Gary Paulsen uses Sarney’s actions to show how much she dislikes being a slave. Sarney doesn’t like being a slave because of Waller. She calls Waller bad names when he's not around, like dog droppings. For example Sarney works in the garden next to the “white house” and was told that learning things is very bad but she listens to the conversations of the women in the house above the garden anyway. She also found a penny and hides it in the dirt because she knows if Waller finds the penny he will take it away from her. These examples show how much Sarney dislikes being a slave by showing that she wants to learn but is not allowed to and wants to keep things like the penny but is only allowed clothing to wear. In conclusion Gary Paulsen does an outstanding job depicting the the hardships of Sarney’s life and how much she dislikes being a slave through her actions. …show more content…
Gary Paulsen uses the characters dialect to show the lack of education of slaves.
Sarney uses a different dialect than we do because she was never taught how to read or write and how to use correct grammar due to the lack of education of slaves. When Sarney speaks she her sentences sometimes have double negatives. Another example is that Sarney calls her adopted mother, mammy. These examples show the lack of education of the slaves by showing that Sarney does not know how to use correct grammar. In conclusion Gary Paulsen shows the lack of education throughout the slaves well by using the dialect of a twelve year old slave
child.
By using the dialect and actions of a twelve year old slave child Gary Paulsen develops an image of what it was like for the slaves in his book NightJohn. Gary Paulsen has shown us that the life of a slave is difficult through the dialect and actions of a twelve year old slave child. This essay is relevant because there is still slavery in the world today. To fix this problem everyone should support the people who are trying to abolish slavery for good, for example free the slaves, and SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association). You have the power to help end slavery once and for all. Will you accept this challenge?