One of Speare's outstanding achievements as a writer is her ability to create a strong sense of place. In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, the contrast between Barbados and New England highlights the distinct characteristics of the Connecticut setting. Speare sets up this contrast in the novel's opening chapter: "The bleak line of shore surrounding the gray harbor was a disheartening contrast to the shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados..." Throughout the novel, Speare associates drab colors, particularly gray and black, with Kit's new home, while she describes Barbados with colorful imagery.

The books valued by residents of each locale further underscore the differences between Barbados and New England. In Barbados Kit was encouraged to read imaginative works of poetry and drama, including works by William Shakespeare, Thomas Otway, and John Dryden. The Wethersfield colonists, on the other hand, shun writing...