The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Narrator’s Note-Part 1, Chapter 7

Reading Check

1. Who is the book’s narrator?

2. Why is Charlotte not traveling with her family?

3. What is the ship’s name?

4. What does Zachariah give Charlotte?

5. How long is Charlotte ill?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What might be suggested by the narrator’s warning in the Narrator’s Note that “[i]f strong ideas and action offend you, read no more”?

2. Why does Charlotte’s father give her a daily journal to fill in?

3. Why does Charlotte think it would be “wrong” for her to travel without a companion?

4. Why does Charlotte immediately think that she can trust Captain Jaggery?

5. What does Charlotte’s father have to do with the relationship between Captain Jaggery and his crew?

Paired Resource

“What Is an Unreliable Narrator?”

• A resource from Oregon State University describes the concept of an unreliable narrator
• Charlotte tells us that she is the narrator. Do you trust her? Why or why not?

“Gender Roles in 19th-Century Victorian Patriarchy”

• An article about the expected behavior of women during the 19th century
• How does this article help us understand Charlotte’s perspective and protests when she is expected to travel alone aboard the ship? How does this article connect with the novel’s theme of Challenging Gender Roles?

Part 1, Chapters 8-12

Reading Check

1. What does Charlotte do every night?

2. What does Charlotte see in the crew’s quarters that clues her to the impending mutiny?

3. Who injures Jaggery?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Although Charlotte thinks she is staying near the crew to be the captain’s informant, what might be the real reason she hangs around them so much?

2. Why doesn’t Charlotte want to wear the trousers and blouse Zachariah makes for her?

3. Who is the stowaway? Why is he significant to the story?

4. What causes Charlotte to join the crew?

Part 2, Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. What challenges does the crew give Charlotte?

2. Why does Captain Jaggery want to skim the hurricane?

3. What does Charlotte see when she descends the mast?

Short Answer

1. What does Captain Jaggery do when Charlotte tells him she’s joined the crew?

2. Name two of the duties Charlotte takes on as part of the crew.

3. Why does Captain Jaggery wait for Charlotte to make a mistake?

4. What does Jaggery imply when he calls “Mister Doyle” to fix the flying jib when it becomes tangled?

Paired Resource

“Life at Sea in the Age of Sail”

• Royal Museums Greenwich describes 19th-century sea travel
• What stands out to you about life at sea? How does it connect to Charlotte Doyle’s experience?

Part 2, Chapters 16-Appendix

Reading Check

1. What is Charlotte accused of?

2. Who does Charlotte find in the brig?

3. Who rats Charlotte out to Jaggery?

4. What does Charlotte keep from among her clothing?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Jaggery get the crew members to say that Charlotte’s work as a sailor is unnatural?

2. What is the motivation behind Jaggery wanting Charlotte out of the way?

3. What are the three options Jaggery presents to Charlotte?

Paired Resource

“Elements of Historical Fiction”

• An article describes the key parts of historical fiction
• What makes this novel historical fiction besides being set in the past? What did you learn about history that you didn’t know before?

Recommended Next Reads 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

• An autobiographical coming-of-age novel that touches on the meaning of home
• Brown Girl Dreaming on SuperSummary

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

• A historical fiction novel set in 12th-century Korea about a young boy on a dangerous mission to become a master celadon potter
• A Single Shard on SuperSummary