Johnny Tremain
Johnny
Tremain is a work of historical fiction
written in 1943 by Esther Forbes
that is set in Boston
prior to and during the outbreak of the American Revolution.
Intended for teen-aged readers, the novel's themes include apprenticeship, courtship,
sacrifice, human rights,
and the growing tension between Patriots and Loyalists as conflict nears. Events depicted in the novel include the
Boston Tea Party,
the British blockade
of the Port of Boston,
the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
and the Battles of Lexington
and Concord.
The
book won the 1944 Newbery Medal
and is the 16th bestselling children's book as of the year 2000 in the United
States, according to Publishers
Weekly.[1] In 1957, Walt Disney Pictures released a film adaptation,
also called Johnny Tremain.
Plot summary
The
story begins on July 23, 1773, in the Boston silversmith shop of elderly
Ephraim Lapham, where Johnny is a promising 14-year-old apprentice. It is
understood that someday he will marry Mr. Lapham's granddaughter Cilla to keep
the shop within the Lapham family. The shop soon receives a challenging and
urgent order from wealthy merchant John Hancock to make a silver dish to
replace one that Mr. Lapham fashioned decades before. While preparing Hancock's
order, Johnny's hand is badly burned when Dove, an older apprentice resentful
of Johnny, deliberately gives him a cracked crucible that leaks molten silver.
Johnny's hand is crippled beyond use, and he can no longer be a silversmith.
Johnny's youthful pride is crushed by the injury, which has made him useful
only as an unskilled errand boy. He goes off to find a new job that will accept
his crippled hand.
After
a series of rejections, Johnny reaches the low point of his young life. While
searching for jobs, he encounters in a printshop a young typesetter named Rab
Silsbee, who is friendly to him. He then decides to turn to Mr. Lyte, a wealthy
Boston merchant. Johnny explains that his mother told him that he and Mr. Lyte
are related and as a last resort, to turn to him for help. Lyte requests the
proof, and Johnny shows him a silver cup with the Lyte family's crest. Lyte
says it was stolen from him in a burglary, and Johnny is arrested because it
was believed that he had stolen it. Eventually, Johnny is freed by the court
after Rab brings Cilla to court and she testifies that he showed her his cup
before the burglary ever took place.
Johnny
settles into a job delivering a weekly newspaper, the Boston Observer.
The Observer is a Whig publication, and Johnny is introduced to the larger world
of pre-revolutionary Boston politics by his new friend Rab. Johnny learns to
ride and care for Goblin, a beautiful but skittish horse used to make
deliveries and moves in with Rab in the attic of the newspaper's shop.
As
months go by and tension between Whigs and Tories rises, Johnny becomes a
dedicated Whig himself. Johnny matures and re-evaluates many personal relationships,
including that with Cilla, who becomes a trusted friend and fellow Whig. Johnny
and Rab take part in the Boston
Tea Party, in which Boston patriots throw a
shipload of tea into the harbor rather than allow the ship's owner to unload
the tea and pay a tax imposed by Parliament without the consent of the people
of Britain's American colonies. In retaliation Britain sends an army to occupy
Boston and closes the port, inflicting hardship upon the inhabitants of this
commercial and trading town.
Johnny
acts as a spy for the Sons
of Liberty, a secret organization of Boston
Whigs fomenting resistance to Britain when in addition to his newspaper
deliveries, he is paid by British officers to carry their letters to outlying
towns. He becomes a trusted member working with prominent Whig leaders John
Hancock, Samuel
Adams, Paul
Revere and Doctor Joseph
Warren. Rab is also a member and drills
with the Minutemen
at Lexington, but he frets at not having a modern musket with which to fight.
Johnny, unable to fight because of his hand, obtains a musket for Rab by
helping a British soldier to desert. However, he is badly disturbed when the
deserter is caught and executed.
The
novel reaches its climax in April 1775 with the outbreak and immediate
aftermath of the Battles of Lexington
and Concord. Prior to the battle, the leading
Whig leaders convene in the attic where Johnny and Rab sleep. James
Otis Jr., once an active member but recently
shunned by the group due to his recurrent bouts of insanity, comes to the
meeting uninvited. Otis, quite sane on this night, stands hunched under the
sloped beams of the Observer's attic and explains to those present what the
impending fight with the British is really about: "We give all we have . .
. even life itself—only that a man can stand up." Although the beginning
of the war has brought about the death of Rab, the scorned American militia
have defeated the powerful British army in their first battle. Johnny submits
to an operation by Doctor Warren that will repair his hand and allow him to
take up Rab's musket.
Characters
The
novel features both fictional and historical characters.
Johnny
Tremain: The story's protagonist. Born
Jonathan Lyte Tremain, he is a likable but cocky young teenager, a talented
apprentice silversmith indentured at the age of 12 to Ephraim Lapham for seven
years. Because his right hand is badly injured by molten silver, he is forced
to seek another trade. Mrs. Lapham decides that, despite Ephraim's promise to
never turn him out, he can no longer live with them because he is a drain on
their meager resources and his hand renders him useless to support the family.
Johnny was born in a convent in France. He returned with his mother Lavinia
"Vinny" Lyte Tremain to Townsend, Maine, when she was certain she
would no longer be recognized as a Lyte.
Rab
Silsbee: Johnny's first true friend and
role model. He is two years older than Johnny, taller, more mature,
resourceful, brave, and admired, especially by Johnny. He does not mind
Johnny's crippled hand. He introduces Johnny to the politics of Boston, where
he is a member of the Sons of Liberty. He treats Cilla kindly, but mostly to
tease Johnny. Rab is a Silsbee, known for their dignified aloof reserve, but a
fervent, well-spoken Patriot. Rab drills with the Minute Men of Lexington using
an old fowling-piece, but yearns for a modern musket. He takes part in the
Battle of Lexington where he is mortally wounded.
Priscilla
"Cilla" Lapham:
Priscilla Lapham is slightly younger than Johnny. Unlike her older sisters, she
is petite and a blossoming beauty. Before Johnny’s accident, it is arranged
that she and Johnny will marry. Over time, Cilla and Johnny develop a genuine
love for each other. Cilla is intended to wed Mr. Tweedie after her older
sisters both refuse, but she too balks and goes to work for the Lytes. She is
Mrs. Lapham's third daughter.
Isannah
"Izzy" Lapham: The
youngest daughter of Mrs. Lapham, Isannah is a beautiful but frail child of
nine who needs close caring for at all times. Once-sweet Isannah is beloved by her
older sister, Cilla, but eventually becomes selfish and vain, with a reputation
for parroting other’s words and not being an independent thinker. Isannah's
golden-haired, brown-eyed, beauty attracts a great deal of attention, most
significantly from Lavinia Lyte. Lavinia takes Isannah as her protege and
introduces her to high society, separating her from her family and their
working-class way of life.
Ephraim
Lapham: A British silversmith, and
Johnny's master at the beginning of the novel. Mr. Lapham is pious and kind,
but old, frail, and no longer the master smith of his youth and unfortunately
dies soon after Johnny leaves his apprenticeship.
Mr.
Percival Tweedie: A 40-year-old from Baltimore,
Maryland who becomes Mr. Lapham's business partner after Johnny's accident. Mr.
Tweedie is a "queer" man, unliked by many. Johnny calls him a
"Squeak-Pig".
Mrs.
Lapham, later Mrs. Tweedie: Ephraim
Lapham's widowed daughter-in-law. Mrs. Lapham is a dedicated, hardworking
mother and a no-nonsense taskmaster to the apprentices. She works as the
housekeeper in Mr. Lapham's house and shop. When none of her daughters will do
so, she marries Mr. Tweedie to keep the silversmith shop in the Lapham family.
Dorcas
Lapham: Mrs. Lapham's second daughter.
Although the stocky Dorcas longs to be elegant and sophisticated, she falls in
love with the poverty-stricken Frizel, Jr., and elopes to avoid marrying Mr.
Tweedie.
Madge
Lapham: Mrs. Lapham's oldest daughter.
Like Mrs. Lapham, Madge is tough and capable. She falls in love and elopes with
Sergeant Gale, a British soldier. Madge, like Dorcas, was engaged to marry Mr.
Tweedie and elopes with Sergeant Gale to avoid marrying him.
Dove: An apprentice in the Lapham shop and rival of Johnny whose
first name had been forgotten. He is older than Johnny, stupid and given to
malicious behavior, and has been an apprentice two years longer but still can
only perform menial duties. Dove both resents and looks up to Johnny. He
attempts to steal tea during the Boston Tea Party. After Mr. Lapham dies, Dove
takes a job caring for British officers' horses during Boston's occupation.
Johnny despises Dove and cannot bring himself to forgive him as Mr. Lapham
counseled, but his thirst for revenge dies when Dove is persistently abused by
his Redcoat masters.
Dusty
Miller: Mr. Lapham's youngest apprentice.
Before Johnny's accident, Dusty idolized him. After Johnny leaves the
silversmith shop, Dusty runs away to sea.
Mr.
Lorne: Rab's master and uncle by
marriage. Mr. Lorne owns the print shop that publishes the Boston Observer, a
seditious Whig (Patriot) newspaper.
Mrs.
Jenifer Lorne: Mr. Lorne's wife and Rab's aunt.
Mrs. Lorne sees through Johnny's arrogant exterior to treat him as a lonely
boy. She becomes like a mother to him and is the mother of an infant son who is
unmistakably a Silsbee. Johnny nicknames him "Rabbit", as a word play
on Rab's name.
Jonathan
Lyte: A wealthy Boston merchant and
Johnny's great-uncle. Crooked and cruel, Lyte tries to make a profit by making
friends on both sides of the colonial struggle, the Loyalists and the Patriots,
but as tensions mount in Boston, Lyte is exposed as a Tory (Loyalist). He
becomes gravely ill after his country home in Milton is attacked by a Patriot
mob. On the eve of war, Lyte and his family depart for London.
Lavinia
Lyte: Jonathan Lyte's beautiful
daughter, just returned from living in London. Lavinia is the most desirable
socialite in Boston. Enchanted by Isannah's ethereal beauty, Lavinia Lyte takes
the child away from her family to live amidst the wealth of the Lyte household
as a sort of pet. She is also Johnny's cousin, which she reveals at the end of
the book. Johnny has a romantic infatuation for her, but he pretends to strongly
dislike her to hide this.
Mrs.
Bessie: The Lytes' cook and Cilla's only
friend in the Lyte household. Mrs. Bessie is an ardent Whig and a confidante of
Samuel Adams, but she nonetheless remains loyal to her Tory employers. When the
Lytes leave Boston, Bessie and Cilla are left behind to look after their house.
Johnny admires Mrs. Bessie.
Lavinia
"Vinny" Lyte Tremain:
Johnny's mother. She dies before the novel begins. She was born Lavinia Lyte, a
name favored for Lyte females, and was a beautiful but impetuously wild young
woman. The family turned her out for eloping with Charles Tremain.
Charles
Tremain: Johnny's father. Charles Tremain
was a French naval surgeon taken as a British prisoner of war during the French
and Indian War. While he was held as a prisoner in Boston, using the name Dr.
Latour out of shame at being a prisoner, he met and courted Johnny's mother.
They eloped and were married aboard a ship traveling to Marseilles, France,
where Charles died of cholera and Johnny was born three months later.
Lydia: The African washerwoman at the Afric Queen, a tavern where
many British officers are quartered. Lydia is a rebel sympathizer who, because
of her connection to the British soldiers, gathers information for the rebel
forces. She is described as handsome by Johnny.
Sewall: A poor relative of the Lytes who works as a clerk in
Jonathan Lyte's office. Sewall is kind and brave; he runs off to join the
Minute Men.
Pumpkin: A British private soldier stationed in Boston. Pumpkin is
a secret Whig whose dream is to own a piece of land and homestead a farm.
Because he is poor, he can only achieve his dream in America. Johnny helps him
desert from the army in exchange for his musket, to give to Rab, but Pumpkin is
captured and executed by a firing squad.
Sergeant
Gale: A British non-commissioned officer
who marries Madge Lapham, Mrs. Lapham's eldest daughter. He is noted to be
short but tough.
Lieutenant
Stranger: A friendly but often haughty
British officer stationed in Boston. He develops a mild friendship with Johnny.
He is young, eager to fight, and reminds Johnny a lot of Rab.
Historical
Samuel
Adams: Political leader of the
Revolutionary forces. He wrote numerous pamphlets inciting and inspiring the
revolution.
John
Hancock: One of the wealthiest men in
Boston and a leader of the Whigs. Johnny’s hand is disfigured while making a
silver basin for him.
Doctor
Joseph Warren: One of the leaders of the Whigs in
Boston. In the novel's climax, he is shown preparing to operate on scar tissue
in Johnny's disfigured hand. Foreshadowing indicates that the operation will be
a success, allowing Johnny to enlist in the rebel army.
Paul
Revere: The best silversmith in Boston and
an important Whig, known to American history for his midnight ride to caution
the Minutemen of approaching British soldiers. He warns the Americans that the
British are marching toward them, and they made a "target practice"
for them at Lexington.
James
Otis, Jr.: A lawyer and architect of the
ideals of the American Revolution; his career was shortened by bouts of
insanity caused after being beaten about the head by a British soldier. In the
novel, Otis inspires the Whig leaders to fight for the rights of all people,
not just Americans. He warns that some will give their lives, foreshadowing the
death of Rab.
Governor Thomas Hutchinson: The governor of Massachusetts prior to the occupation by
the British army.
Thomas
Gage: British General and military
governor of Boston during the occupation.
John
Pitcairn and Francis Smith: British commanding officers at the Battles of Lexington
and Concord.
Josiah
Quincy II: The young lawyer and member of the
Sons of Liberty
who defends Johnny in court when accused of theft by the Lytes.
Doctor Benjamin Church: a physician ally of Samuel Adams.
Reception
Kirkus
Reviews wrote, "This is delightful
reading, but at the close it seems to leave less sense of substance and
permanence than her best work (Paradise and Paul Revere), but to me
it was more satisfying than The General's Lady or Mirror for Witches."[2] Common Sense Media
said that "this sweeping tale of redcoats and revolutionaries has a lot to
offer" and remarked, "Forbes, a historian, writes with detail and
precision, imbuing historical events with life and passion that is often
lacking in textbooks."[3]
Similar characters in other media
Another
Johnny Tremaine (note the different spelling of the surname) was a different
fictional character played by Rod Cameron
in the 1949 Republic Pictures film Brimstone, written by Thames Williamson and Norman S. Hall. This
second Tremaine was a U.S. Marshal who goes undercover to stop a
cattle-smuggling ring. The release of Brimstone followed the awarding of
the Newbery prize to the novel Johnny Tremain, but preceded the release
of the 1957 film Johnny Tremain by Disney.
References
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