Johnny Tremain

Hello All,

I apologize for the crazy long delay in everything. I'm sure most of us have been busy with finals and what not- so hopefully no one was too bored.

This time, I chose to write about "Johnny Tremain," by Esther Forbes- I have a feeling most of you have heard of it. I have read it more than once! So, because I think everyone should read this book at least once, I pulled up the "Sparknotes" plot overview, which I pasted here. I think it is probably the best description of the book written, because it gives you the plot without ruining anything amazing. Also, it probably describes the book way better than I could! So- enjoy this overview and I hope you are interested enough to read the book!

"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. Dove and Dusty, Lapham’s other apprentices, are expected to bow to Johnny’s authority, and Mrs. Lapham is determined to have Johnny marry her daughter Cilla. Johnny’s enormous talent and his special status in the Lapham household go to his head, and Johnny often bullies the lazy, insolent Dove, as well as Dusty and the four Lapham daughters. Although Mr. Lapham tries to contain Johnny’s arrogance, Johnny is unwilling to rein in his quick temper or impulsive acts.

The Lapham’s fortune and Johnny’s fame as a silversmith appear to take a turn for the better when the wealthy merchant John Hancock puts in an order for an elaborate silver basin. Mr. Lapham hesitates to take on such a difficult project, but the rash Johnny accepts the job on behalf of his master. That night, Johnny reveals his family secret to Cilla. He is related to Jonathan Lyte, a wealthy Boston merchant. Johnny’s mother revealed his ancestry to him before she died and gave him a silver cup engraved with the Lyte’s coat of arms. She instructed him to steer clear of the Lytes unless he had no other recourse.

Johnny struggles to design the silver basin’s handles, but he is dissatisfied with the result. After consulting Paul Revere, Johnny creates a mold for a perfect set of handles. While he is casting the wax model in silver, Dove deliberately hands him a cracked crucible. Dove’s intention is only to humble Johnny by playing a practical joke on him, but his prank results in a terrible accident that disfigures Johnny’s hand. No longer able to work as a silversmith’s apprentice, Johnny loses his status in the Lapham household. After the burn heals, Mrs. Lapham begins to complain of Johnny’s idleness and the expense of feeding him. She begins negotiating a business partnership with Mr. Tweedie, a silversmith from Baltimore, and forbids Johnny from marrying Cilla. Mr. Lapham urges Johnny to find a new trade, but promises to house him until he finds a new master. During his fruitless search, Johnny drops into Mr. Lorne’s print shop, where a Whig newspaper, the Boston Observer, is published. Mr. Lorne’s enigmatic nephew and apprentice Rab immediately intrigues Johnny. Johnny confides the story of his accident to Rab, and the boy promises Johnny a job delivering newspapers if he fails to find any skilled labor.

Depressed and desperately trying to find a new craft, Johnny finally decides to approach Jonathan Lyte. He produces his silver cup as proof of their kinship, but Lyte accuses Johnny of stealing the valuable heirloom and has the boy arrested. Johnny appeals to Rab for assistance, and Rab not only finds a lawyer to defend him for free but also arranges to have Cilla testify in his favor. After Johnny is cleared of the charges, he tries to sell the cup to Lyte, but Lyte steals it from him. Only then does Johnny approach Lorne to ask for the delivery job.

While delivering newspapers, Johnny becomes well acquainted with the key members in Boston politics and is transformed from an apathetic political bystander into an ardent Whig. The Lornes treat him kindly, as if he were a member of their family. Johnny participates in the Boston Tea Party, and becomes a confidant, small-time Whig spy, and errand boy for all the Whigs of Boston. During this period of Whig scheming, in the months leading up the Revolutionary War, Johnny slowly changes from a selfish, arrogant child into a selfless, idealistic man. Rab’s quiet influence teaches Johnny to control his temper, and the colonial situation provides Johnny with something larger than himself to care about. Johnny also matures through his growing recognition of his feelings for Cilla, who has gone to work as a servant in the Lyte home.

On the eve of war between the colonists and Britain, the Tory Lytes plan to flee to England. Immediately before their departure, Lavinia Lyte approaches Johnny to tell him that she has investigated his claims of kinship and found them to be legitimate. She insists that her father had sincerely believed that Johnny was lying when he accused him, but admits that both father and daughter recognize that Johnny has a right to some of the Lyte property.

Rab is mortally wounded when war breaks out in the battle of Lexington. Johnny is deeply shaken by Rab’s death, but he vows to continue the struggle for the human rights for which Rab sacrificed his life. Doctor Warren, an esteemed rebel leader, examines Johnny’s hand while Rab’s lifeless body lies upstairs. He discovers that the thumb is fused to the palm by nothing but scar tissue, and that Johnny’s handicap can be easily remedied with minor surgery. Although he cannot promise that Johnny will ever be a silversmith again, he assures Johnny that he will soon be able to fire the musket that Rab bequeathed to him before dying. "

My only other comment would be that I thought the book was a little strange in the way the dialogue was formatted- but you get used to it after a while. The sentences are short, which I guess is more realistic, it's just different from the extensive sentences from other books! I hope that makes sense. Anyway, happy reading.

Tony

4/5 Recommended

Special thanks to Sparknotes. You are amazing.

Painting of a Forest

Check. It. Out.

This painting is so enchanting and enrapturing, do you not think? Click it for a large view.

You may think this is so random and not about books---but it is! When I saw this, I thought it would be a perfect illustration for so many scenes in books I have read. Here's some DC homework! Tell us what book scene this reminds you of! What book does it bring to mind?


Always,
Lady Arwen

Around the World in 80 Days

Hey People,

I'm incredibly sorry that it has taken so long for me to get around to posting. I know I told Lady A. I would post some time ago, but I have been busy. My apologies. Alright, this time I am writing about Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne. I have read this book about four or five times, and I think it just might be one of the best books I have ever read. That's saying a lot. I know that at an earlier time I wrote a post on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and surprisingly I didn't like it. But this is very different. The story takes place in London, England in 1872. The story begins with a rich gentleman named Phileas Fogg, who lives a uniform life with no variation and no excitement. The story is seen through the eyes of Mr. Fogg's man servant, Passepartout, who has just come to work for him when Mr. Fogg decides to take up a friend on his bet to travel around the world in 80 days. Passepartout and Mr. Fogg set of on their wild adventure, but for some reason are being followed by an English detective named Mr. Fix. We follow them on their journey around the world and see lots of interesting places and people, such as a lovely young lady named Aouda. I personally think this book is amazing! It is fast paced and surprisingly humorous for the type of book it is. The book is filled with adventure, danger, romance, and the obvious anxiety of traveling around the world in 80 days! So in other words if you like adventure and world travel you should definitely pick up a copy of this book... and even if you don't you should read it anyway. If you have any more questions on the subject let me know because I wrote the post quickly and probably left important things out. Thank you for your patience.

$ The Dodge$

5/5 recommended

Join me in reading "Mere Christianity"!

I have something exciting to tell y'all! I am reading a brilliant book called "Mere Christianity" or "The Case for Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. So far, I have only read five chapters, but I am simply enthralled. Even though it is not on the book list, I am going to post on it after the Artful Dodger posts on his book. (Unless someone else wants to post. Everyone seems really busy, but let me know when you guys want to post on something; I just keep posting cause no one else is.)
Since I am finding this book to be superior, I have a challenge for you all: read it too! That way, when I post on it, we can have a discussion. If not enough people get it read before my post, perhaps we can have a discussion on it just as we did on Romeo and Juliet. Let me know what you guys want to do!
This book is so good! I hope you all will read it. I'm not suggesting it to get any non-Christian peeps to convert, if there are any on the site. In fact, so far this book is not at all about the Bible, or preachy stuff like that. It is simply analyzing people's beliefs on God or whatever life force they believe in and other things. Lewis is analyzing people's views and arguing for both sides. It's really interesting; that's why I recommend it.
Some tips on how to read this: #1. Do NOT read fast. Read it slowly. Perhaps just take one chapter a day. #2. Re-read. I just re-read chapter two slower than before, and I got a ton out of it. #3. I usually don't agree with how teachers make students read stuff like Shakespeare for the first time and make them analyze and dissect the details so that they student can't enjoy it. But for this book, do analyze it! It's that kind of book. Think about what you read and maybe see if you can apply it to people in your life. I sure can. This way, if you ever get in a conversation with those people, you can defend your faith and beliefs!
Ok, well, I will email Dodge and see when he's planning on posting. Thanks for reading.

~Arwen

Pinocchio

Greetings, folks.

I read Pinocchio for the second time a while ago. It was veery interesting to read the first time, having grown up watching the Disney movie version. Well, I don't know what the heck Walt Disney was thinking, because the book is nothing like the movie. He must have had a heck of an imagination; he pretty much changed the whole plot. I don't know about you, but it bothers me when people do that when the book was already terrific....
It's about a little wooden boy made by a dude named Geppetto.(That much the movie got right.) Even before Geppetto carved him, he was making mischief and being impossible to control. He was a real ham. But he always dreamed of becoming a real boy. When he meets a beautiful fairy girl who tells him she will grant his wish if he becomes a well-behaved puppet, Pinocchio is inspired and determined to behave the rest of his life. But Pinocchio has EXTREMELY bad will power. It's so bad, in fact, half way through the book I couldn't even believe it. You see, Pinocchio keeps saying he will be a good puppet, but then he doesn't go through with it. The fairy keeps re-appearing and telling him she will give him another chance, but he just doesn't get it. Just when he's soooo close to getting his wish, he blows it again. It's rather frustrating to read! But it's so funny! It's a very comical story, and it's very, very unique. It is a little scary though; it's a bit bizarre. It has this spooky-ness about it the entire story, and some really weird things happen. It's not exactly the jolly, innocent children's story everyone assumes it is.
It's great thought! My family and I have always loved it. I definitely recommend it.

Rated #4, maybe even #5 (It was a while since I finished it, so I can't remember which I decided on...)

Thanks for reading. I hope you will read this book; it's a real treat.

Arwen

Two Dead Boys and some other stuff...

Hey people,

First, thanks to all who participated in the discussion! It was great. Thank you for reading the book. If anyone has any suggestions for book discussions, let us know.

I'll post in a few days, but I thought I would post this poem in the meantime. It's really interesting - the author is anonymous, and there a few different variations; because of this, it's not exactly considered "real" poetry. But I love the ironic and bizarre humor of it.
Here's my favorite version:

One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.

One was blind and the other couldn't see,
So they chose a dummy for a referee.
A blind man came to see fair play,
A dumb man came to shout hooray!

A paralized donkey, passing by,
Kicked the blind man in the eye,
Knocked him through a nine inch wall,
Into a dry ditch and drowned them all.

A deaf policeman, hearing the noise,
Came to arrest the two dead boys.
If you don't believe this lie is true,
Ask the blind man; he saw it too.

Very strange, very funny. Yeah?

I also wanted to re-post what is left of the booklist, just to remind you of what you can be reading. (Most the time we post on these books, but I have posted on other books too.)

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth G. Speare
Little Britches - Ralf Moody
Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes
Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne
The Spectre Bridegroom - Washington Irving
Two Gentlemen of Verona - William Shakespeare
North to Freedom - Anne Holm
Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi

If you want to know which of these books you should read first (or read at all) please talk to me; some of these books are fantastic, and I'd love to recommend them.

Well, thanks for reading the books and following the blog - please invite your friends to follow too!

Always,
Lady Arwen

Romeo and Juliet disucussion

Here's the start of the discussion - this is going to last a few days. That way everyone can get a chance to participate. Here are the questions again:

1. What effect does the accelerated time scheme have on the play’s development? Is it plausible that a love story of this magnitude could take place so quickly? Does the play seem to take place over as little time as it actually occupies?

2. Compare and contrast the characters of Romeo and Juliet. How do they develop throughout the play? What makes them fall in love with one another?

3. Compare and contrast the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio. Why does Mercutio hate Tybalt?

4. Apart from clashing with Tybalt, what role does Mercutio play in the story? Is he merely a colorful supporting character and brilliant source of comic relief, or does he serve a more serious purpose?

5. How does Shakespeare treat death in Romeo and Juliet? Frame your answer in terms of legal, moral, familial, and personal issues. Bearing these issues in mind, compare the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Mercutio, and Mercutio and Tybalt.

Sorry I couldn't get this going until now. I hope it's not too late.