James A. Michener's Centennial: The Yellow Apron
Centennial “The Yellow Apron”
By: James A. Michener
The Yellow Apron takes place from 1795-1830, and takes place in the west. Its about a Frenchman named Pasquinel who trades for a living. No one knows where he came from but they do know that he is very good at trading with the Indians. While trading he meets many new people, he also meets his new partner Mckeg and both his wives Lise and Clay Basket. He and his new partner face many obstacles on their journeys but always return home with many beaver pelts which made them very wealthy. Pasquinel and Mckeg’s friendship took a pause when Mckeg was attacked by one of Pasquinels sons. In the end Mckeg and Clay Basket finally get to be together. Pasquinel is the main character in the chapter.
He’s described as a small dark Frenchman that dressed like an Indian. Some people even thought that he had Indian blood in him, he was also a solitary trader with the Indians. No knew where he came from but everyone agreed that he was a man without fear. He was an exceptionaly good at getting beaver pelts and trading them. Alexander Mckeg was a refugee from a tyrannical laird in the highlands of Scotland, he was captured by the Indians trying to go upstream to trade for beaver. When Pasquinel meets Mckeg he makes him his personal interpreter because he can speak many languages. Hermann Bockweiss was a silversmith who took over funding Pasquinel and Mackeg’s trading voyages. He convinced Pasquinel to marry one of his daughters. Lise Bockweiss was Hermann Bockweiss daughter and she was also married to Pasquinel. She was the strong-minded one out of her and her sister. Whenever Pasquinel would go on his long trips she would entertain herself by remodeling their home. Clay Basket is Pasquinel’s very beautiful indian wife. She was in love with Mckeg, but she married Pasquinel because her father told her to before he staked himself out at the Pawnee camp. Pasquinel only married her because he wanted her to tell him where her father hid the gold he had found, she knows where it is but doesn’t tell him. The characters in the story face many conflicts in the chapter. One of them being Pasquinel having to get the Indians to trust him in order for them to trade with him. At first the Indians feel threatened by him coming into their territory sometimes they evan attacked him. He got them to trust him by bringing gifts for the chiefs and he always did what he said he would do. Mckeg also faces his own conflict but this time its within himself. When Pasquinel’s son Jacques attacks Mckeg, Mckeg decides to leave Pasquinel and trap on his own. He then finds himself alone and cut off from the few people he cared about. When he spent three weeks trapped underneath snow he thought seriously about committing suicide because he hadn’t seen or spoken to a human in seven months. He finally gets out from underneath the snow and decides to do something about his loneliness, so he decides to go to the rendezvous where he would be around people. The Yellow Apron is a very detail oriented chapter in the book. It’s characters are described in detail and it brings each of them to life. It took me back to the old western times and gave me an in depth description on what trading used to be like. All in all, the chapter was ver interesting and I enjoyed reading it.
1.
By: James A. Michener
The Yellow Apron takes place from 1795-1830, and takes place in the west. Its about a Frenchman named Pasquinel who trades for a living. No one knows where he came from but they do know that he is very good at trading with the Indians. While trading he meets many new people, he also meets his new partner Mckeg and both his wives Lise and Clay Basket. He and his new partner face many obstacles on their journeys but always return home with many beaver pelts which made them very wealthy. Pasquinel and Mckeg’s friendship took a pause when Mckeg was attacked by one of Pasquinels sons. In the end Mckeg and Clay Basket finally get to be together. Pasquinel is the main character in the chapter.
He’s described as a small dark Frenchman that dressed like an Indian. Some people even thought that he had Indian blood in him, he was also a solitary trader with the Indians. No knew where he came from but everyone agreed that he was a man without fear. He was an exceptionaly good at getting beaver pelts and trading them. Alexander Mckeg was a refugee from a tyrannical laird in the highlands of Scotland, he was captured by the Indians trying to go upstream to trade for beaver. When Pasquinel meets Mckeg he makes him his personal interpreter because he can speak many languages. Hermann Bockweiss was a silversmith who took over funding Pasquinel and Mackeg’s trading voyages. He convinced Pasquinel to marry one of his daughters. Lise Bockweiss was Hermann Bockweiss daughter and she was also married to Pasquinel. She was the strong-minded one out of her and her sister. Whenever Pasquinel would go on his long trips she would entertain herself by remodeling their home. Clay Basket is Pasquinel’s very beautiful indian wife. She was in love with Mckeg, but she married Pasquinel because her father told her to before he staked himself out at the Pawnee camp. Pasquinel only married her because he wanted her to tell him where her father hid the gold he had found, she knows where it is but doesn’t tell him. The characters in the story face many conflicts in the chapter. One of them being Pasquinel having to get the Indians to trust him in order for them to trade with him. At first the Indians feel threatened by him coming into their territory sometimes they evan attacked him. He got them to trust him by bringing gifts for the chiefs and he always did what he said he would do. Mckeg also faces his own conflict but this time its within himself. When Pasquinel’s son Jacques attacks Mckeg, Mckeg decides to leave Pasquinel and trap on his own. He then finds himself alone and cut off from the few people he cared about. When he spent three weeks trapped underneath snow he thought seriously about committing suicide because he hadn’t seen or spoken to a human in seven months. He finally gets out from underneath the snow and decides to do something about his loneliness, so he decides to go to the rendezvous where he would be around people. The Yellow Apron is a very detail oriented chapter in the book. It’s characters are described in detail and it brings each of them to life. It took me back to the old western times and gave me an in depth description on what trading used to be like. All in all, the chapter was ver interesting and I enjoyed reading it.
1.