Analysis Of Johnny Tremain By Esther Forbes

Johnny Tremain, published in 1943, is a children’s novel written by Esther Forbes. First published midway through WW2, this is a fictional story about a young boy, Johnny Tremain, in 1775 during the Revolutionary War. It takes place in Boston while it was in revolt.
Esther Forbes wasn’t ever a children’s novelist, but rather, she was a historian. Forbes aimed for “addressing a nation of young readers who are looking about at their nation at war”. She did an outstanding job at succeeding in this; the book gaining attention from readers of every age. “They know soldiers and sailors and pilots from their cities and neighborhoods, their churches and synagogues, their schools and town business- their families- who have died in the fight against
the world’s darkest cruelty and oppression.” These children know, as they lie awake at night, that there are men- young adults- that are at war fighting their lives for America. Forbes wanted to say that this is the very reason that we are fighting. This is what it is to stand against evil. For this reason, Esther Forbes has Johnny to remember the words “so a man can stand up” from James Otis. To this Doctor Warren replied, “Yes. And some of us would die- so other men can stand up on their feet like men. A great many are going to die for that. They have in the past. They will a hundred years from now- two hundred. God grant there will always be men good enough.” (page 297) This is what she was wanting to convey to her readers when our country is called to fight “so a man can stand up”. She was speaking to all generations, hoping that whatever came next, this country would rise against and to allow everyone in it to stand up.
To be honest, I was dreading having to do this book report. In all my other history classes the teacher picked out the most painfully boring book to read. A week before the report was due, I walked into the book store and told customer service to give me his favorite book of this time period- and this was what he returned with, Johnny Tremain. To my surprise, I really enjoyed reading this and could hardly put the book down, diving into its story every moment I received the opportunity. Johnny Tremain was an easy book to keep up with at its fast pace. If there was ever once a moment that I did not fully understand what I was reading, Forbes was sure to explain further into it until made clear. I plan on returning to the book store to look for another one of her books to read next. “There goes that wonderful Johnny Tremain.” (page 5) This was a phrase that Johnny was accustom to hearing, for he was a hard-working apprentice.
He worked for a silversmith and had to for seven years with no pay. A few years into his work Johnny burned his dominant hand, putting an end to his future. He soon set out to find a job since Ms. Lapham would no longer be feeding him and he would no longer be able to work for Mr. Lapham. Nobody wanted him because of his burned hand, but he eventually found a job as a mail carrier at the Observer printing shop. I’m sure that Johnny had no idea that he would soon be closely involved with the British soldiers after he and many other apprentices had dumped all the tea into the harbor. But he did, and he became a sort of spy for Sam Adams and the others included in the secret tea party. This was a small group that secretly met every so often to discuss how they planned to handle the British invasion on their town. They soon decided that it was time to follow them into a fight at Lexington and this is where Johnny had lost his best friend, Rab, in the fight. The British won the first fight, but soon after the Yankees struck back and won the next. This was the beginning of many years of fighting in the Revolutionary
War.
Before opening the pages of this book, I never really knew much about the Boston Tea Party, or anything else about the war, really. As I read further into it, it not only encouraged me to learn more in depth about the war, but I began to also understand-to see- what this war was truly about. The story really does make a person think. These men, these boys, were ecstatic to go into war fighting for their country and what their town believed in. Knowing that there was only a slim chance of making it through the fight, they went in with a confidence about their faces. Reading the story of this young boy and his family and friends, I couldn’t help but think, what if it were my friends that had so readily went to fight a war at such a young age? This was an eye-opening book into our history and after reading Johnny Tremain, I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone. If it can keep a class of first-graders interested and content, I believe that it could entertain anyone