Book Club ideas

FOR THE SACRIFICE :

VENUE: Have you ever been to Salem, Ma? It makes for a great trip! There is so much to do! Visit the Witch Dungeon Museum and see the re-enactment of the witch trials before heading down to the recreated prison cells. Then head up to Gallows Hill. For those of you who are too far from Salem, why not turn your home into a house from 1692? Turn off the lights. Turn down the heat. Light candles. And if you have one, make a fire. Have each reader bring the one thing they would take with him or her if they had been sent to jail and share why that thing would be important to them.

FOOD: Stews were a mainstay of life in the 1600’s. They were quick to make, hearty and could be kept warm to be eaten when you had the time. Why not start your meeting with a plate of fresh vegetables: carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes? All these would have grown in the garden outside Abby’s house. Then serve up a warm stew and crusty bread for the main course. Finish it all off with a nice warm apple puff. I’ve included the recipe from the 1600’s below. If you are brave enough, you can try it. Or simply make an apple crisp of your own devising.

To make Apple pufs:

Take a Pomewater or any other Apple that is not hard, or harsh in taste: mince it small with a dozen or twenty Razins of the Sunne: wet the Apples in two Egges, beat them all together with the backe of a Knife, or a Spoone. Season them with Nutmeg, Rosewater, Sugar, and Ginger: drop them into a Frying-pan with a Spoone, frye them like Egges, wring on the iuyce of an Orenge, or Lemmon, and serue them in.

ONLINE RESOURCE: http://www.witchdungeon.com/ec.html

SPECIAL GUESTS: Many people pursue the passion of digging into the past to discover their ancestors. My own father discovered Abby’s story when he began genealogical research on our family. Invite a local genealogist to your meeting and have him or her describe what is involved in tracing your family’s past.

Discussions

THE SACRIFICE

Social Studies

1. What beliefs of Puritan life in 1692 do you believe we still hold on to today?
2. How was Abigail’s relationship with her mother and father the same as children’s today and how was it different?
3. Do you believe Abigail’s mother asking her to lie was right or wrong? Why?
4. In a similar circumstance, do you believe you would have lied as Abigail did to protect yourself?
5. Abigail’s world was one where conformity to the group was important – and yet she wanted to be an individual. Do you think this is still true today? Why or why not?
6. What situations in today’s world reflect a lack of reason and a “mob mentality”? (e.g. riots after a sporting event) What would you do if faced with this situation?

History

1. What similarities or differences do we have today from Abigail’s world of 1692 in the following:
   1. Trials and Evidence
   2. Jail Conditions
   3. Every day Life
   4. Religion
2. Can you think of another situation either now or in the past, where fear has overcome reason? (e.g. the McCarthy era) What were the consequences of this?

Language Arts

1. Define the following words in the novel:
   

   a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

   bodice stocks night watch meetinghouse stouthearted looking glass morrow tarry tithing man loom whittled rouse

   m. n. o. p. q. r. s. t. u. v. w. x.

   naught elders wager sport livestock homespun bedcurtains flax shorn churning afflicted magistrate

   y. z. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

   breeches insolence tarry consorting amiss rancid underbed unduly anvil whence plaiting fallow

   11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

   impertinence keep rough-hewn lousy haggard goodly stench fortnight grub plagued pauper nay

2. Characterization is a critical component to any good story. Can you list personality traits of the characters in the book that help define them? How is Abigail different from her sisters and brothers? How is she different from Mama? From Papa?

The Arts

1. Dancing was forbidden in Puritan society, and there was little time for art or music. How do you think the lack of these arts affected the people of that time?
2. If you had lived during that time, what entertainment might you have substituted or how might you have expressed yourself artistically to make up for the lack of theater, museums, TV, computer, movies etc.

Science

1. Spectral evidence or “unseen” evidence was permissible during Puritan times. How would you, if you were on trial, scientifically prove that spectral evidence was unreal?
2. Witchcraft was often the answer to unexplained scientific phenomena. Can you think of any examples where we have since found a scientific answer for events they may have attributed to “acts of the devil” in the past. (One example is weather)