The Witch

The witch that Tony watches be thrown from the side of God's Gift is a symbol of the careless and callous indictment of people of color during the early days of colonialism. For Tony, the death of the woman foreshadows the difficulty he himself faces in finding acceptance in Virginia as a result of his racial background. It is also recalled when, in the novel's concluding pages, Lydia is accused of witchcraft, a connection that inspires Tony to flee the colony.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream is symbolic of the position that Tony feels he (and other people of color) occupy in the colonial enterprise. Although the Indian child in A Midsummer Night's Dream is central to the plot—and is indeed fought over by Oberon and Titania—he does not have a speaking role and is eventually forgotten by...