book summary
Cards (63)
- What lifestyle does the village symbolize at the beginning of the novel?
- What do the two fires in the novel symbolize?
- How does the villagers' suspicion of newcomers affect their community?
- What theme is established with the villagers' mistrust?
- What does “two twists of smoke” symbolize?
- What do “frontier ditches” and “our” signify in the villagers' context?
- What does the phrase “finger of suspicion points not at a villager… but at a stranger” reveal?
- How does “reap and gossip” reflect the villagers' social dynamics?
- What does “quantify and measure us” imply about the villagers' perception of labor?
- What does Walter’s statement “I hold my tongue” signify about his character?
- What accusations do the villagers make against the newcomers in Chapter 2?
- What does Master Kent do to the Beldam men as punishment?
- How does the villagers' fear of the unknown influence their actions?
- What does “head shaven” and “in the pillory” symbolize?
- What does “ours are the deeds that make the difference” indicate about the villagers' mindset?
- What does the question “Why should we share with strangers” reveal about the villagers?
- How is Mistress Beldam treated in Chapter 2?
- What does Mistress Beldam's act of spitting at Master Kent symbolize?
- Who is introduced as mapping the land in Chapter 3?
- Why do the villagers grow uneasy about Mr. Quill's mapping?
- What does “mapping has reduced us to a web of lines” symbolize?
- What does “organisation to all our advantages” reflect about Master Kent's beliefs?
- What does “further penalty… unrelenting rain” emphasize about the Beldams' situation?
- What do “walls and hedges, ditches, gates” symbolize in Chapter 3?
- What does the gleaning ceremony represent for the villagers?
- What does Mr. Quill selecting Lizzie Carr as Gleaning Queen signify?
- Who arrives that causes Master Kent's unease in Chapter 4?
- What does “what should we do but toss our hats and cheer” indicate about the villagers' response?
- What does “finally the oxen and the ploughs” suggest about the villagers' future?
- Who assists Mr. Quill in mapping in Chapter 5?
- How does Quill’s fascination with the land contrast with Walter’s view?
- What does the elder Beldam's death in the pillory reveal?
- Who arrives with a retinue in Chapter 6?
- What does Jordan prioritize over the villagers' livelihoods?
- What does “plans for progress and prosperity” reveal about Jordan's intentions?
- What does “agriculture without coin is absurd” highlight?
- What happens to Master Kent’s horse, Willowjack, in Chapter 7?
- Who is blamed for Willowjack's death?
- What does the blame on Mistress Beldam allow Jordan to do?
- What does “taken a spike of metal… driven it with precision” suggest?