Making a connection to
history through literature…
By
Nadine Uremovich
Summary of Johnny Tremain
• Esther Forbes gives readers a glimpse into
the life of American colonists during the
beginning of the American Revolution in her
269 page historical fiction novel, Johnny
Tremain. Johnny is a rebellious young man
who joins the Sons of Liberty and
participates in events such as The Boston
Tea Party, Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, and
the Battle at Lexington and Concord.
The Lead Characters
• Johnny Tremain
A very talented fourteen-year-old silver-smith
apprentice. He burns his hand and loses
all hope of becoming an artisan. As he
struggles with how he will fit into society,
he meets Rab. They become good friends,
and Rab introduces Johnny to the Sons of
Liberty. Johnny and Rab play important
roles in gathering and transmitting
information for the Patriots.
The Lead Characters
• Rab Silsbee
A calm and reflective sixteen- year-old
newspaper printer. Rab prints the Boston
Observer, a newspaper that propagates the
Patriot cause. When he meets Johnny, he
does not offer pity like many others. He
accepts Johnny’s disability and helps
Johnny realize that his crippled hand does
not define Johnny. Rab draws Johnny into
the Patriot cause.
Supporting Characters
The Lapham family
• Mr. Lapham
– Master Silver-smith
• Mrs. Lapham
• Madge Lapham
– Oldest daughter
• Dorcas Lapham
– 2nd daughter
• Cilla Lapham
– 3rd daughter, Johnny’s friend. She adores Isannah.
• Isannah Lapham
– Youngest daughter. Becomes tied to the Lytes
Johnny’s Blood Relatives
• Lavinia Lyte Tremain
– Johnny’s mother, she died when he was young.
She taught Johnny how to read.
• Charles Tremain
– Johnny’s father, he died before Johnny knew
him.
• Jonathon Lyte
– Wealthy Boston merchant and Johnny’s great
uncle.
• Lavinia Lyte
– Jonathon Lyte’s spoiled daughter. She takes
Isannah from the Lapham’s.
The Whigs
Johnny meets up with some of the most
famous revolutionaries. Their fictional
roles in Johnny Tremain align with
history.
Samuel Adams
Sam Adams organized the Sons of
Liberty. He published many articles
opposing British tax policies.
John Hancock
One of the wealthiest men in Boston. Like many
of the wealthy, he opposed the new taxes that
the British were imposing on colonists.
Doctor Joseph Warren
A doctor who became involved in the
Patriot cause. He joined Sam Adams,
John Hancock, and Paul Revere. He
sent Paul Revere on his midnight ride.
Paul Revere
A member of the Son’s of Liberty. On a
midnight ride, Revere informed colonists
in Lexington and Concord that the British
were coming.
James Otis
An advocate for colonial rights. He
became mentally unstable when he was
attacked for propagating the Patriot
cause in a newspaper article.
What can we learn from
Johnny?
• The types of jobs people had in the
1770s
• How people learned their trade
• What education was like
• Social Class
• What life was like in the 1770s
• How the conflict affected colonists
• Literary Connections
Working for a living
Some of the colonial occupations are stated outright
and some can be implied.
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Silver smith
Butcher
Clockmaker
Tailor
Barber
Bookbinder
Doctor
Printer
Cobbler
Carpenter
Farmer
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Captain
Sailor
Porter
Rigger
Doctor
Merchant
Lawyer
Clerk
Coachman
Minister/deacon
Constable
Can you think of any other
colonial jobs?
How did people learn their
trade?
• It was very common for people to start
out as an apprentice.
What is an Apprentice?
• Johnny Tremain was a silversmith’s
apprentice.
• In 1773, it was common for people to serve
a master as an apprentice in order to learn
a trade. An apprenticeship is like going to
technical college.
• An apprentice served his master for seven
years. After seven years, his educational
debt was paid and the apprentice could be
his own master.
Education
• None of the children in the story went to
school.
– Colonial governments did not require children to
go to school.
Reading
• Aside from the master, Mr. Lapham,
Johnny was the best reader in the house.
Mr. Lapham required the children to read
verses from the Bible.
• When Johnny read, he never stumbled on
words, and he liked to listen to the words
roll from his lips. He was a very dramatic
reader.
How did Johnny learn how to read?
– The book says that his mother made sure that
Johnny knew how to read before she died.
Literacy
• Who was Johnny’s mother?
– Because she taught her son how to read, that
tells us something about her background.
• Johnny’s mother must have come
from a wealthy family.
– Only wealthy families educated their children. Any ideas
why?
Social class
• Upper class
– Could afford to sustain the family without the labor of
their children.
– Children from wealthy families received a formal
education.
• Everyone but the Upper Class
– Needed the labor of their children to financially sustain
the family.
– Children learned the family trade and household chores.
– No time for school.
• The characters in Johnny Tremain
– Were not wealthy. The children learned the family trade
and household chores.
Life in the 1770s
• Land Travel
– Horse
– Horse and wagon
– Walking
• Transatlantic travel
– Ocean vessel
How is that different from today?
Home life
In 1773, there were a lot of animals in
the city limits
– Horses provided transportation and
performed a lot of heavy work.
– Hens and cows for eggs and milk
– Cats took care of rodents
• How is that different from today?
Shopping
• Did you notice that when Johnny was
looking for work that there were a lot of
different types of shops?
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People went to the butcher for meat
The cobbler for shoes
The tailor for clothes
The clockmaker for a clock
The carpenter for furniture
How is that different from the way we shop?
Tories and Patriots
• Tories
– Colonists who supported King George.
– Merchant Lyte was a Tory.
• Whigs
– British colonists who opposed English imperial
policy (e.g. Stamp Act, Townsend Act)
– Paul Revere, James Otis, John Hancock, and
Joseph Warren were Whigs.
The power of print
• The Whigs were very effective at using the
printing press to propagate the Patriot
cause.
– Literate adults could read the articles.
– Illiterate adults took meaning from political
cartoons.
What forms of media shape our world view
today?
A cause worth fighting for
• The Sons of Liberty met in secret to
avoid British persecution.
• The Sons of Liberty were wealthy
colonists who risked losing all of their
wealth in order to be relieved of
British tyranny.
• Printers, carpenters, butchers, and
farmers transformed into soldiers.
Many gave their lives for freedom.
Conflict and colonists
• Colonists formed militias to stand up
against the British soldiers.
The Turning Point
• It is important to remember that it
took a long time for the colonists to
rebel. Forbes is writing about a
turning point.
Important Literary Details
• Johnny starts out as a promising silversmith who is wounded by the silver which
he loves.
• The colonists start out as a promising
extension of England until suppressed by
the country they love.
• In the end, Dr. Warren cuts the scar tissue
on Johnny’s hand to free him from his
wound.
• The American colonists cut ties with the
English monarchy.
References
• Forbes, E. Johnny Tremain. 1943. Dell
Publishing: New York, NY.
• Images
– http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/sitemap/sitemap.htm
The End