True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Study Guide:

Use this as a guide to help you study for our test. This is only a guide,
you should have an understanding of the critical events in the book.
You should know the key characters and why they are important. You
should know the relationships between characters and why that is
important. While reviewing this, put yourself in Charlotte’s shoes, and
think about how you would feel in this type of Adventure. Fill this out
and turn it in one the day of the exam.

Main Characters: Who or what are they, and what do they do that is
important?

Charlotte Doyle: she is the protagonist of the story. She is 13 years old,
proper, delicate, and believes in justice. She is student at the Barrington
School for Better Girls and daughter of a wealthy cotton manufacturer.
She defends the sailors and rebels against Captain Jaggery. She even
makes a plan to take the captain to authorities.

Captain Jaggery: he is the head of the Seahawk. He is a gentleman, on the

outside, dresses properly, is clever, and reminds Charlotte of her father.
He kills Mr. Hollybrass and accuses Charlotte.

Zachariah: he is the Seahawks cook, surgeon, preacher to man and ship,

and only black man. Zachariah is the oldest and originally from Africa.
He knows very little about Christianity and turns out to be Charlotte’s
closes friend. He helps Charlotte with her plan against Captain Jaggery.

Mr. Hollybrass: he is the first mate on the Seahawk and always follows
directions. He gets murdered during the hurricane with a knife to his
back. Charlotte is accused of the crime, tried for it, and found guilty.
Later, we discover that Captain Jaggery actually committed the murder
himself because Mr. Hollybrass threatened him. He causes Captain
Jaggery to get mad by threatening him and gets killed.

Mr. Keetch: he is the second mate on the Seahawk. He's nervous, fidgety,
and kind of gives Charlotte the creeps. Later on we find our he tells
Captain Jaggery everything he hears or sees. He is secretly telling
Captain Jaggery everything that is going on on the ship. He betrays his
shipmates.
Cranick: Cranick is the man who stows away on the Seahawk in order to
seek revenge on Captain Jaggery. He has only one arm since, on the
Seahawk's last voyage, Captain Jaggery beat his arm off. Cranick fails
and dies. He kills his first mate and then accuses Charlotte. He also
knows more than what everyone thinks.

The Seahawk: it was the ship in which Charlotte traveled in. It weight
perhaps some seven hundred tons in weight, 107 feet stern to bow, 130
feet deck to mainmast cap. She was built in the late eighteenth or early
nineteenth century. Her hull was painted black, her bulwarks white,
these being the ordinary colors. Her two masts, raked slightly back,
were square-rigged. She had a bow spirit that stood out from her bow
like a unicorn’s horn. Her one unique aspect was a carved figurehead of
a pale white seahawk beneath the bow spirit. It looked rather angry
than a docile bird. It is the setting of the story.

Round Robin: it is a drawing of two circles, one within the other and
with what looked like signatures in the space between. The men sign it
that way so no name shall appear on top, or bottom. It was kind of a pact
and meant trouble. This little object is what causes the whole conflict.

Final Friend: it is what Zachariah wanted to be with Charlotte. It

referred to when a sailor dies on voyage, he goes his resting place in the
sea with his hammock sewn about him by a friend. This gives us a sign
that Zachariah and Charlotte will probably be great friends.

Mutiny: a rebellion against someone or refuse to follow rules. Captian

Jaggery doesn’t like mutiny at all.

dirk: a knife given to Charlotte by Zachariah. It is sharp, hardly more

than 6 inches in length. It caused Charlotte trouble because since it was
the one used to kill Mr. Hollybrass everyone thinks she killed him.

Charlotte Doyle: Make sure you understand her relationships

throughout the story.

 How did those relationships evolve and change throughout the

story?
  They evolved and changed throughout the story by trust and
communication. In the beginning of the story Charlotte was very
conservative and protective over herself, but as we keep reading
she socializes more and in the end she even becomes part of the
crew.

 How does Charlotte change and evolve throughout the story? Why
is that important?
 Charlotte changes and evolves throughout the story in a good
way. She learns more about the captain, crew, ship, and work.
From a high class lady, she becomes a hard working sailor.

Important moments during the Trip:

 What are some important and crucial parts of the journey?

a) When Mr. Keetch, the second mate, warns Charlotte not to take
the voyage; it is very suspicious.
b) When Zachariah warns Charlotte about the crew; it hinted that
the crew are not what they seem.
c) When Captain Jaggery tells Charlotte to be careful we once again
get the message that the sailors are different.
d) When Charlotte sees the pistol and round robin in the forecastle
which indicates mutiny.
e) When Cranick and Zachariah die.
f) When Captain Jaggery accuses Charlotte of murdering Mr.
Hollybrass.
g) When Charlotte figures out that Captain Jaggery was the one who
killed Mr. Hollybrass.
h) When Captain Jaggery dies and Charlotte gets to America.
i) For me the most crucial one was when Charlotte choses the
sailors over her “home”.

 Why are they important or crucial to the story?

 They are important to the story because they foreshadow, make
us ponder, and question every little detail in the story.

Cristina S. Díaz