Bridgett Rathbun Book Report English 11/11/14 “Johnny Tremain”
Johnny Tremain is a 1943 children’s fiction historical novel by Esther Forbe. Set in Boston prior to and during the outbreak of the American Revolution. Johnny Lyte Tremain was a boy whose mother died when he was young, and is apprenticed to a silversmith named Mr. Lapham. Johnny is a good silversmith, and he is shadowing Mr. Lapham. Mrs. Lapham is Johnny’s foster mother, she provides
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After the accident, Mr. Lapham told Johnny that he needs to find a new job, but he can stay with the Lapham. Johnny, after a lot of searching, finally found a job delivering papers. (33-41) While doing this job he meets a boy named Rab, who works with him. Rab introduces him to the rebel underground. Johnny agrees that he would deliver messages between the groups of rebels. Johnny learned a lot about politics throughout the colonies while he delivered papers. He was liking his life now and his crippled hand didn’t bother him much anymore. During Johnny’s happiness, British trade ships had brought over shipments of tea. The tea had a heavy tax on it per pound. The colonist did not agree with the tax and they said that they would not pay it unless they had equal representation for the colonies in England. A large group including, Johnny and Rab chopped, Ripped, and threw out all the tea that was on the boats into the Boston
"When he had been the prize apprentice of Hancock's Wharf, the envy of all the other masters, the principal bread-winner of the Laphams (and he knew it), he had been quite a different boy from the arrogant, shabby young tramp of late summer and early fall." (pg. 126) As Johnny Tremain progressed through the book, Johnny Tremain, he experienced major changes in his personality, demeanor, and thoughts. These changes all led back to one major event in the young boy’s life, when Johnny burnt his hand, crippling it in the process. Johnny Tremain was a young apprentice for his master, Mr. Lapham, a silversmith. Because of the apprentices’ newly crippled hand, he had to learn to have a different outlook on life; therefore, changing him into a better person. As Johnny Tremain traveled throughout his life, he was changed from a boy to a man; he was no longer proud, callous, and temperamental - the signs of a boy - but instead he was humble, caring, and placid - true signs of a man.
He wants to get revenge against the Confederate soldiers and this motivates him to join the Union army. He is inspired when he sees a military parade and a friend of his brother, or so he believe in the power of the mind. That would be a perfect solution to his problems. at home and a way to punish those responsible for his brother’s death. He had admired Johnny greatly and felt the only answer was to sneak into the army.
The Sons of Liberty answered the call. In an act of defiance, “a few dozen of the Sons of Liberty, opposing new British laws in the colonies, systematically dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston harbor. They acted to prevent the royal authorities from collecting taxes on that import” (Bell). This left Parliament infuriated. They did what they only knew how to do and put a tighter squeeze on the colonists.
England then passes the Tea Act taxing imported tea, but also gives the British East Indian Tea co. a complete monopoly, cutting the middleman out of the deal, thus putting American merchants nearly out of business. As time went on, and the British got a little more nervous about the colonies' acts of rebellion, they decide to try and stop it by taking away a basic right, the right to free assembly. This further angers the colonist. England pushes harder on the colonists until an assembly was considered to be two guys meeting on the street. All of this forces the colonists to meet underground.
Being a great schemer, Lord North struck out the plan of the East India Company’s sending tea to America, hoping thereby to outwit us, and to establish the Townshend Act effectually, which will forever after be pleaded as a precedent for every imposition the Parliament of Great Britain shall think proper to saddle us with. It is much to be wished that the Americans will convince Lord North that they are not yet ready to have the yoke of slavery riveted about their necks, and send back the tea whence it came.
George Hewes’ account of the Boston Tea party is considered a firsthand account of a historically significant event. The Boston Tea party took place the night of December 16, 1773 on three ships anchored in Boston Harbor. Hewes recounts the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party, the actual attack on the ships and its aftermath. He provides descriptive narration thus contributing to the historical context surround the Tea party. This event and many others leading up to it, provide a colorful backdrop on the eve of the American Revolution.
By this point, the colonists were beginning to question Britain’s motives towards them. They believed they were being treated like slaves and being used solely for the economic growth of Britain. One night, in 1773, the colonists rebelled against these taxes on their tea. A group of men dressed as Native Americans boarded a ship at Boston Harbor and unloaded three vessels of taxed tea (Boston Tea Party). This event, known a...
In the first few months of 1773 the British East India Company found it was sitting on large stocks of tea that it could not sell in England. It was on the verge of bankruptcy, and many members of Parliament owned stock in this company. (USA, 1) The Tea Act in 1773 was an effort to save it. The Tea Act gave the company the right to export its merchandise without paying taxes. Thus, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. By October, the Sons of Liberty in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston threatened tea imports and pledged a tea boycott.
People change main characters in many books. Johnny Tremain is no exception. In Johnny's case it was the Lyte and the Lapham families. Both the Lapham family and the Lyte family probably did not mean to change Johnny, but they did. Johnny was orphaned after his mother died but was able to stay in the Lapham's house and to be an apprentice to Mr. Lapham, an elderly silver smith who educated Johnny in this art. He was always Mr. Lapham's favorite because Johnny was the finest apprentice out of the three that were there until Dove, one of the apprentices, passed Johnny a cracked crucible. Johnny's thumb then got grown into his palm when he healed. After the injury, Mr. Lapham and the whole family found Johnny useless and queer (because of his thumb). " `Don't touch me! Don't touch me with that dreadful hand!' Issanah squealed." After then Johnny grasped the fact that he went from the top to the bottom in a matter of days. It taught him that nothing is forever. Furthermore, Mrs. Lapham a widowed mother of four, was probably the cruelest Lapham of all, after he got crippled. She told him that he was only good for picking rags. She also virtually shooed Johnny out of the house. This made Johnny go find a better life outside of the Lapham's shop. It also taught him to be independent. There is usually more than one family that changes a dynamic character like Johnny. The Lyte family also helped Johnny in his transformation. The Lyte's are Johnny's rich relatives that claim they are not related to Johnny. Johnny has a silver cup to prove his relation, but the Lytes still deny any relation to Johnny and claim that he stole the cup from them. When Johnny was first looking for a job, he thought he could go to the Lytes and ask for some money.
Most people have heard of The Boston tea party. When American patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded the British ships in the Boston harbor and dumped all of the tea into the ocean. But what most people fail to realize is the great importance behind this protest. To fully understand a topic of history one must first acknowledge the actions behind it. The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, as well as the Tea Act are all important catalysts of the legendary Boston tea party. Which is why we will discuss these topics before examining the events of the Boston tea party.
The British had been taxing everything they could get away with on the colonists. When they taxed the tea – that of which the colonists could only buy from the British, the colonists told the British to take their tea ships home. The British refused. As a result, colonist Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty protested by sneaking on board the tea ships disguised as Indians and dumped the tea in its entirety into the Boston Harbor. The British, angered by this, closed the harbor and imposed more penalties ("Boston tea party," 2009). The American Revolution began shortly thereafter.
In the book, “Johnny Tremain” it was about a boy. The boy was named Johnny Tremain. Johnny Tremain was fourteen years old. Johnny Tremain was living in the Lapham House. During that time, Johnny Tremain was living in the Lapham House those were the days that was leading into the Revolutionary War. While in the book Johnny Tremain was adventuring the Revolutionary War. While Johnny Tremain was adventuring he was with a group for freedom fighters and patriots. Also in this book Johnny Tremain will adventure and have many reencounter really fun events and have fun.
...ere laden with tea. The disguised colonists proceeded to throw the entire tea cargo of the boats into the harbor (Hansen 166). The reason that this was done was because the colonists were tired of being taxed for items such as tea. Many did no mind being taxed for some things, but not tea. They believed that the money from the taxes was going to help England, and not back to the colonies as they thought that it should. Two years after the Boston Tea Party took place the American Revolution began.
Johnny, after a lot of searching, finally finds a job delivering papers. While delivering papers he meets Rab, who works with him. Rab introduces him to the rebel underground. At that point Johnny agrees to deliver messages between the groups of rebels.
Just as Johnny’s courage shines through so does his fast maturity from child to adult. His childhood was stolen away from him by his illness but instead of sulking he pulls himself together. He takes every difficulty in stride, and gets through them. Even when he is feeling down he hides it for he does not want anyone else to feel his pain. Being a seventeen year old boy he wants to do the things all other seventeen year old boys do.