Johnny Tremain
Esther forbes, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.
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Johnny Tremain: Introduction
Johnny tremain: plot summary, johnny tremain: detailed summary & analysis, johnny tremain: themes, johnny tremain: quotes, johnny tremain: characters, johnny tremain: terms, johnny tremain: symbols, johnny tremain: theme wheel, brief biography of esther forbes.
Historical Context of Johnny Tremain
Other books related to johnny tremain.
- Full Title: Johnny Tremain
- When Written: 1941–1943
- Where Written: Worcester, Massachusetts
- When Published: 1943
- Literary Period: Twentieth-Century Literature
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult Novel
- Setting: Boston, 1773–1775
- Climax: Rab dies after the Battle of Lexington.
- Antagonist: The British, The Lytes, Pride
- Point of View: Third Person
Extra Credit for Johnny Tremain
A Good Time for Books. Forbes began writing Johnny Tremain in 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor also inspired the creation of the Writer’s War Board, a propaganda organization that spotlighted modern novels that the Nazis targeted. During this time, reading and buying books—especially modern novels—was taken as a sign of support for the war.
Silver and Dentistry. In addition to being an accomplished silversmith, Paul Revere also learned to make false teeth. In fact, when Dr. Joseph Warren died in battle in 1775 and was buried in an unmarked grave, Paul Revere ultimately identified the body by the false tooth he’d made for Warren. This is believed to be the first instance in which a body was identified by dental records.
Johnny Tremain
By esther forbes, johnny tremain themes.
Early in the novel, Johnny is excessively proud of his skills as a silversmith. He believes he is too good to be friends with the other apprentices––especially Dove ––and has a pompous manner with the people around him. After his hand is burned, Johnny must learn new skills. Although his proud attitude does not go away overnight (he turns down several job offers because he thinks they are beneath him), he eventually learns humility by following the example of Rab, a reserved older boy who shows Johnny the benefits of being modest.
Hard work and professionalism
Forbes uses Johnny Tremain to address questions of how people should do work. The characters in the book think that skilled labor is better than unskilled labor; for example, Johnny refuses to work for a butcher because he would rather be a craftsman. But once he accepts a job as a delivery boy out of desperation, he realizes that any job can be satisfying if a person does it with honor and hard work.
Finding one's place in life
The novel traces the two years leading up to the American Revolution, but it is also a story about growing up in any time. Johnny must try many different jobs and types of behavior before he can become a brave, self-sacrificing man. Forbes suggests that although Johnny often makes things worse for himself through his immature behavior, he is a good person deep down and that learning through experience is the only way one can find one's niche in life.
On page 109, Johnny notices that Rab never changes, while Johnny's opinions and behavior often change depending on his mood and his whims. Although Rab's integrity (or stubbornness) leads him to dangerous behavior, like participating in the Boston Observers and the battle of Lexington, Johnny admires the older boy's willingness to stick to his beliefs. By the end of the novel, Johnny's experiences during wartime have led him to come to a few of his own opinions––that violence is horrible but sometimes necessary, and that people must be willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good––that he will stand by no matter what.
Part of the reason Johnny has so much trouble finding a job after his injury is that he is impulsive and loses his temper easily. Rab eventually influences him to count to ten before reacting when something bothers him. This strategy works well, and Johnny starts reaping the benefits immediately, getting a slice of apple pie and a job offer from a girl he almost yelled at.
Self-sacrifice
Johnny Tremain brings up the question of when it is appropriate to sacrifice oneself. It shows the consequences of needless self-sacrifice in great detail; for example, Mr. Lapham is often unavailable to his family because he spends so much time praying and doing church business. Johnny learns by the end of the story that sacrificing one's own interests––or even one's life––for one's country is a very noble goal.
Forbes emphasizes in Johnny Tremain that violence is not fun and exciting––it hurts people deeply. This can be seen in Johnny's reaction to the street brawls in the months leading up to the Revolution; they make him sick and he is upset to see the Sons of Liberty beating up old Tories. Forbes suggests that unnecessary violence is bad no matter which side is the perpetrator.
Johnny Tremain Questions and Answers
The Question and Answer section for Johnny Tremain is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
in protesting the tax on tea, the colonist destroyed thousands of dollars of private property. Do you believe they were justified in doing this? Why or why not? If not, what should they have done about the tea?
I think they were not justified in this. Mob psychology for a perceived righteous cause have made men do awful things. It is a slippery slope to the abyss of human behaviour when mad patriotism is mixed with mass hysteria.
What are the Rebellious Acts of Sons of Liberty and Observers in Johnny Tremain?
The Sons of Liberty hold demonstrations, many of which, are violent. They use force and riots to rebel against the British government and to intimidate Tory figures.
Rab is part of the Sons of Liberty. Although they are Patriots and make some...
from Johnny Tremain
While she was researching her nonfiction history book Paul Revere and the World He Lived In , Esther Forbes became interested in the lives of ordinary people in colonial Boston. This interest resulted in Johnny Tremain , a coming-of-age story for...
Study Guide for Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain study guide contains a biography of Esther Forbes, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
- About Johnny Tremain
- Johnny Tremain Summary
- Character List
Wikipedia Entries for Johnny Tremain
- Introduction
- Plot summary
- Similar characters in other media
- study guides
- lesson plans
- homework help
Johnny Tremain Discussion Questions
Grandfather Lapham warns Johnny repeatedly against the sin of pride. Is pride necessarily bad? When is pride something to resist? How does Johnny's pride affect his life, both as a silversmith and afterward?
Cilla says Johnny is easier to draw than Rab because he is "a child yet - Rab's grown up." Besides being a year older, how is Rab more "grown up" than Johnny? Is Johnny grown up by the end of the book? What has changed?
How does Johnny's attitude toward Dove change as he grows older? Which of the two boys changes most?
Although the revolutionary organizations have names like The Sons of Liberty and The Minute Men, women also play a part. In what ways were women able to promote the cause of revolution?
Why does the British attitude toward the people of Boston change after the first rumors of the...
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Johnny Tremain
93 pages • 3 hours read
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Suggestions for essay topics to use when you're writing about Johnny Tremain. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Suggestions. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. 1984 An Inspector Calls ... Suggested Essay Topics Save. Essays Suggested Essay Topics. Previous . 1. How does Jonathan Lyte serve as a foil to Johnny? ...
Forbes portrays Pumpkin and his desire to be a farmer very sympathetically, and his tragic death illustrates the cost that the American Revolution had for the common people of England. 9. Esther Forbes wrote Johnny Tremain in 1943, at the height of World War II.
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Suggested Essay Topics Further Study Suggestions for Further Reading ... When Johnny Tremain begins, the protagonist is a fourteen-year-old boy. The novel ends less than two years later, and Johnny Tremain is a sixteen-year-old man. His rapid maturation is largely a function of the extreme political climate of his time.
5. Mr. Lapham predicts that Johnny will be punished for his vanity. Is Johnny's accident bad luck or is Johnny himself to blame? 6. When Johnny tears up the pages from the Lyte family Bible, he ...
Johnny Tremain takes place in the years preceding the Revolutionary War, during which the 13 New England colonies fought and won their independence from Great Britain, forming the United States of America. The novel touches on a number of real historical figures and events (the edition used in this LitChart includes an illustrated who's who of historical figures like John Hancock and Samuel ...
Esther Forbes won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1942 for her adult novel Paul Revere and the World He Lived In. Her research for that book inspired her to write Johnny Tremain, published in ...
Johnny Tremain combines believable characters, historical events, drama, humor, and sharp images to create an appealing and meaningful novel. Innumerable descriptive details convey a strong sense ...
Forbes hoped that Johnny Tremain would inspire young people to be as patriotic and self-sacrificing as Johnny becomes by the end of the book. Many of the story's details--from characters like John Hancock and Sam Adams, to facts about what Johnny might have eaten for breakfast--are historically accurate. Although the main characters ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Esther Forbes. Johnny Tremain Full Book Summary. Fourteen-year-old Johnny Tremain is the gifted apprentice of Ephraim Lapham, a silversmith in Revolutionary-era Boston. The pious and elderly Mr. Lapham is more interested in preparing his own soul for death than in running his silver shop, so Johnny is the chief breadwinner of the family.
Hard work and professionalism. Forbes uses Johnny Tremain to address questions of how people should do work. The characters in the book think that skilled labor is better than unskilled labor; for example, Johnny refuses to work for a butcher because he would rather be a craftsman. But once he accepts a job as a delivery boy out of desperation ...
Suggestions for essay topics to use when you're writing about Johnny Tremain.
Moreover, Johnny is her father-in-law's most promising apprentice, and, therefore, the one with the most future earning potential. Although he is only fourteen years old, Johnny is a good marriage prospect for any middle-class family in colonial America. Social status, and not love, often influenced relationships in America, just like in England.
A summary of Chapter 1 in Esther Forbes's Johnny Tremain. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Johnny Tremain and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Essay ideas, study questions and discussion topics based on important themes running throughout Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. ... and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Johnny Tremain. Print Word PDF. This section contains 194 words (approx. 1 page at 400 words per page) View a FREE sample. Grandfather Lapham warns ...
Essay Topics. Tools. Discussion Questions. Character Analysis. Johnny Tremain. The protagonist, Johnny Tremain, is prideful at the start of the novel, gains determination as he faces setbacks, and finds his courage by the resolution. When the story begins, he is 14 years old with "a rather skinny" build, "light eyes, a wry mouth, and fair ...
2691. Johnny Tremain Project Introduction: My project is about the military uniforms of the British and colonists' armies during the revolutionary war. First, I'll explain the organization of the armies before the war, and I'll also take an in-depth look at the different uniforms for each…. 3 Pages 1424 Words.
Language English. Time and place written Esther Forbes began to write Johnny Tremain on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. She worked on the novel at her home in Massachusetts, completing it in 1943. Date of first publication 1943. Publisher Houghton Mifflin. Narrator The novel is narrated by an anonymous voice.
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
The title character and hero of Johnny Tremain is a fourteen-year old boy living in colonial Boston. When we first meet Johnny, he is arrogant, ambitious, slightly cruel, and wholly self-centered. In part, these vicious character traits stem from his prodigious gifts: he is unusually bright and well educated for an apprentice, and he is widely considered the most talented young silversmith in ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.