Sir Philip's Relationship In The Town Of New England

In Cumberland, Sir Philip assumes the role of an intimidating figure. Being intimidating is bad enough, but Sir Philip’s actions are even worse when he attempts to steal common land, kill Peter and even try to force Kit to marry him. Firstly, Sir Philip steals the common land from the Peters family and all the other farmers, which is not allowed. Since most magistrates can not be trusted, they can not do anything about it. Readers infer that there are some corrupted magistrates, and they are working with or for Sir Philip, so if one of the farmers decides to take Philip to court, they will not be able to do anything to get him in trouble. Peter narrates, “No one wanted to [take him to court]. We didn’t have much money for lawyers, and we didn’t
All the families in Cumberland are affected by Sir Philip’s actions and are unable to use the land to farm for necessary food. Sir Philip’s association with these magistrates and the affect taking this land has on the townspeople shows how sneaky he is and why he deserves severe punishment. Secondly, Sir Philip’s attempt at having Peter killed was not needed. Peter is just a kid and threw the rock at Philip because he thought he would be dead if he couldn’t get away. On top of that, Sir Philip did not have time to plan to kill Peter and execute that plan effectively and with careful consideration. Peter overhears one of the actors say, “poor little devil hasn’t a chance” (48). Peter understands that the actors know about Sir Philip and know how he acts, especially when it comes to someone messing with his plans. Another actor elaborates: “Attempted murder”. Heaved a rock at his lordship” (48). Even if so, why would he kill a child for innocently throwing a rock at him? Attempted murder on multiple occasions is a perfectly solid reason that Sir Philip should in fact deserve severe punishment, and not