Nasiba Bahridinova
21st of March, 2014.
Historical Fiction book blog.
7-3
Step 1a:
Summary:
The first
child born free in Buxton, Canada is Elijah Freeman. Buxton, is a settlement of runaway slaves that
came from the south to witness the beautiful Canadian sky, and start a new, free
life. He’s enjoying his life and having fun, apart from studying Latin with Mr.
Travis, and seeing that little brat Emma Collins every day. People say everything can change in a finger
snap, that’s what happened to his life… When a former slave who mostly everyone
but Mr. Freeman (Elijah’s father) trusts steals money from Mr. Leroy, Elijah
has to go and help his friend get the money back. He promised Mr. Leroy that he
would help therefore; he can’t let Mr. Leroy down now or later. Mr. Leroy was going to use that money to buy
his wonderful family out of slavery. Since the money is gone, he’s not his
normal self; he can’t control his emotions and actions anymore. Elijah has never been to America, yet he
doesn’t know that the danger will begin there. He could get into a lot of
trouble in there, surrounded by white people.
You might think this is preposterous that America is dangerous but,
during slavery it wasn’t preposterous AT ALL! Mr. Freeman and Mrs. Freeman are
very strict; will they let their son go to Michigan to find the former slave,
and get the money back with a man who can’t control himself? If no then how
will he help Mr. Leroy? Or will he help
Mr. Leroy at
all? If you want to find out, READ THE BOOK!
(I ran my summary
through turnitin, and I got 0%.)
Step
1c:
Historical Setting:
The historical
setting of this book takes place in Buxton, Canada and Michigan, USA in
1860. This book is historical fiction
because, it says on page 24, that he was the very first child born FREE in
Buxton or Releigh in Elgin Settlement, Canada.
This is proof of historical fiction because, it hints that there is
slavery going on at that time. Slavery existed in America during the 17th
century until 1865. More than 4 million African slaves lived in the US at that
period of time. Can you believe that?! They were treated like animals by the
white. Slaves were treated harshly, and their lives were horrible. They had slave catchers all around, to catch any
runaway slaves, and return them to their masters. When slaves had a chance, they made good use
of it. Slaves either ran away to
Native American communities in the West, or Canada. Slaves who were lucky, got
the option to run away to Canada but, slaves who weren’t had to go somewhere
not as far therefore, they ran away to Native American communities in the
West. For example, in this book (from
page 209-211), Ma Freeman (Elijah’s mom), told a story about her having a
chance to escape to Canada but, she didn’t take it because, she wanted to see
her mother again. When her mother found out that she missed her chance, she
beat up her daughter in disappointment. When Mrs. Freeman got another chance,
she took it, knowing that she would never see her mama again. In this book,
slaves ran away to Buxton, Canada where they could finally be free, and start
over from a new page.
"slavery." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web.
20 Mar. 2014.
The affect of
the historical setting on the theme:
One of the
themes of this book is “Evils of Racism.” The historical setting of this book
is during slavery, in 1860. The affect of the historical setting played a major
role in the theme of this book. Cruelty of the white during that period was
unbelievable, and the slaves witnessed all the evils of racism thanks to the
white. On pages 97-102, Mr. Leroy fought
with Elijah about the word “nigga”, which is used to offend the
African/American people. Between the African/American people, that word
shouldn’t be mentioned. Elijah mentioned the word and then, Mr. Leroy shouted
and beat him up while, giving him a lecture. The lecture was about how the
white use that word to offend the African/American people. Mr. Leroy was
furious, and he made it clear to Elijah never to say that word again. This
proves the theme of the evils of racism in this book.
The main characters in this book are:
1.
Elijah
Freeman: He is a mischievous eleven year old
boy, who likes to prank others but hates it when people prank him. He’s a
fragile boy, he is an engaging and fun character.
2.
The
Preacher: He’s a mysterious character, who no
one knows what he’s go in mind. He’s
weird, and awkward.
3.
Ma
Freeman (Elijah’s mom): She’s very
supportive, protective, and loving as a mom should be.
4.
Pa
Freeman (Elijah’s dad): He’s a bit strict, protective, and smart.
5.
Mr.
Leroy: He’s a good architect; caring,
and friendly.
Author’s characterization techniques:
Christopher
Paul Curtis (the author of this book), uses “Reaction”, to develop a
character. The main character of this
book is Elijah Freeman, and the way he responds to actions, words, and ideas of
another character, tells me that the author uses “Reaction” as one of his ways
to develop a character. For example in page 157, Emma Collins (his annoying
classmate), greeted a mule before she greeted him. He found that very annoying
and offensive. He describes how she’s jealous of him because, he was the first
child born free in Buxton therefore; her words have caused his response to
strike back at her hate. The author also
uses “Dialogue”, to develop a character. For example, on page 254, Elijah
starts nagging and arguing with his mom about how much he wants to attend a
meeting with them. The dialogue tells you a little about the character. What I learned
about Elijah by reading the dialogue is
that he’s a very fragile person. I agree that a reader can’t get a clear idea
of who the characters are until they start talking.
Point of view and how it helped develop the main character:
This story is told from first person
point of view. Seeing things from his
perspective, tells me about his thoughts on certain things. It shows me his attitude
towards most things that he explains, and talks about. As the story took rest, the point of view
within the story, showed how the character was slowly maturing throughout his strengths,
and weaknesses. Towards the end of the
story, Elijah says how he’s feeling brave, and he is no longer fragile like Emma
Collins.
Theme:
The theme of this
book is “Evils of Racism”, “Friendship”, and “Love”. The first theme is “Evils of Racism” because, Mr.
Leroy fights with Elijah, and tries to teach him a lesson about racism, and how
the white are evil, and cruel to the African/America people. The second theme
is “Friendship” because, on page 88, Mr. Travis starts beating up Cooter
(Elijah’s best friend) because of being rude, and Elijah starts protecting his
friend. This shows how much Elijah cares about his friend. The last theme is “Love”
because, Elijah loves the old man Mr. Leroy and thinks he’s a great person
therefore, he is ready to help him get his money back. He loves his parents,
Mr. Leroy, and even the old mule “Old flapjack”.
Reflection:
This book is important because, it teaches us about slavery, the
harsh periods people use to live through, and it teaches us about being brave,
and if something really does matter, you have to do everything you possibly can
to achieve it. What I liked about this
book is that it’s humorous and I thought this story was beautiful. The end made
me cry because, it was sad but it’s such an amazing story/book. What I didn’t
like about this book is that, they talk using words like “ain’t”, and “xact”. Most of the time, I understood what they were
saying, using those types of words. I
would definitely recommend this book, and this book really deserved the “Newbery
Honor” medal it has received. I would recommend
this book to people because; it’s truly a wonderful story that people will
enjoy reading. It’s important to know how slaves were treated, and how it was
like to be the first free born child in a town, city, or country. I think me and Elijah have some things in
common. He’s a fragile guy, who feels sorry for slaves and people that have
nothing, and I’m also like that, I also feel bad for those people. He’s caring, friendly, and loving and so am
I. I would rate this book a 9.5/10.
New Vocabulary:
Reckon (page 225): To
count or compute.
Gospel (page 243): 1. The
teaching or revelation of Christ
2. A thing that is absolutely true
Doggone (page 256): 1. Used
to express feelings of please, annoyance or surprise. (In page 256, he uses it
to express annoyance.)
2. Damn; darn
Dunce (page 257): A
person who is slow at learning; a stupid person.
Lag/lagging (page 92): Falling
behind to keep up with another/others in movement or development.
No comments:
Post a Comment