Symbol Essay Outline

Name: ______Date: ______Period: ____ Symbol Essay Outline The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Use this outline to help guide you in writing your essay. Feel free to add more sentences and detail to make your essay more interesting. Make sure to rewrite or type your rough draft.

I. Introduction a. Hook or Attention Grabber:______b. Title/author and main idea of the story: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is about______c. Supporting sentences (How does your topic of symbols relate to the story?): From the story, it is clear that______d. Thesis statement (What your essay is about): Some of the most important symbols in the story are______

Introduction Example: All of us at one point in our lives have felt left out or alone. The Witch of

Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth Gearge Speare is a story about a girl named Kit who is forced to move to Connecticut and live with Puritans. From the story it is clear that there are many objects that are actually important symbols. In the novel The

Witch of Blackbird Pond three of the most important symbols are the meeting house that represents Puritan Society, the Charter that represents Puritan rights and freedom, and finally the Dolphin that represents escape. II. Body Paragraphs a. First Symbol: The first symbol is ______that represents ______i. Example: One example ______ii. Quote: On page ______it says______iii. Commentary: This shows that______iv. Example: Another example ______v. Quote: On page ______it says______vi. Commentary: Therefore______vii. Concluding sentence: From these examples it is clear that ______b. Second Symbol: Another symbol is ______that represents______i. Example: This is apparent ______ii. Quote: On page ______it says______iii. Commentary: This shows______iv. Example: Another example ______v. Quote: On page ______it says______vi. Commentary: This means______Concluding sentence: As you can see______c. Third Symbol: And finally the last symbol is ______that represents______i. Example: In one instance ______ii. Quote: On page ______it says______iii. Commentary: It is apparent that______iv. Example: In another event ______v. Quote: On page ______it says______vi. Commentary: Therefore______vii. Concluding sentence: So ______

Body Paragraph Example: The first symbol is the meeting house that represents Puritan society. For

example, the meeting house is described as being dull and boring, which is what

Puritan society is like. On page 48 it says, “The Puritan service seemed to her as

plain and unlovely as the bare boards of the meeting house.” This shows that the

meeting house is very similar to the dull Puritan lifestyle. Another example that the

meeting house represents Puritan society is that it is the most important building in

Wethersfield and is located in the middle of the town. On page 47 it says, “The

meeting house stood in the center of the clearing, a square unpainted wooden

structure, topped by a small turret.” Therefore, the fact that the meeting house is

so important to the Puritans is symbolic of their beliefs and lifestyle. From these

examples it is clear that the meeting house is representative of Puritan society. III. Conclusion a. Restate the Thesis Statement: In the novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond, three important symbols that are mentioned in the book are ______b. Restate Symbol 1 and what it stands for: The first symbol______represents ______c. Restate Symbol 2 and what it stands for: Another symbol______symbolizes ______d. Restate Symbol 3 and what it stands for: And the last symbol______represents ______e. Concluding Statement (Wrap up your ideas, connecting your paper to life or human nature): ______Conclusion Example: In the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, three important symbols that are mentioned in the book are the meeting house, the Charter, and The Dolphin. The first symbol, which is the meeting house, represents Puritan society. Another symbol is the Charter that symbolizes the colonists’ rights and freedom. And the last symbol is The Dolphin which represents escape from Puritan society for both

Kit and Hannah. Although objects in people’s lives may seem meaningless, they can actually hold a deeper meaning, such as the symbols represented in the novel The

Witch of Blackbird Pond.