Summary
Johnny Tremain, by Esther
Forbes, is a novel set in America in the 1770s. It won the Newbery Medal in
1944. The protagonist is a boy named Jonathon Lyte Tremain (called Johnny) who
is apprenticed to a silversmith in Boston. His master, Mr. Lapham, is a meek,
pious old man who is concerned with Johnny’s prideful attitude. Because he is
intelligent and talented, Johnny practically runs his master’s shop. Johnny’s
fellow apprentices, Dusty and Dove, dislike Johnny’s overbearing attitude
towards them. When Johnny decides to finish an order on Sunday (which is
against the law in Boston), Dove decides to humiliate him by giving him a
cracked crucible to heat the silver in. Dove expects that the crucible will
break, spilling silver in the furnace and making Johnny look like a fool.
However, the consequences of his action are far more severe, and Johnny badly
burns his hand. Because he receives poor treatment, his hand heals improperly
and he can no longer use it. As a cripple, he will never be able to be a
silversmith, so he must find another job. But because his right hand is
crippled, Johnny cannot find employment. At last, in desperation, he decides to
go to the wealthy merchant, Jonathon Lyte, because Johnny’s mother told him
that they were related to the Lyte family. Johnny’s mother bequeathed one of
the Lyte’s cups to him, so Johnny takes it to Mr. Lyte as proof (along with his
name) that the two of them are related. However, Mr. Lyte doesn’t acknowledge
any relationship to Johnny, and accuses him of having stolen the cup. Johnny is
arrested and thrown into prison. In desperation, Johnny gets help from Rab
Silsbee, a printer’s apprentice whom he met while he was looking for work. Rab
helps Johnny prove his innocence, and persuades his master to give Johnny work
at the shop. Johnny’s work entails delivering newspapers on horseback, so Rab
teaches Johnny to ride.
Over the next few months, Johnny and
Rab become friends. Rab is one of the Sons of Liberty, and through him Johnny
learns about the issues that are causing trouble between England and the
colonies. The two boys become involved in the events surrounding the beginning
of the American Revolution. They participate in the Boston Tea Party, dressing
as Indians and helping to throw the English tea into Boston Harbor. Rab trains
as a minute man, but Johnny cannot fight because of his crippled hand.
Tension between the British and the
colonials escalates, and it soon becomes clear that the British are going to
make a critical move. Johnny is part of the communication system that alerts
the minute men to the British army’s intended move on Lexington, and Rab makes
his way to Lexington to be part of the action. While Johnny continues to work
as a spy and messenger, Rab fights with the men at Lexington and is fatally
wounded. Johnny makes it to Lexington in time to say goodbye to him. The doctor
attending on Rab notices Johnny’s hand, and tells him that he can perform a surgery
that will restore the hand to usefulness. Johnny agrees to undergo the
procedure, and takes a walk out on the Lexington green while the doctor
prepares for the surgery. As Johnny walks, he recognizes that the fight at Lexington was just a beginning, and that
the war that has begun will be part of a movement of oppressed people
everywhere who will stand up for their rights and fight for their freedom. He
knows that he will be a part of it, just as Rab was, and he is not afraid to
fight “so that a man can stand up.”
Interest
Johnny Tremain has a broad range of appeal
because of the genre of fiction it falls into. Because it is an adventure story
set in the past, it would appeal to younger adolescent readers. However, middle
adolescent readers would enjoy it, also, because it falls into the historical
fiction genre and follows Johnny from early to middle adolescence. I would say
this book would be most appropriate for 13-16 year old readers. Esther Forbes
uses a rich vocabulary sprinkled with old-fashioned language in places to add
to the historical feeling of the novel, so older readers might be better able
to understand the story. However, the writing style is not too complex for younger
readers to enjoy, also. Both male and female readers would enjoy reading the
story. Most of the characters in the book are male, and there is a fairly large
cast of characters, which male readers would appreciate. However, female
readers would enjoy Esther Forbes’ focus on Johnny’s thoughts and emotions.
Developing Mature Readers
The book deals with several tasks that young people must accomplish as they gain maturity.
Coming to Terms
with the Physical Body: This is a major theme in the story because Johnny
has to come to terms with the fact that he is a cripple. After the accident, he
feels self-conscious about his deformed hand, and struggles to cope with the
changes that it brings to his life. He hates the way his hand looks and that it
keeps him from being a silversmith. But in the course of the story, he learns
to cope with his crippled hand and begins to develop confidence in himself. His
hand ceases to hinder him from living a happy life.
Adolescents often struggle to feel
confident with their appearance. Some adolescents have actual physical defects,
but most adolescents (whether they actually have defects or not) would
understand how Johnny reacts about his crippled hand because they feel
self-conscious about their appearance. Because Johnny learns to cope with his
crippled hand, he is a good role model for adolescents who feel insecure about
their appearance.
Developing Relations with People of the Same
Age:
At the beginning of the story, Johnny lords it over the boys he works with; he
is admired and envied, but he has no friends among the other apprentices. When
he meets Rab, he immediately likes and trusts him. Rab and Priscilla Lapham
(the granddaughter of Johnny’s former master) are the only people of Johnny’s
own age that he does not look down on. With Rab’s help, Johnny begins to view
people differently, and begins forming friendships with people he would never
have talked to before. He even becomes friends with Dove, the boy who was
responsible for his accident.
Like Johnny, young people need to be
connected to others of their age group. Johnny’s friendships with his peers
serve as a positive example of how adolescents should relate to other young
people. He learns to be patient with others and treat others with kindness,
even if they are less capable than he is.
Working for
Pay/Getting a Job:
Johnny is training to be a silversmith at the beginning of the book, but after
his accident he has to find other work. He finds a job with Rab’s uncle,
distributing newspapers and helping around the printing shop. He is boarded and
fed in return for his work.
Adolescent readers would connect
with Johnny’s need to work because many adolescents have to work, also. Johnny
demonstrates the importance of hard work, as he earns respect by the quality of
work he does for his master. His industry is a good example for other
adolescents.
Gaining a Sense
of Achievement:
Johnny learns to cope with having a crippled hand, and becomes an important
part of the communication network for the Whigs. He becomes confident of his
ability to manage, despite being a cripple. He defeats the odds, and is
successful and happy, despite his disability.
Young people would connect with this
because they, too, want to prove themselves capable. Despite the challenges
that they face, they want to prove that they can manage on their own and beat
the odds, as Johnny does. However, Johnny does so in an appropriate manner. He
proves himself capable of being a useful member of society, but he also finds
his place in it. He learns to treat others well, instead of with arrogance (as
he did before his accident).
Potential Issues with the Book
This book is
refreshingly clean. It is not overly violent, the language is clean, and it is
free from sexual references. As I read, I looked for aspects of the story that
might be problematic, but failed to find any. Mr. Lyte lies several times, but
he is not a positive character. At the beginning of the story, Johnny
frequently calls people names, but he learns to stop and think before
expressing how he feels, and discovers that being polite and patient pays in
the end.
Recommendation
The book is probably best suited to
8th-10th grade students. I would highly recommend this
book to adolescent readers, and would be completely comfortable with teaching
it in my classroom. If I was unable to fit it into my curriculum, I would
highly recommend it as outside reading. Despite the complex, unusual words that
Esther Forbes uses at times, I think most students would have no difficulty in
following the story. In fact, children in upper elementary enjoy the book. I
personally love this book because the story is well-crafted and the characters
are realistic. The excellent presentation of this time in American history also
adds to the merit of the book.
Resources for Teaching
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/johnny_tremain.pdf
This
PDF contains an extensive study guide with information about Esther Forbes, the
novel, and the historical period the work is set in. There are discussion
questions and activities for the different sections of the book.
http://www.webteaching.com/free/johnny.htm
This website has a variety of
teaching ideas, including journal and essay questions, vocabulary help, writing
activities, and an online test that students can take.
http://www.masshist.org/education/resources/blackington/blackington_complete.pdf
This link is to a PDF document that
contains information for linking Johnny
Tremain to history. Included in the document are transcriptions of
documents from the Revolutionary War era, questions for discussion and essays,
short biographies on the real characters from the book, and ideas for touring
the Boston of the story.
Teaching Strategies
In order to pique students’
interest, teachers can read the first part of chapter 1 in class and give some
background information on the story and author. Then they can give the students
their next reading assignment. Because the book is quite long, teachers should
divide it into sections, assigning sections to be read each week. They can
create appropriate discussion questions for each section. Teachers could break
the class up into small groups and have them discuss the questions for a few
minutes in class, and then have different students volunteer to share some of
their answers with the class.
Teachers can also have various small
writing assignments for each section. For the first section, which would deal
with Johnny’s time as a silversmith’s apprentice and his accident, students could
write about how Johnny’s behavior towards his fellow apprentices led to his
accident, using the text to support their ideas. For section two, the students
could discuss how Rab helped Johnny, and then write about how someone has
directed them to make good decisions when they needed help. For section three, they
could pretend to be one of the characters involved in the Boston Tea Party
(Johnny, Dove, Rab, etc.) writing about the incident in a letter to a friend or
relative outside of Boston. For section four, students could write a short (3-4
paragraph) essay explaining why they think Johnny decided not to take his cup
back from the Lytes. Section five would conclude the book, so teachers would
not need to assign a writing assignment besides the final one.
For
the final writing assignment, students could be required to write a 2-3 page
essay on one of these topics: 1) At the beginning of the story, Johnny is very
arrogant; however, he learns to accept his place in life and treat other people
with respect. Using examples from the book, show how Johnny’s attitude was
changed by the experiences he had; 2) Johnny struggles to control his temper
and his tongue. What specific advice from others and incidences in the story
help Johnny learn to control himself? Use examples from the book; 3) In Otis’
speech, he talks about how different people will sacrifice different things in
order to gain freedom for the oppressed colonies and people around the world.
He directs some of these remarks to specific people in the room. Pick one of
the fictitious characters he speaks to (Johnny and Rab) and one of the
historical characters he speaks to (Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and
Joseph Warren) and write about the sacrifices they made for freedom. You will
need to do some research on the lives of the historical characters.
Works Cited
Blackington,
Ronald. Johnny Tremain and the Members of
the Long Room Club. Massachusetts:
Massachusetts
Historical Society, 2005. PDF file.
Forbes,
Esther. Johnny Tremain. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1971. Print.
“Johnny
Tremain.” Professional Development
Institute. Professional Development Institute, n.d.
Web.
7 April 2013.
The
Glencoe Literature Library. Study Guide
for Johnny Tremain. Glencoe Online. New York:
Glencoe
McGraw-Hill, n.d. PDF file.
