57 pages • 1 hour read
Lois LenskiA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Molly’s blonde hair is her most notable physical characteristic; throughout the novel, it often symbolizes her identity and develops her relationship to others. In several instances, Molly’s hair symbolizes her difference. Molly’s father points out her hair and assures her: “The Injuns’ll never hurt you, Molly-child! Why, when they see your pretty yaller hair a-shinin’ in the sun, they’ll think ‘tis only a corn-stalk in tassel!” (74). From the beginning, this comment builds the idea that Molly is special somehow.
When Molly first arrives in Seneca town, her hair is a symbol of her difference, and it attracts much attention. Molly is given the name Corn Tassel, inspired by the color of her hair. After living with the Senecas for several months, Molly travels to Fort Duquesne with Shining Star and Squirrel Woman. She is keenly aware of the ways she has changed; she feels that she has changed so much, in dress and appearance, that “if anyone should see her, they would think it was only an Indian girl with a baby” (220). When Molly encounters a group of English people, however, her hair establishes her identity as a white girl: “Molly had forgotten that her hair would tell the truth about her.
Action & Adventure
View Collection
Action & Adventure Reads (Middle Grade)
View Collection
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Colonial America
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Fiction with Strong Female Protagonists
View Collection
Juvenile Literature
View Collection
The Journey
View Collection
War
View Collection