldn't tell Noah, but it affected her greatly. She whispers in Caleb's dying ear what Tequamuk told her. After that he takes a deep breath and sings his death song. Is he calling out to God, is he calling for Joel to meet him, is he calling for his ancestors? We don't know. We do know that Joel is in Heaven. He was going to be a preacher and grew up only knowing the English God unless Caleb told him otherwise when they spent so much time together. The author doesn't expand on their conversations other than they spoke to each other in Indian at times when they were alone. I agree with Christopher the title of this book can be taken in more than one way. Caleb crosses over from his Indian ways to the English ways, however has he really spiritually crossed over to Christianity? He seems to be caught in the middle. Does he want to be with his ancestors or does he want to be in Heaven with the one true God. Bethia questions her own eternity because of the choices she has made and the things she has done. She even questions if it would have been better to have left Caleb where she found him with his own world of gods and spirits. A true Christian wouldn't believe this.
DeleteCMen
As I completed Part 1 of Caleb’s Crossing, I have found Bethia to be a character that has multiple sides to her. We get a unique opportunity to see her grow from age 12 to 15 and the personality change is evident. When she is younger and had just met Caleb, her outlook is more innocent and curious as opposed to her older self that is more observant and daring. For instance she was excited to learn Caleb’s words for the creatures and plants that she had no name for in her language and to learn Caleb’s ways. As we see signs of her maturing she switches roles to the teacher and instructs Caleb on English and God. When Bethia is 15 years old and Caleb has gone away on his journey, she becomes slightly more spiteful toward daily things and seems bored with the people she is familiar with. This is shown when her father takes her to the Merry’s house and she has no real interest in them. Despite her changes, parts of her remain the same such as her adventurousness as when she was younger she took the chance of staying and talking to Caleb. For all she knew Caleb could’ve killed her. This stays with her when she is older when she drinks the poison just so she can see the visions the Indians see.
ReplyDelete-JGen
I agree with what you said how from the ages 12 to 15 Bethia's personality changed greatly. Due to meeting Caleb she becomes more rebellious and aware, unlike when she was younger. The example you gave really showed her change in thought, she was interested in learning new things that she didn't know before but as time went on she taught Caleb English and all about her religion. Bethia's attitude did change completely when Caleb left to never speak to her again. She stop going outside and venturing out drawing her mother's attention. I believe her curiosity returns when she finds the potion that her brother Makepeace spoke of, the potion that was basically poison but not a big enough dose to kill.
Delete-ACuc
In part 2 I was very surprised of the death of Bethia's father. We know previously that she put so much blame on her mothers death because of her sins, and she probably feels the same way about her father. After her father's death, Makepeace is in charge of Bethia. Makepeace is ready to sell Bethia into marriage, this honestly didn't surprise me because Makepeace was never a caring person in the first place. He never seemed to care about anything other than himself and his education. He did little to no work other than his lessons with his father and made Bethia do all the labor, his excuse being to further his education. Makepeace sold Bethia into marriage to a man named Master Corlett. At one point Bethia argued with Master Corlett and is forced to work as a servant. This book continues to show how cruel women were treated at these times and how they had no opinion or place other than servants in society. While being a servant for Master Corlett she meets a pregnant woman named Ann, who she later helps escape. I thought this part of the book was interesting because it showed who Bethia really is, a girl who doesn't really want to be a part of anything that tells her what to be.
ReplyDelete-ACuc
I found Makepeace to be a distasteful person. He always was sly and a sloth who always tried to cut corners. He would always try to make himself feel superior to Caleb and Joel even at the dinner table with the family. After the death of his mother I get the feeling that he somehow knew or at least had an idea that Bethia was somehow at fault, thus causing him to treat her even worse. While Bethia never told anyone about her interaction with Caleb, she has said before that she had an extreme feeling of guilt because she felt that her being with Caleb caused her mother’s death. Perhaps she had shown signs of remorse over it and he put two and two together? Further on, we see that after Bethia is sent to the school, she is a highly independent person. In Part one, Bethia cried and pouted over her not being able to take part in the lessons anymore with Makepeace. She always knew that she got the short end of the stick and she learned to deal with it: This materialized into Caleb.
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I agree and disagree with what you said. I was also surprised at the death of Pastor Mayfield. I had thought he would live on to guide the Native Americans Caleb and Joel along with his own kids on the right path in life, but instead his life was cut short. Though the grandfather had to take over officially, in a way Makepeace and Bethia needed to become more independent as they lived their lives away from home in Cambridge. I disagree in the sense that even though I had never liked Makepeace up to this point, I had hope that he would change when he needed to. However, he initially proved me wrong when he continued to make Bethia's choices for her and continued to think he knew what was best for her. Bethia is more independent than most women seem to be at that time and being as independent as she was she would never consent to any major decision in her life made by another. Although Makepeace does change, through most of the novel he remains a selfish lackadaisical boy who does not care about what Bethia wants.
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At the conclusion of the book I had a lot of mixed feeling of what has happened. The thing i felt most definitely happiness towards Ann and Bethia, who both got what they wanted. We learned early in the book that all Bethia wanted to do was learn about everything, she taught herself languages and read anything she could get her hands on. I was very relieved for Bethia when she went too college and finally got what she has been longing for. For Ann I was extremely happy when she got away from everything and escaped to the island with her baby. I feel a major issue that was shown all throughout this novel was how women were treated during this time. It is even shown to the very end when Bethia was almost forced into marrying a man she didn't love and didn't want to be with. The mixed feeling come in with the death of Caleb, I was really saddened by this death in the book. He was a very devoted and caring person that really didn't deserve to die.
ReplyDelete-ACuc
Mixed feelings is a great way to describe this book left me feeling as well. I was surprised by a lot in the last part of this book. I think Bethia marrying Samuel, although her nurturing nature was demonstrated throughout, shocked me most because I thought Bethia and Caleb would marry. With that said, it was good to read of happy times and the birth of her son. After all that she lost, she deserved happiness. Her education, as you pointed out- something she longed for, was finally obtained. Although she was being educated throughout her life, college was a huge accomplishment. I was surprised and disappointed by Joel’s murder as well as Caleb’s death. I thought Bethia;s description of Caleb’s death was the most powerful part of the entire book.
DeleteDespite Bethia marrying Samuel, her connection to Caleb is something that can’t be put into words. They understood one another all along on a different level; they are connected even to the point that after his death he visited her in her dreams.
-CGar
After concluding Caleb's Crossing, I, too had mixed feelings about whether to hate or like this touching novel. There were many parts that I loved such as Bethia's ability to be a strong individual and reach out to Caleb as well as the bonds they created. I hated how Bethia always blames herself for her mother's death and the death of Joel I feel was completely unnecessary, I felt as if that was just to add dramatic suspense. I was really dazed when Brooks decided to make Bethia feel guilt for her mother's death after building her up to be such a strong individual.I can see why you think that Bethia and Caleb would marry each other in the end Chad, but if you read closely and analyzed how Caleb had a "sickness" you would have inferred that he wasn't going to make it. Caleb's sickness can be interpreted to foreshadow his death. I feel as though you don't understand the difference between friendship and love. Although Bethia and Caleb had a special bond unmatched by any other doesn't mean they did in fact love each other. Bethia's chance to have an education, I would think, is the highlight of this story. Her education is what she was fighting her for the whole story. It proves how strong thinking individuals can fight the unequal odds of this biased society. I believe Brooks teaches us a lesson through Bethia. Her success proves how the work you put in is the result that comes out.
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All of you have great analysis for the final section of Brook's novel. Andrew you are without a doubt right about how the author puts emphasis on how women were treated during these ages. It seemed that whether it be Bethia or Anne, they must fight a strenuous battle in order to achieve what they want. We can see examples in Bethia trying to learn more, but be denied by her father to do so. Anne had to escape the grip of her culture in order to be happy with the man she loved as well. Despite the hardships, these women exceeded in accomplishing their goals. Still though, it was sad to hear about Caleb's death and Joel's death. In both situation it seemed premature and extremely bias for all they went through. However, it does show the historical and culture impact of that time with the Native tribes and diseases.
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I believe Part two of Caleb's crossing is much more interesting and eventful then part one. Although Bethia wasn't exactly thrilled with the way she was currently living since her mother's death, because she had no other woman who truly understood her, she was still fairly happy. After a short sequence of events her life totally changes. First her little sister, Solace, dies this was particularly hard on Bethia because since the day of her mother's death she took over and began to raise Solace on her own. Next the most tragic thing happens. After Bethia's father decides to go to England to try and raise some money for their mission a terrible storm comes and destroys the ship the father is on. The town soon gets word that the father is dead. Because of the Fathers death Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel can no longer continue their education their and must be sent off to complete it somewhere else. The only way this would become possible would be for Bethia to become an indentured servant to the school they are going to study at. After all going away to this school did not wind up as bad as it initially seemed, I believe this is so because if she was not at the school who knows what might have happened to Anne, a Native American girl who comes to the school not knowing she was pregnant until she has a miscarriage while at the school. Bethia helps her escape to the island where Bethia comes from.
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I feel every character who starts to be developed in this book dies. Bethia’s mother die, which isn’t very surprising due to how many people, died of illnesses during the 1600’s. Next Solace died, this was one of the more ridiculous deaths. I would expect a child who could walk would be at least able to turn itself over. This death was the hardest of them all because it showed death affected everyone even the innocent. Then Bethia’s father died which was provider for the family and sent them into having a money problem (he brought all the money with him.) When Joel died I didn’t care too much, he wasn’t as developed as the other characters and wasn’t a big impact on the plot. Then finally Caleb died which was terrible. He did all this work to better his people, to learn European culture and even go to Harvard to just die right after graduation. In conclusion this author would get along very well with George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones author.)
DeleteThe ending of this novel has a classic happy ending. Anne and Bethia both escaped and are now living free in their own mind. Bethia doesn’t have to be forced into marriage and can be the person she wants to be. Bethia later gets married to a man named Samuel Corlett, and together have a son who also makes a family of his own later on in his life. Bethia also was able to obtain more knowledge with schooling. Anne is now safe on the island with her baby unharmed. Although this is all happy, there was a fatality that left me disappointed with the novel. The death of Caleb made me upset because of the great m,an he once was. Caleb was an honest working man who has changed Bethias life for the better. The novel was otherwise a very enjoyable read. The novel had it points of joy, conclusion, sadness, and inevitably wanting to learn more and more about the characters
ReplyDelete-aaci
After reading through part two I found there to be many differences than in part one. It open with Bethia telling us that she is now in Cambridge, although her position was difficult she is now in a position to use paper which she believes is good because most women couldn't use paper, or at least recognize it as a resource. Bethia's father finally introduces Caleb into the village. One thing to note is that Bethia's father is really taking a huge risk because he will be opposition from some members of the community. However he has plans for the Aldens who hope to challenge Bethia's father after seeing Caleb being put at a prominent place during their worship service. The Father however also has a strategy for them by having the eldest of the Aldens read a Good Samaritan passage. It strategy worked as they were stopped as a threat. Moving further on there is much further to come which brings peril to our current protagonists. Later on Bethia's father dies which I was taken sort of by surprise and Solace, Bethia's sister also dies. And near the end of the chapter Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel aren't able to finish his education and Bethia might become an indentured servant which is intresting because were seing all these characters being moved around much in A walk across the sun and how they traveled from one place to another. The character that I am most intrigued by is Makepeace, Bethia's brother who is older by only one year. Makepeace is completely against Caleb's arrival mainly because of religious differences. He's afraid that Caleb will be draw Bethia into his beleifs which will create conflict. At one point he outright challenges his father saying "not favor making our tidy English field into an unruly savages' hillock and an object for our neighbors' jests" (Makepeace page 103 line 16-18). The father scolds him for his objections to his risk of bringing Caleb into the village.This is interesting because it's much like how he scolded Bethia in Part one when she questioned her role that Bethia's Father plans for her. I'm most certainly looking forward to how Makepeace turns out in part three in this change of events.
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Part 2 of Caleb’s Crossing seems to be more enticing than the first. Caleb had converted to Christianity but was still clinging to some beliefs he had such as worshiping the sun as it rose every single morning. Makepeace shows signs of jealousy because he despises the idea of him being outdone by the likes of Caleb and Joel. Solace was a great emotional outlet for Makepeace because she was the only person that he showed any real affection for. It was a real shame when Solace died which probably only added to Makepeace’s bitter aurora as a character. A strange occurrence is when Bethia goes to serve at the school: she is more independent than ever despite being indentured. Could this be because of the newfound freedom of her father’s teachings to be able to discover on her own? Or is it simply the isolation from her familiar family?
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I agree with all the points you have made James. To answer your question, I believe that Bethia's newfound freedom comes from a combination of using her father's religious teachings and being isolated from her past family. As we know, Bethia willingly assented to her grandfather's plan of her becoming an indentured servant. Bethia believed it was God's plan/punishment to be servant. As you may know, Bethia means in Hebrew "Daughter/Servant of God". Using her father's teachings and believing in her religion, Bethia is able to be more independent than ever because she is living God's plan. I also believe that by leaving her family, Bethia is able to think freely and live her own life. Makepeace isn't around to control her and she doesn't have the same expectations as she had in her home. As a result, Bethia is able to exercise her individuality without hiding it.
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In the last part of the novel, I have learned that Bethia is strong willed and opinionated, as she faced many challenged throughout the novel. Her struggles include: The struggle to find her identity, her struggle to conform to a religion, and her struggle to find redemption for what she believed were her sins. It seems to me that Bethia was most comfortable around Caleb, because Bethia can be her normal self, and not feel like an outsider. The reason why she didn't feel like an outsider, was because she was with one. Her struggles to conform to a religion would haunts her the whole book. Even at an old age, she acknowledged that there may be more spirituality than what here Christian faith lead her to believe. Her final struggle that she faced throughout the novel was her struggle to find redemption for her sins. She felt that through helping Caleb and Anne, she found redemption for her sins, and that she will be reborn into heaven. This struggle is mainly in part due to the death of her mother, as she feels she is responsible because of her sins. Even as Bethia grew older, I believe she still is a complex, unpredictable, persistent, and curious character.
ReplyDelete-VCal
I agree with the points you have made about how the book ended. Bethia certainly struggled with finding who she really was in her Puritan society. She definitely faced many challenges on her journey to adulthood, most of them concerning her true place in the world. Because she hung out with person who was fighting the same internal battle as she was, she had someone to confide in. Caleb was an different from all the others in his community, just like Bethia was in hers. They went along through life together and developed a strong friendship that they both gained comfort in. I also agree with you that Bethia found the redemption she was looking for throughout the whole novel. Because she helped Caleb and Anne, she was able to put her mind at rest and believe she would be accepted into heaven. Since she put so much blame on herself for the death of her mother due to her prior sins, this was a nice way to end her struggles.
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Like Tom,I also agree with your statement made. Bethia did struggle with being who she wants to be in her society. Upon aging she had gone through many hardships. She always wanted to be different and to find someone different. Caleb was that different person from all the others in her society. They did helped other with learning what they both believed in and their friendship grew as time went on. I also agree with you that Bethia gained her redemption. Because she helped Caleb and Anne, she was able to put her mind at rest and believe she would be accepted into heaven. Since she put so much blame on herself for the death of her mother due to her prior sins, this was a nice way to end her struggles. The death of Caleb was however tragic but Bethia is now at peace and free.
Delete-aaci
After completing part two, of the novel, I wasn't really surprised with the actions of Makepeace. Although I did feel that once Bethia and Makepeace's father died, Makepeace would take on the fatherly role and take care of his sister. But instead his selfish actions to save himself, leads him to selling his sister to Master Corlett as a servant. Being a servant is the total opposite thing for Bethia, because she is rebellious and different, she can't be like everyone else, she is unique. But throughout her time as a servant, one can see how Bethia grows to be more like the other girls. But her relationship with Caleb is only getting stronger and I can not wait to see what happens with Caleb and Bethia's relationship.
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Like you, I believed that Makepeace would assume the protective position of his father over his sister once he passed away. I was not, however, too surprised when he acted monetarily. In Puritan society, the men are seen as overly inferior to women. They could take control over their actions and essentially do what they want with them. Makepeace was greedy and thought he could make a quick buck from selling his sister. This is not surprising due to the fact Puritan men concern themselves mainly with social rank and personal wealth. In my opinion, being sold as a slave does a great injustice to Bethia’s unique personality. Now that Bethia must conform to the ways of woman’s work like the rest of her society, she is forced to not act like herself. She must set aside her personal goals to learn and achieve to act as a servant to a house of men.
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ReplyDeleteUpon completion of part one of Caleb's Crossing, I have drawn to the conclusion that Bethia Mayfield is truly a maverick or one who goes against the "status quo". With the absence of her mother, Bethia is able to express herself freely. Instead of carrying her mother's traits, she carries her own traits. She yearns to learn about nature and education. The problem is her gender. She is a female and in Puritan society females are housemaids who carry a trait of listening rather than one of talking. One clear event that shows Bethia as a rebel or maverick is when she meets Cheeshahteaumauk, a young Native American boy who belongs to the Wampanoag tribe. Bethia gives him the Christian name Caleb, a follower of Moses. For most of her childhood days, Bethia communicates with Caleb and they develop a meaningful friendship. This is the prime example of why I believe Bethia is a maverick in part one. The Wampanoag people are seen as "Devil Worshippers" who should never be negotiated with unless they wanted to be converted to Christianity. Bethia communicates with Caleb because she wants to learn about his tribe and lifestyle. If Bethia ever got caught she would be severely punished for disobeying Puritan beliefs.
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I definitely agree that the character of Bethia Mayfield is truly seen as a maverick. The "status quo" in her society is completely horrendous for the women and girls. All they are allowed to do is follow the orders of the male superiority. Most of the time they are told to just do their chores around their area or inside the house. Bethia's characteristic as a maverick is surely seen as she yearns for education as Daniel said, and she listens to hear father teach Makepeace the different languages. Daniel is right about Bethia developing her own traits, rather than her mother. Her mother looks like she always conformed to society and did what she was told to do. Bethia is different in that she befriends a Native boy who is seen as a salvage, and they develop a bond that shall continue. Their friendship really surprises me since no other girl at that time would do that. I also agree with Daniel that if she was ever caught she would have be punished and I think probably be limited to certain areas she could be in.
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I have to completely agree with you on what you are saying. Bethia lacks a mother figure in her life; therefore, she really does not have a role model to look up to. This could explain why she always tends to act out from her place in her Puritan society. Like you said, in the Puritan society women are expected to behave a certain way. Because Bethia did not have a mother to learn these expected behaviors from, she did what she wanted to do. Bethia grew up in a house with men, so it was only natural for her to act the way she did. She took it upon herself to learn the lessons her father taught her brother, which is something most girls do not do. Because her mother was not there to guide her and teach her the way of the Puritan women, she disobeyed again by befriending the Native American boy.
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I couldn’t agree more. I too see Bethia as a maverick. In a female oppressive society, it is thrilling to see such a young girl go against the crowd. I admire the fact that even though Bethia knows it is wrong for her to be educated, she still pushes herself to further her knowledge. I can’t believe how far things how come since puritan time. When you look at the world today, women are a part of almost every occupation. It’s hard to believe that a one point in history women were only allowed to work in the house. Also, I like the point you make about her rebellious ways when she becomes friends with Cheeshahteaumauk. Bethia is only trying to expand her cultural views. It is depressing to think that interaction between different cultures is prohibited. In today’s society, it doesn’t matter what race you are, you can make friends with anyone. I am curious to see how Bethia develops as she gets older.
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ReplyDeleteLike many of my fellow classmate said, part two is more interesting than part 1. With Caleb converting to Christianity, Solace and Bethia's father dying, and Bethia becoming an indentured servant, as a reader I couldn't put the book down. While all of these events are interesting, the event that was most enticing to me was when Bethia's introduces the reader to Giles Alden. In the beginning of part two, a morning service is being held and Caleb is attending and is sitting in a prominent place because he is now a Christian. Bethia's father calls forth Giles Alden to read from the scriptures. According to Bethia, Giles is her father's chief antagonist. He has always ridiculed Bethia's father for trying to convert the Native Americans because they are "pernicious creatures". While I was reading this, I was wondering why Bethia's father would make Giles read in front of Caleb if Giles hates Native Americans. It turns out that the passage was The Good Samaritan and it said to welcome all foreigners. Giles was completely neutralized and he praised and welcomed Caleb. This scene showed me Bethia's father's wit but more importantly that there is a physical antagonist living in the Puritan society.
ReplyDelete-DFes
After completing Part 1 of Brooks's work, we see Bethia Mayfield a young girl who does not like to conform to society. She can seen as eccentric and most especially as a rebel. Since she is a female in her society she must carry on doing all her chores through the day, while her brother Makepeace learns different languages from his father. Bethia listens to her father teach and ends up understanding the lanugages more than Makepeace. I was surprised she became friends with one of the Native boys Cheeshahteaumauk. In her society the Natives were seen as salvages and they were only communicated for conversions into Christianity. Amazingly both Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk became great friends to the point where they gave each other nicknames. Bethia chose Caleb as the nickname for Cheeshahteaumauk and Bethia became "Storm Eyes." Significantly the name Caleb was from the companion of Moses in the wilderness who was fearless. Later in Part 1, Bethia and her father are needed for asistance for the Natives when someone was sick. Bethia is told to stay around meanwhile she finds a potion that she drinks, and regrets doing so since she thinks it caused the death of her mother in the future. Like the rebel she is, I don't blame Bethia for being curious. She just wants to be different from the other girls in her society who all must conform to the standards and traditions.
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Upon completion of part three of Caleb's Crossing, I was extremely confident that Bethia would gain her freedom, marry Caleb, have a couple children, and live happily ever after! I was completely wrong, part three left me equivocal and ambiguous. There were many happy events like Bethia getting married to Samuel Corlett and gaining her freedom to pursue her own dreams and goals. Also, Ann was able to escape while pregnant and she was able to live a life without being ridiculed. But with all these joyous events came horrible events, While on an innocent journey, Joel was ambushed and killed by natives. Also, probably the worst event of all, Caleb died a slow and painful death from a severe illness. Throughout the whole novel, I believed that Caleb and Bethia's friendship would be everlasting but I guess the quote "All good things come to an end" is indeed true!
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I completely agree with Daniel above with many of the points he argued. It seemed to good to be true starting from the beginning of the story. I seriously thought that Bethia was going to marry Caleb and "live happily ever after" as you stated. From the start, we have seen Bethia and Caleb develop a special type of bond that was extraordinary. That bond continued on from when Caleb was taken upon the father of Bethia to learn the knowledge of the different languages. Whenever both Bethia and Caleb were together, there was never a dull moment. In the beginning Makepeace always thought he was superior than Bethia, but Caleb never treated Bethia that way and Caleb was respectful. Part three also left me indefinte and hazy with the extremely unpleasant events. Of all the events, I agree with Daniel that Caleb's death had to be the worst of all. Bethia lost one of true friends she ever had that was seen as a brother. The death of Caleb can also be seen as good because Caleb is reunited with Joel which was the main thing that bothered him before he died.
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I agree with all the points you have stated, I also felt that Caleb and Bethia had something special that would last forever. From the beginning of the novel the relationship between Caleb and Bethia was eternal. But I also felt that Bethia choosing to marry Samuel Corlett was a good thing because it represented how Bethia matured and developed into a women with structure. I agree with your quote, "All good things must come to an end" because Caleb was unique and different and taught Bethia things that she would have never learned. Caleb falling ill and dying was a tragedy because he brought life Bethia but agreeing with Steven it can be seen as a good thing because Caleb is now with Joel in heaven and I feel his legacy and uniqueness will always be in Bethias heart.
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At the beginning of the novel, we meet Bethia and her family. Her family, as well as the members of the community she lives in, is very devout in their religious faith. Her father, a minister, teaches his children all they need to know concerning their religion. Bethia, on the other hand, is more indifferent towards her Christian faith. She is more unique and rebellious amongst the other members of her society, and this is shown by the way she constantly acts out. She does not follow the rules of womanhood that the young girls should be following. For example, when her father is teaching her brother, Makepeace, the many different languages, she pays attention and learns along with him. However, she learned faster and learned more than her brother did. This is highly unusual in their time period because men are suppose to be superior to women. Another example of her defiance to the rules would be when she befriended a Native American boy named Cheeshahteaumauk. The people within her religious society are told to never interfere with Native Americans because of their contrasting religious beliefs. Bethia becomes very close with the Native American boy. They even teach each other about their own religions as well as giving each other nicknames.
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While there is no doubt that Brooks portrays Bethia as rebellious, she really had no choice. In order for her to learn, she had to be defiant and unique, as you put it. Her ability to listen and learn without being noticed can be seen as a gift her mother passed along to her. We learn in this part of the reading that In 1660 Martha’s Vineyard was where the Mayfields called home. We learned that at that point all that was left to their family was15 year old Bethia, her brother, Makepeace, their sister Solace, and their father the pastor. We know that the family suffered great loss through death: the mother, the baby she was giving birth to, and Bethia’s twin Zuriel. I suppose all the death they faced is a sign of those times, it just seems like a lot for one family to deal with; not necessarily the wrath of God for Bethia’s sins, but a lot nonetheless.
DeleteWhile Bethia’s attraction to the Native culture and Caleb is described as rebellious, I see how their traditions free her from the repression she feels from her Puritan ways.
-CGar
As the plot of the story evolves, we see more development in each character and their relationships with each other. Cheeshahteaumauk, now renamed as Caleb by Bethia, assimilates himself into Betha’s world. He becomes accustom to her lifestyle and culture, and he also converts to her religion of Christianity. He learned how to speak multiple languages fluently due to his love for knowledge. He picked up the lessons from Bethia’s father quickly, even though his own son struggled tremendously. Caleb was greatly impacted by leaving the Native American community and joining Bethia’s. Unfortunately, Bethia’s father eventually passed on and she was left under the care and guidance of her brother. Makepeace, who I believed would be a loving and caring guardian to his little sister, tries to sell her into marriage. Bethia, as predicted because of her independent personality, simply refused this arrangement. She did not want to be like all the other girls who have to settle into a bought marriage. Eventually, she is given over to Master Corlett as an indentured servant in order to pay the debt of her brother’s and Caleb’s tuition bills. While staying at Master Corlett, Bethia encounters a pregnant woman named Ann. Bethia sympathizes with her, thus helping her escape. Also while staying there, Bethia develops a relationship with the master’s son, Samuel Corlett. He eventually proposes to her.
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In the final chapters of the book, we see how each character fully developed throughout the story. I was relieved to find out that Ann had safely and successfully made it to the island in which she wanted to escape to, and she managed to keep her baby healthy and alive. Bethia was freed from her obligation to Merry due to the fact he chose to marry another woman, Tobia. Bethia, now free to marry whomever she chooses, accepts Samuel’s proposal. Bethia, now free, seizes the opportunity to attend college. Even though she was labeled as rebellious as a young girl, I now see that she was only curious about the world. She wished only to learn about and gain experience from different things than everyone else she knew. She was an outgoing girl who knew what she wanted in life, and she didn’t let anyone come between her and her dreams. I admire her perseverance through the many hardships she encountered in life. She later on winds up happily married to Samuel Corlett. They had a son, Ammi Ruhama who grows up to have children of his own. However, Caleb did not get the happy ending all of the other characters got to enjoy. He fell ill due to a severe illness and ultimately passed on. Caleb lived his life only wanting to work hard and achieve. In conclusion, each character’s life was changed for the better.
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I think Part two of Brooks's novel was where all the climax of events mostly occurred. As many of my classmates have said, Part two was truly more engrossing than Part one. After reading of the tragic events of the death of Solace and the death of Bethia's father, it was jaw-dropping since I did not expect Brooks to include such terrible disasters in Bethia's life including Makepeace. I assummed Makepeace to consider taking on the father role and make the decisions for Bethia, although she was a rebel. When Makepeace made the decision for Bethia to become an indentured servant for Master Corlett, I thought of how foolish of a brother he was. Bethia later on agreed to do the job since she felt it was God's calling to her, but it stopped her rebellious side. I thought Makepeace was a good brother, but yet again he makes another decision to have Bethia marry Noah Merry. When I continued reading I had it already with Makepeace and his dumb decisions. To me, I find the conversion of Caleb and Joel to Christianity the most important thing in Part two. Both of them left their old Native ways in order to continue their path to learning and knowledge. I feel that Caleb had it harder than Joel because Caleb's uncle Tequamuck thought negatively of the English and Joel's father Iaccomis already converted. Besides Bethia being a rebel, I see that Caleb and Joel are rebels in their own unique ways.
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After completing the final part in Brooks's work, I am happy yet I am sad. I really thought the story was going to end with Bethia being married to Caleb and having children. Yet Brooks has her own way making the story have mix feelings. I was truly happy for Bethia marrying Samuel Corlett, although I thought it should have been Caleb. I was shocked to learn that Bethia has a son named Ammi Ruhama that later gets married and lives his own life. Another shocker was that Makepeace finally became a man and appreciated Bethia and her decisions. I would have never thought that Anne would be married to Joel and would live a life together. For Caleb, I felt bad for him because he never gets married to anyone and he has no real family anymore besides uncle Tequamuck. Uncle Tequamuck was through with Caleb ever since Caleb left for the Christian life. Even with all the good, the bad must also balance out. The death of Joel I think was unexpected. It was such a tragedy that he and the people on his boat were ambushed, killed, and washed ashore. When Bethia told of the death of Joel to Caleb, Caleb just walked out on Bethia showing no emotion but deep down inside he was hurt. Besides the death of Joel, Caleb also suffered a painful death with illness. I was yet again happy to see Bethia’s rebellious side when she asked Tequamuck for help about Caleb.
ReplyDelete-SPab
I agree with you that the ending was in many ways surprising. I too saw Bethia and Caleb getting married due to their closeness, but I soon learned that their relationship was one of brother-sisterly love. As far as Makepeace goes, throughout most of the novel I disliked his character and the choices he made, I liked how he grew into a better man and brother to Bethia. Joel's death was most definitely a tragedy as he didn't get to officially graduate. Caleb at least died after he graduated and finished what he started. As for Bethia's decision to go see Tequamuck I was shocked. Even though Bethia is different from many other women and people in general at that time, I did not expect her to seek the pagan man that so many Native Americans feared and hated. Despite what she did throughout it seemed as if she always stayed true to her religious beliefs and that is why I was shocked to see her go to a pagan let alone one as supposedly powerful and influential as Tequamuck. Though the meeting between him was definitely interesting. I think the ending had both happy and sad aspects to it like you said though I think it was an appropriate ending and I am not disappointed with it.
Delete-DD'Am
Upon finishing the beginning parts of Geraldine Brooks' novel, we learn of a young girl named Bethia who is being raised to be extremely critical of herself and strong in religion. Being the age that she is, she wants to rebel against her authority figures and test the limits of her religion and society. We then meet a boy named Caleb who is from an indian culture and has the complete opposite(almost) religious views of Bethia. These two children were taught that the other's culture was evil and full of bad people. When Bethia and Caleb meet each other they are eager to learn more about the other's religion and way of life. Bethia even takes part in drinking some poison from the indians in order to try and see the visions that they speak of which are "from the gods". I Hope to see more interaction between Bethia and Caleb throughout the course of this book! Great so far!
ReplyDelete-TZir
After completing part three of the novel, everything I didn't expect to happen, happened. As I stated in my last blog I thought that Caleb and Bethia had an unconditional love that would eventually lead to "the happy ending", where they would be married and live happily ever after. Although Bethia didn't not wind up marrying Caleb, she was freed and accepted the marriage request of Samuel Corlett, togather they live happily together with a child. I was very shocked that Bethia accepted the request of marriage, but than I realized that she has matured into a women and was ready to start her life. I was also very pleased to hear that Ann had escaped and conceived a healthy baby. The tragic plot twist was when Caleb caught a nasty illness, and died. Although he did not get his happy ending, I feel his legacy will live forever. The conclusion of the novel was not very happy,but it depicted the development and growth of every character.
ReplyDelete-CCro
You have made some very interesting points and I completely see where you’re coming from. I feel like it is only natural for anyone to expect a “happy ending,” but life is not always so fortunate. People unexpectedly pass away all of the time and we can never go back and change that. You have proven though, that life always finds a way of resolving past conflicts to better someone’s future. Although Bethia does not marry Caleb, which we all thought was a strong possibility; she marries possibly the next best man. Samuel treated Bethia the way any woman deserves to be treated like but I was not that shocked by her acceptance of the marriage proposal. Samuel Corlett made her feel good as a person and I was especially glad to see her become a mother. Caleb lived a great life, despite his tragic death because he set the bar for every Native American to come. He aspired to become successful and he absolutely did that when he graduated from Harvard College.
Delete-DMcA
As Geraldine Brooks' novel opens, we meet the daughter of a minister, Bethia Mayfield. Bethia was a curious girl who wanted to learn more than anything but was refused an education past the age of nine due to the fact that she was a woman. Later on Bethia meets an Native American boy, later called Caleb, whose religious views are vastly different than her own. Not surprisingly, she takes an interest in this boy and he makes her seek answers in parts of her own religion that she cannot justify. Like Bethia, Caleb too comes to be curious about the religion of Bethia's community and wishes to understand it. She drinks a Native American potion and she learns of their ways from Caleb. All of this convinces Bethia she is a sinner and is responsible for her mother's death. I do not believe her actions directly caused the death of her mother. Bethia seems to believe that God wills thing as he may at their proper time. With that being said it is more likely that it was time for Bethia's mother to die when she did and that it had naught to do with her actions. This curiosity of hers is recurrent through the work and causes her to overstep her bounds from time to time. However, I do not think it is responsible for the death of her mother nor anyone else throughout the novel, if anything it has bettered the lives of some. -DD'Am
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading the final part I'm not too sure what say, it didn't really end the way I wanted it to. I expected maybe Caleb and Bethia to be together for the rest of there lives, although her side of the story seems to end on a good note and a very noticeable gain of personal growth, so at least it doesn't end tragically. The same goes for Ann who also ended on a note of hope in which she has a baby. Unfortunately though Caleb undergoes a tragic death through an illness which is quite shocking and depressing because he went through persecution for his beliefs throughout the novel so it's unfortunate to see him get through the end of book after we see him achieve further personal growth. Although this novel was not as depressing as A Walk Across the Sun, this book left me empty a bit because they killed off one of the main protagonists that was with us since Part 1. Other than that though it ends well for the other protagonists, they all gain personal growth and it looks to be a bright future for the protagonists
ReplyDeleteThe second part of the work is more eventful than the first as it follows Caleb, Joel and Makepeace when they go to Cambridge in preparation to attend Harvard College at Master Corlett's school. Despite Bethia not being able to attend as a student she too accompanies them as an indentured servant at the school. Makepeace and her grandfather try to persuade her to comply and she does because she saw God's will at work. After her father's shocking death I expected Makepeace to take on a more fatherly role to Bethia, but he did not initially. In fact he mostly thought of himself and his family's reputation rather than what Bethia wanted. He arranges to have her married to Noah Merry in exchange for her freedom because he cannot continue at the school. When a Native American girl named Anne comes to the school she eventually has a miscarriage which turns into a big scandal. Bethia conspires with Noah to bring her to the Takemmy people for her safety. I was surprised when Makepeace went along with it. Just when it seems Makepeace will never be a good brother he changes, helps Bethia and apologizes. Noah freed Bethia and she went to the college as a servant in the buttery to learn from President Chauncy's lectures secretly. This section shows how Bethia remains true to her curious self continuing to do what she loves by learning covertly and paving her own path in life with the help of others.
ReplyDelete-DD'Am
The final part of this book took some unexpected turns and did not end how I thought it would. When I read the first part of this story I expected Bethia and Caleb to end up happily married to each other due to how well they got along. However, she did seem happy with Samuel and remained friends with Caleb and Joel along the way. Bethia is old in this part of the story and she tells what has transpired since that first year of college. She eventually ended up with a son and his family back on the island. Joel died before he could technically graduate and Caleb graduated but died soon after. The end was not as happy as I may have guessed. Also, the help Bethia sought to bring Caleb back to health was unexpected along with his death itself. The novel ends with events unfolding to show how unlikely it is for the British and the Native Americans to get along for much longer. However, Caleb was a martyr as he died the first Native American graduate of Harvard College and proved all those who thought a Native American could not be educated as the English could wrong.
ReplyDelete-DD'Am
It's sad to see some of the main characters killed off at the end of the novel. I was hoping to see all of these characters live on because of the challenges they had to face such as Caleb's persecution throughout the novel. At the same time, I'm happy to see Caleb die as a martyr but still sad because the characters such as Caleb had to go through all of these challenges only to be rewarded by an early death in life. Now granted it's great to see that Ann and Bethia grow throughout the novel and be rewarded with happiness and overall we see all the protagonists grow as the novel progressed. However I'm also surprised how Bethia turned out as well when she married Samuel. It seemed that Bethia and Caleb were very close so I thought they would be together but Caleb's unfortunate death and Bethia marrying Samuel completely threw that out of the window. But I do agree with Dan that Caleb was martyred at the end proving that Native Americans could be educated which effectively proved the English wrong.
Delete-GAnd
After finishing part one of Caleb’s Crossing I was somewhat shocked at Bethia’s secret rebelliousness. When she wanders off on her own to complete her chores and meets Caleb, their innocent friendship begins to develop. This is something that would not be acceptable during the 1600’s in a Puritan society. Yet, today their relationship would be a normal friendship between children of different cultures. As a woman living in her times she was given barely any freedom’s as an individual and unable to express her true potential without someone calling her sinful. For example when she over hears her father teaching Makepeace and she knows the answers that Makepeace struggles with she is told that pride is sinful. I don’t blame Bethia at all for being a free spirit and communicating with Caleb, even though it was against her father’s wishes. In a way I feel sorry for Bethia because she embraces and enjoys learning but in her society a woman is not educated past a young age. Bethia and Caleb have two very different lives and are each curious about the other’s lifestyle.
ReplyDelete-DMcA
As the novel started we find out that she lost one of her brothers during a miscarriage, she lost a seven year old brother named Zuriel who died in an accident and her mother died due to the miscarriage but Bethia blames herself because she asked questions to her brother Makepeace and her father that questioned her faith. I felt really upset for her as I read this novel because we find out that when her mother died Bethia had to take care of the family and then we find out that her sister Solace drowns herself in the well that they made to help cure Caleb’s father. She then loses her father as he is sailing to England a vicious storm hits the island and the father is killed. I also found it ironic that she wanted to marry Caleb instead of Noah Merry but instead she doesn’t marry either of them and as we continue to read she marries Samuel.
ReplyDelete- ASar
As I read this novel Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks I found it ironic when Bethia a young girl who tries to teach her religion of the Christian faith to Caleb who she likes and he begins to listen to her but as we continue to read we find out that he continues to pray to his many gods like for example when he prayed to the sun god when they found Solace dead in the well. I also find crazy is that when Bethia tries to spread her religion yet when her family is skinning the whale that got stranded on the beach she can’t watch them skin the whale so she leaves and finds the Wampanoags doing a celebratory dance and feast and Bethia stays and watches them from above becoming fascinated by this. Then when she returns to her campsite she couldn’t sleep so she goes back to the area and dances alone to The Wampanoags drumming.
ReplyDelete-ASar
I also find this very ironic; this book if anything is not very bias. It shows that both religions can prevail. Caleb only converted because he saw the power of the bible and realized he could only survive if he converted (not true he just had to become Europeanized.) Then it also shows Caleb’s Uncle Tequamuck had the power (coincidence) to kill Bethia’s father with the storm. When Bethia danced with the Wampanoags and felt amazing it showed a mix in faith. Another mix in faith was when Caleb prayed to Keesakand (sun god.) In the beginning of the book Caleb asked some very hard questions for Bethia to answer. For example when Caleb asked about how original sin is fair, or when the tribe asked “if god wanted us in this house (heaven) then he would have sent our ancestors such a book (bible.)” When you look at either religion from the opposite cultures view they just seem ridiculous.
Delete-KWie
As I continue to read the first part of this novel we find out that Bethia is having a conversation with Caleb about God. Caleb finds her faith ridiculous which made Bethia consider watching her father preach. Her father agrees to bring her on one of his missionaries and Bethia pretends that she cant speak the language and watches her father preach his sermon while everyone in the community listens and Bethia realizes how he treats everyone with respect. Its is then said a few years have passed and Caleb is getting better and better at reading and speaking English and he tells Bethia that they cant be friends anymore because he is about to start a ritual transformation from boyhood to manhood and that he must go on a path chosen by his visions. Bethia feels that Caleb will be reuniting his soul with the devil so she starts to cry and runs away. I felt sad for Bethia because she lost her best friend but I also felt good inside because she wanted to see her father preach.
ReplyDelete-ASar
As I start to read part two of Caleb’s Crossing I started to find out that Bethia encounters Caleb by the water who was coming back from the woods and told her that he was greeting his sun god. Bethia is Christian and believes that God created everything so I find it ironic that Caleb would say that God created everything but then he goes on to say that it is okay to sing praising the sun. Later, we find out that Bethia is doing her chores and she feels that they will help her get rid of her sins against her mother which she feels is the reason for her mother’s death. As I continue to read I find that Joel and Caleb become close friends and Bethia becomes really close with Solace her sisiter has she continues to take care of her. I feel that Bethia shouldn’t blame herself for her mother’s death.
ReplyDelete-ASar
As I continue to read this novel we find out that the Wampanoag’s set up a memorial for Mayfield’s death. Makepeace and Bethia both visit it every day. One day while Bethia and her brother Makepeace are visiting their father’s stone they start to argue with each other about Caleb if he truly changed and if their father was killed by Tequamuck. We start to find out that Makepeace is jealous of Bethia and Caleb because of their success in learning and he also believes that Caleb killed Solace because he was their when they found her dead in the well. Afterwards we find out that Makepeace and Bethia meet with their grandfather who begins to read them their fathers will and reveals that they will be continuing their studies in the school of Master Corlett in Cambridge. I feel sad for Bethia because she lost a lot of people in her family and now she is in a disput with her brother.
ReplyDelete-ASar
As I begin to read Part three the final part in the novel Caleb’s Crossing we start to find out that Bethia is a lot older now and that she is married to Samuel. Bethia reveals to us that her health is falling but she still has her memories. She starts to read papers that she had written and now reading them she seems that it was foolish to write them. She tries to write for one last time but the pain hurts her but she continues anyway and she talks about how her wedding and that they got married in Italy so Samuel can continue his medical studies. She writes that on their way back from Italy Bethia was pregnant and that she had a boy. She continues to tell us that her son married a daughter of Noah Merry and he became a boat builder. After reading I felt happy for Bethia because she was able to have a son and she was able to witness him become a man and to marry one of Noah’s daughters.
ReplyDelete-ASar
In the end I wish Bethia married someone else. Even though Samuel was a great guy who understood her and gave her the basic human rights that woman were not given at the time. There are two characters I’d rather her marry, Caleb or Noah. Caleb was like her soul mate, they knew each other’s culture and adapted to each other. I feel if Caleb didn’t die, then this book would of ended differently. Sadly I can’t complain because it is based on a true story and you can’t change history. The person that I most wanted to marry Bethia was Noah. He always visited her when he didn’t have to and asked how everything was. He took special interest in her but sadly she did not have the same feeling back. She did admit he was very funny and handsome and wouldn’t mind being married to him. She is much smarter than him but that isn’t something you can help for example Makepeace.
ReplyDelete-KWie
I agree with your statements about who Bethia married. I also like Samuel he is a good guy , but I real would love to see Bethia marry Caleb. During the novel, I thought the story was being set up that Caleb and Bethia were going to get married.It just seemed to me that they were the perfect pair , like they were meant to be. They were always around each other and Bethia was even the reason Caleb converted to Catholicism. It just ruined the book a little for me because I wanted to see how Caleb and Bethia's baby was like and how they would raise it. All in all , I'm just happy that Behtia married someone who didn't treat her less then equal and treated her with the respect she deserved to be treated with. I also believe if Caleb didn't die , there would be some sort of love interest between Bethia and Caleb.
DeleteCPor
Progressing through Brook's novel Caleb's Crossing i am mesmerized by the rapid development and captivating events that take place. Caleb and Bethia's character's both grow and increasingly begin to show adult-like qualities. Bethia's father sadly dies in a tragic accident out at sea. Makepeace should have filled in the father role but he didn't, rather than doing what he was supposed to he sold Bethia to make himself some money. He sold Bethia to work at a school, the school where caleb would attend soon after. Bethia meets an indian girl named Anne who was impregnated before coming to this school and she wants to go back to the island where she was born to have her child so Bethia daringly helps Anne. Bethia returns Anne to the island where she was born and this truly shows that Bethia is not afraid to act on what she believes is right, whether or not it could have gotten her in serious, serious trouble within the society she lives. Caleb also begin's to show adult-like qualities and this second part of this book truly keeps me interested and guessing what is going to happen next. I cannot wait to continue reading and learn more about these two main characters.
ReplyDelete-TZir
The conclusion of Part I reveals Bethia's growth as an individual. We are offered to see her grow into her teenage years. Her personality was more innocent when she had first met Caleb but then she had become curious. Caleb had passed down his stories and knowledge of creatures and plants onto Bethia. Throughout her growth she had returned the favor and taught Caleb how to speak English and about God. Once Caleb had gone away her whole personality and outlook on life had changed. Even though she became a different person she still kept her quality as outgoing and still tried to be with Caleb. This got her killed in the future when she wanted to be a part of the Indian's ritual and drank the poison.
ReplyDelete-MNew
As I read on to Part II Bethia was greeted by Caleb in the woods, who had come back from greeting his sun god. Caleb claims to believe in God the way that Bethia does, that he created everything meanwhile he's worshipping another god, the sun god. Deeper throughout the novel, Bethia starts to do good deeds around the house to make herself feel more comfortable in the situation of her mother's death. Eventually Caleb connects with Joel meanwhile Bethia starts to bond with her sister again as she takes care of her. It's not fair that Bethia should feel the way she does about her mother because it wasn't her fault. She should just let it go and try to move it.
ReplyDelete-MNew
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ReplyDeletePart 1
ReplyDeleteIn the first section of Caleb's Crossing we are introduced to Bethia, her family and an Indian named Cheeshahteaumauk. We learn about a time in history that is very different from today. During the 1600's women had specific roles that didn't include schooling and classroom learning. Their family would usually choose their husband, and girls would become mothers and servants to the family. They did the housework, chores, and took care of the family; there was no life beyond that, no education. Bethia doesn't agree with this and takes it upon herself to learn as much possible, whatever the cost. She defies her minister, father, and listens to him in secret while he is teaching her brother Makepeace. Because he is a boy he is privileged and has the opportunity to learn and be anything he chooses. Bethia must feel so oppressed. Her brain is like a sponge and she wants to learn. She takes a big risk when she meets the Indian boy she renamed Caleb. She is not supposed to interact with these people unless they turn from their pagan ways and conform to Christianity. She delights in learning about Caleb and his Indian ways; she teaches him about Christianity, and he eventually converts later on. Bethia is intelligent and a nonconformist who is curious and rebellious at the same time. I think she struggles with her Christianity. I believe she is deceived when she drinks the poison because she knew not to do so. It was part of the pagan religion of the Indians. She later blames herself for her mother’s death because she did this. Bethia's character is very deep, controversial, and complex. I can't wait to see how the author is going to develop her character as an adult.
CMen
Part 2
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of Caleb's Crossing, Caleb comes to stay at the Mayfield home after his father Nohnoso dies. At first I found this a bit perplexing. Caleb grew up with pagan beliefs and rituals all his life and went through that crazy ritual into adulthood. You would think that he would have stayed with some other Indian family. When a person truly finds our God there is usually a transformation in his/her life that brings them to Christ. Bethia's words must have really touched Caleb. I believe this is the impact that Geraldine Brooks is trying to convey to the reader. Bethia's father teaches Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel and prepares them for higher education. He also continues to preach and bring the gospel to the Indians. Many are converting, however Caleb's uncle Tequamuk installs fear into his people telling them that they would be doomed if they accepted the Christian God. Bethia and Makepeace believe that Tequamuk cursed their father. While setting sail for England to secure money for a new schoolmaster for the Indian school, their father is killed in a horrible storm. As a result of his death, their grandfather secures an agreement with Master Cortlett to have Bethia work at the school as an indentured servant in exchange for Makepeace's education. She unhappily accepts and believes it is her lot in life just as it was to take care of Solace after her mother died. She believes God can use her at the school. Makepeace decides to leave the school because he can't cut it and he is struggling, so he makes a deal with Noah to marry Bethia. She doesn't agree and stays at the school, while cursing her brother. He rats her out and she pays the consequence. He certainly does not show Christianly love for his sister.
CMen
I agree with your points. For someone who is so independent and curious, Bethia resigns herself to matters of fate when thinking about the events that happen in her life. She believes all the deaths and dramatic events in her life are God's way of punishing her. And it is funny how Bethia, the child thought to be un-Christian, is the more compassionate, open-minded, and accepting of the two children.
DeletePart 3
ReplyDeleteIn the last part of this novel, Bethia finishes writing the story she began many years prior. She is old and dying and recounts her memories. She marries Samuel Cortlett and works in the college. Makepeace's character changes and he isn't so harsh. Even though he is not ordained he takes his fathers position as a minister, gets married, and has a stepchild. Anne was safe and became a tutor to the Merry girls. Iacoomis, grandfather, and Peter Folger continue father’s work of bringing catechism and teaching school in Manitouwatootan. Bethia has a baby boy, and Joel and Anne marry. Joel is killed on a boat heading back to Cambridge for commencement. I think this was one of the saddest parts in the book. He strived so hard and was going to be valedictorian. He was going to be a minister and wanted to continue schooling to be ordained. I thought it was terrible that Joel wasn't even mentioned at commencement. The other saddest moment of the book is when Caleb died. Both characters overcame so much and strived so hard much like Bethia. Caleb was a Christian, but when he died there was question as to what he really believed while he was dreaming and hallucinating. Bethia surprised me when she went to Tequamuk for help with Caleb. It seriously made me question her faith. Was her father's work in vain? Would God want her to go to a witch doctor for healing? Bethia's character is still as perplexing as it was in the beginning of the book.
CMen
It was a relief for me to see Makepeace’s character change for the better. In the first 2 parts of Caleb’s Crossing I thought that it was ironic that someone named “Makepeace” would be such an agitator. I always thought from the moment Caleb converted to Christianity that he only wanted to appear Christian. Or perhaps he legitimately thought he was Christian but just went about it through his old ways. Just like in Part 2 when he said he would get up early every morning to worship the sun god. Just like you were saddened when Joel died and nobody cared: I was infuriated. I literally threw my book across the room and then proceeded to throw A Walk Across the Sun across the room as well. The same exact thing happened with agent DeFoe in Addison’s work. Is it just me or do authors just not care about some characters?
Delete-JGen
Concluding the first section of this very influential novel, it's evident that Bethia is no normal girl, especially in a society where male dominance reigns supreme. As the book unravels, I learn that Bethia is a very unique individual. She's not only rebellious but extremely agile as well. Bethia lives in a historic society where women are treated as inferior to man. They do simple house chores and care for their children. Women aren't educated nor given an opportunity to better themselves. In the biased novel the one individual that stands out is the protagonist, Bethia. She fights all odds thrown against her. Through Bethia one can interpret that ,one of, if not the main theme of this story is individuality. Brooks stresses just how hard Bethia fights to educate herself. Bethia does in fact rebel against conformity. She rebels against her father the minister and secretly learns from makepeaces lessons. I interpreted Bethia's drinking of the potion as an experience. Even though she may think she causes her mothers death by drinking this I feel as if Brooks wants the readers to understand that experiences and mistakes are what makes us individuals. Curiosity complements individuality. When Bethia meets Cheeshahteaumauk (soon to be named Caleb), it is a new step in her life. I feel like Brooks' introduction of Caleb to the novel hints the experiences that develop Bethia as an individual.
ReplyDelete-TNgu
As I wrap up the second part of Caleb's Crossing, Bethia's bond with Caleb strengthens as he is allowed to live with her due to Nohnoso's death. The fact that Caleb was accepted into the household appalled me at first. A boy who is raised with his traditional indian beliefs being accepted into a Puritian household seems almost too good to be true. I believe that Brooks wants her readers to understand the power of individuality. Bethia's strong personality and character evidently rubbed off on Caleb as well as her family. Without Bethia, they never would have allowed Caleb to dwell in their household. Bethia's presence has an alluring impact on the others around her. Throughout the second part of this novel, I feel as though Brook's developes Bethia's father into an amiable individual. As the story goes on, he educates his kids as well as Caleb. Brooks then makes a dramatic turnaround in the novel with the death of the minister. Everything was fine until his death. One can interpret the father's death as the symbolic reality of life. We can interpret Brook's message that life is not easy but we must learn to live on. This is evident when Bethia is forced to work for her brothers education, even though she is more intelligent. The ending of part two of this dramatic novel is mind boggling. Brooks' style of writing keeps the reader curious and thinking.
ReplyDelete-TNgu
I was also shocked that Caleb was allowed to live at Bethia's house especially that her father is a minister. It's also shocking that Caleb changed his beliefs and turned to Catholicism. Bethia being so unique actually affected her family into being more liberal and allowing Caleb to stay and be part of their family. I also agree Bethia's father is a very iconic character and very noble. The fact that he is teaching his daughter and a Native American boy to be educated. Bethia's father dying had a huge impact on the story because they had no care taker , her brother had to take care of them. I fully agree with the fact that Brooks' style does keep your mind going worrying in anticipation to what happens next. I enjoy the way Brooks' emphasizes individualism and how unique she made Behtia. I agree and enjoy Brooks' style of writing.
DeleteCPor
After reading the first section , you can see who Bethia is , even though its early in the novel. Bethia lives in a society that is male dominated, where women aren't allowed to be educated. Most of the work women did were work for the men and do housework. Behtia wasn't like most though , she did everything she could do to be educated. Behtia believes she is a sinner though , but she tries to teach a Native American Catholicism. This Native Americans name is Cheeshahteaumauk. Cheeshahteaumauk since being Native American believes in pagan gods. Behtia is very constant in trying to convert Cheeshahteaumauk to Cathlocisim. In her effort to convert Cheeshahteaumauk she changes his name to Caleb. Bethia maybe rebellious but she is very hard on herself. After drinking the potion , she believes that since she drank it thats why her mother died. I see this as just another obstacle she has to overcome
ReplyDeleteCPor
I understand what your saying about Bethia. Shes a non conformist of her time that has taken up some interesting and unique traits. Most women of that time were designated midwives that would have sons, daughters, and care for the family and house. Some women didn't even have a say in who they would marry. Instead a patriarch of the family decided on what man was suitable for that specific women. Also education for women was usually allowed to wealthier citizens of that period. Yet, we have Bethia doing the impossible. She is self teaching herself silently and hungry to be more then a simple midwife. This could be the reason she has taken such an interest in Caleb and showing him the ways of the Lord as you previously said. On the other hand, you are on point about how she puts too much blame on herself for being a sinner and contributing to killing her mother. Hopefully she will understand that she is not this awful sinner she makes herself to be out to.
Delete-KDra
DeleteUpon reading section two, it boggles me a little bit that Bethia's family allows Caleb to enter their house.It shows how different and open-minded , bringing in a Native American into his household and educating his daughter. In this society, both of those things are so uncommon, no one would think about teaching a women education. Nor would anyone bring in a person who believed in many gods. The minister does both though , its very saddening to see him pass though. I saw him as a great leader and father to Bethia and in a way Caleb as he educated him as well. Once the minister died though , nothing was the same. Bethia's brother got the education instead of her, which shows what they thought of women back then because Bethia was much smarter. This is just another obstacle Bethia and Caleb have to overcome. Bethia already is a women in a male dominated society who went against the rules and became educated and Caleb is a Native American in a white dominated society.
ReplyDeleteCPor
Upon concluding the final part of the novel , it fast forwards to when Bethia is now old. A lot has changed in the time from the end of part two to the beginning of part three. Bethia is married to Samuel , Caleb and Joel both die.Although I like Samuel , I'd much rather Bethia marry someone else like Caleb , throughout the story I though that was what was going to end up happening. The deaths of both Caleb and Joel were saddening to me. The hardships both of them went through were a lot and to see both of them die was sad. Joel was on his way to graduate at head of the class , it was an honor he deserved and it was sorrowing that he never got to receive it. Caleb it was sad because he went through so much a transition from a believer in many gods to convert to Catholicism. Caleb got questioned about what he believed at the end after death , when he had many dreams.
ReplyDeleteCPor
Part two of Caleb’s Crossing was definitely better than part one because character introductions were out of the way and the storyline started to make more sense. Geraldine Brooks truly grabs the reader’s attention because I feel that at this point any important character can pass away. The author introduces Caleb’s transition from his Native American belief of polytheism to monotheism. In Caleb’s case, any family will have that one family member to disagree with your choices. Even though Caleb’s decisions did not seem right to Caleb’s uncle at the time, Caleb knew it was the right path for him in his quest for knowledge. Another character that didn’t seem to be making the right choices was Makepeace as he arranged for Bethia to work for Master Corlett. I feel horrible for Bethia because it seems like she is slowly losing everything that she ever cared about. Bethia only wanted to be able to make her own decisions for her future but was basically given the opposite. This is a complete injustice to Bethia because it is stifling her intellect and it is a reprehensible offense to waste such intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that part 2 was definitely easier to read. The plot certainly begins to make more sense. I like that you stated that you feel as if at this point any character can pass away. It makes me feel as if I were watching Game of Thrones. Also, I am glad to see that Caleb has converted to Christianity. This act shows that like Bethia, Caleb is not afraid to follow his own path. Just because Caleb was born into the polytheistic faith, that doesn’t mean that he truly believes in these gods. I like that Bethia desire to be unique has rubbed off on Caleb. Though Caleb’s uncle doesn’t agree with his choice, I am delighted that Caleb continued. Not everyone is going to like what you do and that is OK. As long as you are proud of the choices you make that is all that counts. Furthermore, I agree with the point you bring up about Makepeace. I think as a brother, he was being a tad bit to harsh on Bethia. He should be showing her love and support rather than punishing her for wanting to take control of her own future. In my opinion, Bethia is being unfairly treated.
Delete-KRos
Section 1
ReplyDeleteBethia appears to be much more complex then she seems during the first few chapters. When reading "Caleb's Crossing," by Geraldine Brooks, I was reminded of the time period and how different a woman's place was back in the colonial times of the 1600s. So everything Bethia seemed to do was in many ways remarkable. Possessing many traits of her mother, she grew to be a fast learner and silent learner. However, this as looked down upon in society as well by her father and brother. Both of these male dominating figures tried to suppress her talent into a mere form of just a simple mid wife. Its shocking really to compare our two different cultures now. In today's world, a girls talent would be supported and expressed. Not shunned and ignored, especially by her family. Despite this, I love Bethia's reaction to what her family said. She knows its wrong, but keeps learning silently and does not want to grow up to be fully like her midwife mother. That is why I love Bethia because she reflects a modern rebel or
maverick. Bethia even be friends Caleb which would be abnormal for that time.She takes on the challenge of her life and position in society.
-KDra
DeleteI definitely see what you’re saying about Bethia being such a great learner. Someone that intelligent should never be held back by a “male-dominating” society because any person that smart can prominently contribute to his or her community. Her father and brother were only looking out for themselves at times, which angered me. If these men were brought to the future in our society they would definitely be surprised by the rights and equality women today have. I was moved by Bethia’s motivation to get smarter and secretly learn what her father had been teaching her brother. Even most people today aren’t that thrilled to learn, let alone sneak around satisfying their thirst for knowledge. I guess it is just human nature to desire what you don’t have, which is another reason for Bethia to make friends with Caleb. She knows what she is doing is wrong when she secretly meets with him but persists anyway because to her it is the right thing to do. This is clearly why I have such a strong admiration for Bethia.
Delete-DMcA
In Part 3, I was saddened to see Caleb fall to his illness. Of all the characters he was my favorite. He didn’t blindly accept ideas that people told him he always thought his own way while being open to the ideas of others. He was the type of person to act on his own reason which is a trait that is lacking in today’s world. It was good to see Bethia get her freedom back and marry Samuel. That seemed to be one of the few things that actually go well for her. As far as the novel itself goes, I personally hated this book. Caleb’s Crossing was difficult to read between the Native American words mixed in with the pretentious/complex English. It was certainly no help that the plot was told in the form of flashbacks. However the flashback perspective does give us the opportunity to see how things unfolded in the long run since Bethia was writing many years later and she welcomed death. She sadly believed she was going to hell to for all the things she believed she did wrong.
ReplyDelete-JGen
I like and agree 100% with what James said in his blog. It is all very true especially because Caleb is also my favorite character in this book. he was his own person and didn't listen to what people told him to do. I'm many ways he was like Bethia. I also agree with James when he was talking about how difficult the book was to read. the flashback even tho they did help at some parts, they were confusing and difficult to understand along with the native american language/traditions. even tho it had a good plot, setting, time period and characters i did not personally enjoy the book as much as id like to.
DeleteSection 2
ReplyDeleteAs many of my fellow classmates have discussed already, we see major developments in the characters of Bethia and Caleb. In some ways they even seem to be replicating Calvinist minister Mayfield. At the very start of this section we see Caleb's full transformation into the Catholic religion from his clothing to the way he acts. When Bethia finally recognizes him, she notices that he is wearing a good plain doublet, a jerkin, a white linen collar, and boots looking like a younger vision of Bethia‘s father. He even starts to sing in tune with everyone during the sermon. Moreover, his biggest change was done to his hair which was cut short symbolizing his conversion to Christianity. We must also take into consideration that in colonial times people found this in some ways appalling as the Alden’s did. Picture walking into a room where everyone judged you on your ethic background. Its uncomfortable to deal with as well as brave to face. Hence, it was brave for Bethia’s father to take Caleb under his wing as well as Caleb taking the risk by living with the Mayfield’s. In addition, we see how Bethia matures into a woman after her father’s death. Bethia makes the choice to help Anne escape back to the island just like her dad would of done. Another example of Bethia’s maturity is when she deals with her backstabbing brother and falls upon Caleb to fill in that spot as brother and protector. As a result, these characters become deeply developed into excellent role models that I truly care for.
-KDra
DeleteI have to say, after the completion of this rather complex novel, I began to admire just how well writen Caleb's Crossing was. The intricate and delicate way Brooks developed the characters made us feel an emotional connection to them. The book wraps up with Bethia living happily with her son and Makepeace reforms himself towards the ending, changing to a better individual. I feel as if throughout the novel as a whole, aside from religious beliefs, Individuality really stands out. Brooks develops each and every character in the story as we read what kind of person they are. She further expands on Caleb's, Makepeace's, and Bethia's individuality as the book unravels. Caleb's conversion to Christianity prove just how much he's changed throughout the story. Makepeace's transformation is what stands out to me the most. In the beginning of the story he was the one I expected least to change, being a follower not a leader. Last but not least, we read about Bethia's development throughout the novel. She changes from being a rebellious, childish kid to a mature and sophisticated individual. I have to say Caleb's Crossing was a very intriguing book. Brooks really pushes her readers to think throughout Caleb's Crossing. I have learned a great moral lesson to follow what I believe in, not the crowd. My take on this book is that individuality is important because it's what makes us unique, it's what makes us humans.
ReplyDelete-TNgu
Part 1
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing part 1, I was intrigued to see the character development that took place. We meet Bethia, a well-informed, intelligent, and independent young girl. This is extremely uncharacteristic for the time period, as young girls were restricted to learning their chores and to never enrich themselves with knowledge or to learn different subjects as it is seen as rude by them to show the same knowledge a man knows. The most interesting part of this section was Bethia meeting the young native Cheeshahteaumauk. As they keep bumping into each other, Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk debate their beliefs and customs. through their conversations, we are posed with the question: Can the Christian God be seen in the gods of the natives, and vice versa? It was interesting to me to see that after they got friendly, Bethia and Cheeshahteaumauk exchange names for each other, Bethia giving Cheeshahteaumauk the name Caleb and Cheeshahteaumauk giving Bethia the name Storm Eyes. It is sad, however, to see Bethia reluctant to continue being friends with Caleb and both teaching and learning from him. Her sect of Christianity dictates this friendship would be honoring false gods and dishonoring her mother and father. However, it is only natural for a teenager to want to learn of new cultures as they mature, making Bethia second guess herself.
DBer
Part 2
ReplyDeletePart 2 leads to many interesting plot developments. Caleb ends up coming to live among the Englishmen, and stuns the community when he is one of Bethia's father's top students. He excels at every task put in front of him. Makepeace, Bethia's brother, even comes to see some jealousy towards Caleb. Things could be going better for Bethia, however. Her younger sister, Solace, who she is charged with the care of, drowns in a deep puddle while unattended. Bethia's father also dies in a shipwreck while out at sea. Bethia pins all these uncontrollable events on herself, seeing them as consequences for sinning and becoming friends with Caleb. Bethia and Makepeace are orphans overnight. Their grandfather can put Makepeace through college, only if Bethia agrees to indeture herself to Mr. Corlett, who works at the college. Bethia agrees, seeing as her punishment for her sins. It was interesting to see Bethia's motherly instincts kick in when Anne came to board with her in the kitchen at the college. She nurtured the shy Native American girl through a pregnancy and defended her when she was presumed to be potentially sleeping around with local men or students. It was nice to see a genuine romance blossom between her and Corlett's son Samuel, after seeing her intial reluctance and not wanting to marry anyone and try to cling to some shred of independence forever.
DBer
Section 3
ReplyDeleteGeraldine Brooks wrote a touching novel called "Caleb's Crossing." It was an incredible experience through the eyes of Bethia and Caleb during colonial times. They grew to become unique friends that went against a patriarch society of the 1600s which looked down upon them. Throughout the story we see them bond over experiences and journeys. We see how Bethia continues to be a rambunctious woman of her time that disregards societies place for her. When she got a kitchen job at Harvard, she was clever enough to leave a hatch open to further her knowledge and education. Similar, Caleb acted in the same way by being a native American that picks up Christianity and graduates Harvard university as the first Native American ever. Brooks ends this with a bitter, sweet taste. Caleb passes away shortly after graduating at the side of Caleb. However, Bethia continues to live her life back on the island with her family. Their friendship will last for eternity and neither shall ever forgot each other. Brook's novel gave me a message to be unique no matter what and die accomplishing your goals. This novel really was beautiful and could not be happier to read it.
-KDra
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs the novel began we find out that she had lost one of her brothers during a miscarriage. Also, she lost a seven year old brother named Zuriel who died in an accident . Her Mother died due to the miscarriage but Bethia blames herself because she asked her brother Makepeace and her father so many questions, who also questioned her faith. I felt terrible for her as I read this novel because, as readers, we find out that when her mother died, Bethia had to take care of the family and we then find out that her sister Solace drowns herself in the well that they made to help cure Caleb’s father. She then loses her father when the island is hit by a massive storm. I also found it ironic that she wanted to marry Caleb instead of Noah but instead marries Samuel
ReplyDelete- CShe
Part 3
ReplyDeletePart 3 wrapped up all the major points presented to us throughout the novel. It was interesting to see how different all of our characters ended up being. Bethia, who intitially detested the idea at first, ended up marrying Samuel and have a child, Ammi Ruhama. Joel marries Anne, the sheepish girl Bethia cared for during her time as a servant. Caleb graduated from college, along with Joel and Makepeace, who saw a drastic change in his personality, becoming very light hearted. Bethia contiunes writing in her old age, talking of how Joel died at sea, and Caleb is dying of old age/fever. Bethia also feels her death coming, feeling weaker as time goes on. What stuck out to me was the question Bethia posed after the death of Caelb. Was he received in Christian Heaven, or did his spirit go west, like his people believed. Caleb can be seen in that respect, as a man with no identity, since after all he went through in life, the Native American rituals, and an eventual conversion to Christianity, there is no certainty where his spirit would be received, and that is alittle upsetting to me as a reader.
DBer
Your points are excellent, however I feel that Bethia's questionable choice of going to see Tequamuk isn't neccessarily her doubting her faith, but her showing her humanity. She was scared of the thought of Caleb dying, so she was trying to do whatever was in her power to save her friend. Like James said, its compareable to when Caleb would pray to his sun god, yet had already converted to Christianity. I was howvever, annoyed that Bethia chooses to not disclose what it was Tequamuk told her, and what Caleb and her said to each other before he passed on, making one final crossing.
ReplyDeleteDBer
It is refreshing to see how far we have come as a society. After reading part one of Brooks’ novel, it is shocking to see the difference in the role of women. During this male dominated time period, women were expected to do household work as well as take care of their husbands and children. Women were not allowed to be educated. After reading about Bethia, she appears to possess the traits of a rebel. Bethia is an avid and eager learner. She looks to expand her education even though it is frowned upon but not only by society, but also her own family as well. Both her father and brother attempt to cleanse Bethia of her talent in hopes that she will take on the roll of a mid wife. It is depressing to see a family completely disapprove of a child’s talent rather than encourage her to peruse her dreams. I admire Bethia for disobeying the beliefs of society. With out objectors, how would society develop? Bethia continues to improve her knowledge and even friends an Indian boy named Cheeshahteaumauk. People of this society are not supposed to interact with those of other cultures. It is pleasing to see this young girl follow what she believes in. You should be able to be yourself and not have the beliefs of others corrupt you.
ReplyDelete-KRos
As the novel opens up we are able to see how challenging the daily life is for a family in the 17th century. Not even 10 pages in and Bethia's mother and brother are both death. This shows how valuable human life really is and the importance of friends and family for that time. Blaming her mothers death on sinful thoughts is outrageous yet really harsh for a young girl to think. In a community like that education is very limited and by visiting a native American like Cheeshahteaumauk her need for knowledge has the opportunity to be satisfied. Especially for a women education is very limited, she is expect to do things like tend to her home and her husband, learning science and history isn't seen to serve any purpose. Religion on the other hand is way more dominate from a readers perspective. After becoming comfortable with him, she begins to teach Cheeshahteaumauk Christianity. This was a breaking point in the book because it demonstrated how open each of them were. He even accepted the name of Caleb, a companion of Moses during the Jews exile from Egypt. Not only is Caleb open to the teachings of Christianity but Bethia is open to the religious customs of the natives. Disregarding everything she was told to believe she gladly listens about Caleb's pagan religion, not because she has faith in the religion, but because she has respect for Caleb and his people. Together they represent the potential bond that the English and Natives could have if they settled their differences.
ReplyDeleteARai
i believe Bethia is not like all the other girls of her era. She reminds me of the mavericks who fought and continue to fight for women's equality. She wants to learn and become more cultured than the other women in her community. Her rebellious side is what fuels the fight for her right to be equal and know what the boys know. She really goes against the odds and has great tenacity from constantly being ridiculed and put-down by the men in her community.
ReplyDeleteUpon completion of Part III Anne and Bethia are finally living freely again. Bethia has gained her natural rights back and isn't compelled to do anything. Bethia continues her family line to Sam and has grandchildren, due to all of these children Bethia was able to improve her knowledge because of school. Meanwhile, Anne is intact with her child. Caleb's passing was extremely upsetting to me because he was an honorable man. He helped Bethia fight through her struggles and improved her life. This is the kind of book that leads you on to wanting to know what's going to happen with the plot and the characters, it shows each character through their worst and their best, one of the best books I have definitely ever read.
ReplyDelete-MNew
I totally agree. I am so glad to see that Bethia is doing so well for herself. While I thought she was going to end up marrying Caleb, I am pleased she ended up with Samuel. Bethia is now able to live a free life and chase after her dreams. I agree with you that Caleb was an honorable man. He stood up for what he believed in. He wasn’t afraid to question himself and make decisions on his own. I was saddened by his death. It is terrible to lose a character that has been with you for the entire story. I really took a liking to Caleb. Also, I too am glad to have read a book that takes you through the journey of self-growth. While this is not one of my favorite books I have ever read, I am glad to see a fellow classmate enjoy what was a pretty good story.
Delete-KRos
In the first part of the book Bethia is having a conversation with Caleb about God. He finds her faith obserd which made Bethia question what she beieves in. Her father agrees to bring her on one of his missionaries and she watches her father preach his sermon while everyone in the community listens. she then realizes the way he treats his listeners. A few years later Caleb has gotten better at reading and speaking English. He then has to explain to Bethia that they cant be friends anymore because he is about to start a Native American journey from boyhood to manhood and that he must go on a path chosen by his visions. Bethia feels that Caleb will be reuniting his soul with the devil. I felt really bad for Bethia because she lost someone so close to her. -JGra
ReplyDeleteConcluding part two we see a more dramatic and shocking shift taking place within the story. I've never thought about how evident death actually is back in those days. Throughout the course of the book Bethia has already lost her mother, brother, and now her father. Although his death was very tragic I saw a lot of good come out of it. Some may disagree with me but when the Englishmen and Natives came together to place white rocks as a symbol of his resting place it was situation where origin didn't matter. It was truly a step in the right direction for the relations between the two communities. Also we begin to see how rebellious Bethia is compared to the other women of her time. Not only does she spend immense time with Caleb, a native American, she is eager to learn more than expect from a soon to be midwife. Similar to Bethia, Caleb is also incredibly motivated to reach beyond his boundaries. Even though he is looked down upon being an Indian he still shares the common virtues of the Englishmen. Makepeace on the other hand represents the stereotypical Englishman doubting the abilities of the Indians. This mentality is a major set back because both communities would benefit from the help of one another. I am also glad to see that Anne escaped back to the island with the help of Bethia. Understanding what her father would have done she took action and gave Anne her deserved freedom and right to live the way she chooses.
ReplyDeleteARai
How tough this must be for Bethia! After the completion of part 2 of Brook’s novel, I find myself feeling both sorrow and pride. After the death of his father, Makepeace takes charge of Bethia. Makepeace plans to sell his sister into marriage. He believes that marriage will help to benefit Bethia’s future. From early on in the novel, we are able to see that Bethia is a unique individual. She is a rebellious young lady. Her desire to be unique only adds fuel to the fire in her fight with her brother. Makepeace punishes his sister by selling her to Master Corlett as an indentured servant. While staying with Corlett, Bethia is introduced to Ann, a young pregnant woman. Bethia once again shows her rebellious lifestyle when she helps get Ann out of school. I am pleased to see that Bethia’s desire to be unique positively affects the lives of others. She helps people like Caleb and Ann find who they really are. I like the way Bethia has developed. She has grown up without losing touch with her self. Her personality remains constant as she ages.
ReplyDelete-KRos
After finishing Caleb’s Crossing, I was filled with mixed emotions. Throughout reading this book I have always seen the connection that Caleb and Bethia shared. I wanted them to end up together because the two shared a special bond. They had basically defied their parents by meeting with each other and from the start I thought that their relationship would continue to grow. It was a huge accomplishment being the first Native American to graduate from Harvard especially with the language barriers overcoming adjusting to new living conditions. At one point Bethia had overheard Englishmen saying how fortunate the Indians were to be living in Cambridge. Bethia was “galled” by this statement because she knew that the Native Americans had lived in more spacious living conditions and had better access to food in comparison. I believe that Caleb had achieved goals by “earning success by those who had been swiftest to dismiss him.” Although Caleb was truly a hero for his people, someone who shared this quality was Joel who was just as great of a young man as Caleb. In the beginning of Geraldine Brook’s story it was harder for me to understand as well since she had Bethia going back and forth between past and present. Later on the story became more compelling and I started to enjoy this great book.
ReplyDelete-DMcA
Part 3 begins with Bethia talking about her happiness once she returned to the island several years before and starting a family with Samuel. She describes how she and Samuel married, went to Europe to enable Samuel to study medicine, and had a son, the first of several descendants. Bethia also describes how Caleb and Joel's studies transcended the racially-defined judgments and negative attitudes imposed upon them by their teachers and their fellow students, raising them to the top of the class. Shortly before their graduation, Joel is murdered by natives resentful of white incursions into their territory and spirituality, while Caleb falls ill with tuberculosis. A desperate visit made by Bethia to Caleb's uncle, a powerful pawaaw (medicine man) results in her being given the means to give Caleb a comfortable death. The book draws to a close describing Bethia's claim that the story she has told in these pages is not a story of triumph, but a lament.
ReplyDeleteBrooks really knows how to throw the reader a curveball. Upon completion of the novel, I am truly shocked by the events that have unfolded. I would have bet money that Bethia would have married Caleb. The two just seemed so right for each other. I would like to point out that I am glad Bethia married Samuel Corlett. Bethia is now free to chase her own dreams. She is able to take full advantage of her unique personality. Additionally, I was shocked to see the amount of death. Joel was ambushed and killed. Even more surprising, Caleb suffered a slow and painful death. His illness was got the best of him. On a positive note, I was glad to see the development of Bethia throughout the story. Brooks was able to provide the reader with a great tale of person development. Overall, I wouldn’t say this was one of my favorite books, but the development of the characters really kept me going.
ReplyDelete-KRos