Caleb's Crossing (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Bethia Mayfield: Bethia is the fictional daughter of Thomas Mayfield and grows up on the island now known as Martha's Vineyard. Her name means servant. Caleb calls her "Storm Eyes". She has a thirst for learning, a strong will and an independence of spirit that is ahead of her time.
• Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk: A historical person, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.
• Makepeace Mayfield: Bethia's older brother, loosely modeled after Matthew Mayhew.
• Joel Iacoomis: The son of Iacoomis. he is taught to follow the Puritan religion and crosses to the mainland with Caleb to study at Harvard.
• Zuriel Mayfield: Bethia's twin brother who died from an accident when they were nine.
• Nanaakomin: Caleb's older brother.
• Tequamuck: Pawaaw for the Wampanoag tribe. Uncle to Caleb. Is not on good terms with the Puritans inhabiting the Island.
• Iacoomis: Converted Wampanoag. Father of Joel.
• Noah Merry: Son of grist mill owner who is courting Bethia. They become good friends.
• Elijah Corlett: Owner and teacher of the Cambridge Latin School, a prep school for higher education such as Harvard. He prepares Makepeace, Caleb and Joel for studies at Harvard. Bethia works at his school as a housekeeper.
• Joseph Dudley: Former Massachusetts governor's son and elder scholar at Cambridge Latin School. Initially, treated Bethia discourteously until Caleb had a "talk" with him.
• Anne: Nipmuc maid to the governer who is to be educated at Cambridge Latin School.
• Samuel Corlett: Son of Elijah Corlett, the tutor for Makepeace, Caleb and Joel. He lives at Harvard as a post graduate.
• Charles Chauncey: President of Harvard College
• Roger Whitby: Harvard's steward and Bethia's supervisor, where she assisted in the buttery.
• Maude Whitby: Roger's wife and Harvard's cook
• Ammi Ruhama: Bethia's son when she grows up.
• Solace Mayfield: Younger sister of Bethia and Makepeace.
• Thomas Mayfield: An historical person, father of Makepeace, Zuriel, Solace and Bethia. Missionary who founded Great Harbor, now known as Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard.
• Thomas Makefield, Sr.: An historical person, grandfather of Makepeace and Bethia. He bought the patent to the island from the Earl of Sterling and Sir Fernando Gorges in 1641.

Quotes edit see section history

• “'Yet it eased my heart to make this accounting. I am not a hero. My life has not required it of me.'”

• “This I do know, for the surfeit of loss in my life has convinced me: it will be easier to be grieved than to grieve.”

• “This mornning, light lapped the water as if God had spilt a goblet of molten gold upon a ground of darkest velvet.”

• “She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them.”

  Bethia, describing her mother

• “Women are not made like men. You risk addling your brain by thinking on scholarly matters that need not concern you.”

  Bethia's father to Bethia

• “He laughed at that, and said that he had heard that the English needed a bell to tell them when they were hungry.”

  Caleb to Bethia

• “They say the Lord's Day is a day of rest, but those who preach this generally are not women. Even on the Sabbath, a fire must be laid, water drawn, victuals prepared, infants washed and dressed in meeting clothes.”

• “But it was his light temper, and his easy laugh that drew me close to him, over time, until I forgot he was a half-naked sassafras scented heathen annointed with raccoon grease”

  Bethia, describing Caleb

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• This I do know, for the surfeit of loss in my life has convinced me: it will be easier to be grieved for than to grieve.

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• “What an odd course fate charts for us, does it not? Bereavement is the unwelcome current that forced you to an unintended harbor. But here, perhaps, the vessel lies that will carry you onward to the place where you were always meant to go.”

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• I have come to think it is a fault in us, to credit what we give in such a case, and never to consider what must be given up in order to receive it.

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• She believed that each humble thing, if done worthily, might be touched by grace.

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• We are taught early here to see Nature as a foe to be subdued. But I came, by stages, to worship it. You could say that for me, this island and her bounties became the first of my false gods, the original sin that begot so much idolatry.

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• sonquem of this place also. Every hut and house we have built here is on land willingly sold to us through negotiations that I conducted honorably. You will hear, perhaps, that not all the sonquem’s

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• abecedarian. He took her into his own household some months since and sent her to a dame school nearby to his residence, in Boston, where it seems that, at age twelve, she has outstripped the mistress in learning.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• Harvard College: Where Bethia obtains employment beneath her status so she could eaves drop on the instruction of the students.
• Manitouwatootan: The location of the other Wampanoag tribe on the island from which many have been converted to Christianity.

Organizations edit see section history

• Society for the Proprogation of the Gospel (SPG): An Anglican missionary organization with a mission to spread the gospel in foreign lands of the British Empire.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• wetu: a domed hut used by Wampanoag
• sonquem: to whom you invest in, get counsel from; the chief of the tribe.
• mishoon: a journey by native people into Martha's Vineyard
• otan: motherland
• Wampanoag: Indians on Great Harbor, which literally means "People of the First Light" or "Easterners."
• pawaaw: wizard, medicine man and spiritual leader

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Coming of Age: Describe this theme.
• Racial discrimination
• Religion
• Education
• Gender Roles
• Cultural Differences

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Geraldine Brooks (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Amazon Best of the Month (May 2011, #2)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PR9619.3.B7153C36 2011
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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This book is for any young adult and adult interested in a girl's journey away from a settlement and a native boy's adventure from Martha's Vineyard to Harvard. A 1665 historical fiction read.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › Australia & New Zealand
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary

More Books Like This edit see section history