The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text throughout your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Zachariah gives Charlotte a knife at the beginning of the novel, and it reappears throughout.

• Why is the knife significant? (topic sentence)
• What is important about the scenes in which the dirk appears? Choose three to discuss in your essay.
• Finally, in your concluding sentences, connect this knife to the theme of Challenging Gender Roles.

2. A seahawk forms the ship’s masthead, and Charlotte includes images of the ship in the Appendix.

• What role does the boat itself play in this novel? (topic sentence)
• How does the ship’s role in carrying the crew to America inform the novel?
• Finally, in your concluding sentence, compare and contrast the Seahawk at the novel’s beginning with it at the end, thinking about the theme of Transformation and Growth.

3. Charlotte is hesitant to wear her sailor’s outfit at first. By the novel’s end, it’s all she chooses to keep of the clothes that made the voyage with her.

• What do the characters’ clothing choices tell us about them? (topic sentence)
• How can clothing indicate change and growth? Use three examples from the text to help support your argument.
• Finally, in your concluding sentences, connect this to the theme of Transformation and Growth or Challenging Gender Roles.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. At first, Charlotte is drawn to Captain Jaggery for his gentlemanly appearance and standing as leader of the ship. However, this opinion shifts after she accidentally injures him and joins the crew. Seeing Jaggery’s malice come out, it is clear that he is obsessed with order. What does order mean to Jaggery? What does order look like on his boat, and what does it have to do with Charlotte? In your essay, present a strong central thesis articulating your argument and connect it to the theme of Challenging Gender Roles.  

2. Charlotte is transformed by her time on the Seahawk, shifting her assumptions about class, mainly through her experiences as a crew member. Write an essay in which you consider how Charlotte’s thoughts about class change throughout the novel, including the moments after she arrives at her family’s home. Be sure to use evidence from the text to support your argument and connect it back to the theme of The Barriers of Class.

3. At its heart, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a coming-of-age novel as Charlotte ventures out alone aboard the Seahawk. How does she grow as a character and a person? How does she take advantage of the fact that she is away from her family? How does this inform her character development? Write an essay in which you consider her Transformation and Growth, using evidence from the text to support your argument.