The Year of the Hangman is a novel written by Gary Blackwood. This alternate history novel was published in 2002. Gary Blackwood wrote many novels similar to The Year of the Hangman. These such novels are The Shakespeare Stealer, Second Sight, Shakespeare’s Scribe, and Bad Guys. Much like The Year of the Hangman, these tales indulge into the imagination of Gary Blackwood to allow him to tell what “could” have happened. Rather than take on the forms of every other old textbook, Gary Blackwood writes his novels with the notion of “what could have happened” if something had not actually happened in history and rather, the other option had occurred. For example, instead of the Americans winning the American Revolution, Gary Blackwood puts a spin …show more content…
The main character, Creighton Brown, is a fifteen-year-old Britain from Bristol, England. The novel opens with Creighton being a die-hard Brit gentleman and Yankey hater, yet as the story unfolds, Creighton is introduced to the side of which he has grown up to despise. Once realizing that his original thoughts on America, lifestyle, and honor were all wrong, he changed his beliefs and demeanor towards this regards. Another main character is Peter. Peter is a giant lad no older than Creighton. Peter was aboard a ship who overtook Creighton's ship, and despite the unfortunate circumstances of their meeting, Creighton and Peter become good friends. Sophie and Benjamin Franklin are other characters in the story. Doctor Benjamin Franklin is in real-life as Gary Blackwood portrayed him in The Year of the Hangman. This genius character is a writer of two newspapers- one public and one a rebel secret-, inventor, doctor, peacemaker, and caretaker. Benjamin dies towards the end of the novel when 3 British soldiers (dressed as Indians) set the print shop ablaze, and he tries to go in and save all the types. He is pulled out of the burning building, but due to the injuries he sustained, he died shortly thereafter. As a caretaker, he took care of Sophie, a French girl Creighton’s age, who really is a servant. However, Benjamin Franklin treats her more of like a daughter than a servant. Throughout the entirety of the novel, Sophie is …show more content…
These quotes stood out because of their significance to the story plot. The first quote can be found on page 4. The quote is of Blackwood explaining about the game, Hangman, the background of it, and gives the reader some idea of how the British thought of the colonists. It states, “After the troubles with the Colonies began, the player who was the Hangman often chose for his victim some notorious American- the rabble-rousing Sam Adams, perhaps, or Benjamin Franklin, who was in London at the time, arguing the American cause. This was a clever ploy, for, if the other player suspected that the victim was a Yankey, he usually preferred to let the rascal hang.” This quote is important because it clarifies how the British people thought of the Americans. They would let the “rascal” hang, even if they had a chance at saving him or her. The second quote explains the meaning of the title. This quote, found on page 5, is as stated: “Some even called it [1777] the Year of the Hangman, because the three sevens in the date resembled miniature gallows, and also because the year had begun with a rash of executions.” This quote is significant because it explains the reasoning behind the title. The year 1777, is a year of the American Revolution, and that is the main idea in the book- what could have happened. Also, the sevens in the year resembled gallows, and there were numerous executions by hanging in the year of 1777- which made
The four main characters in the book are Drue “True” Robinson, Lee Atkins, Urban “Legend” Donald Sellers, and Mr. Gilbert. Drue is a rising basketball star from New York City. He played in an all-star game, where Mr. Gilbert first noticed him. Mr. Gilbert convinced Drue and his mom to come to the east coast where he would find his mom a job and a nice home. Drue became friends with Lee the first day of school and later in the book he becomes friends with Legend.
The book 1776 was written by David McCullough. 1776 describes the journey of General George Washington’s army during the time period of the Declaration of Independence. The book is divided into three sections and nine chapters.
Gary Crew highlights history’s repetitive nature by combining fictional and factual elements together in Strange Objects.
1776 is a must read for a student of the Revolutionary War. It offers insights into the personalities of George Washington, his subordinates, and how one man can truly change the history of the world. Without George Washington, the Continental Army would not, in all likelihood, have survived 1776 and the United States would have had a dramatically different history. I recommend this book for every serious history student.
David McCullough author of 1776 puts faces and feelings to the events of the Revolutionary war making this an exciting novel even when the ending is known. Acting as a companion to an earlier work of McCullough’s, John Adams, 1776 is a strictly military view of the era versus political. Although the reader may have to get accustomed to the vast amount of characters introduced McCullough makes sure that those you are supposed to remember you will. Every character introduced is described incredibly well and throughout the novel you begin to feel as if you know the character and are going through the battle with them, specifically General George Washington with whom the reader emphasizes constantly with throughout the war. With the great description of the characters and events we feel as if we are there and in doing this the author creates understanding, the reader by knowing all sides and characters’ personalities the feels they know why the Revolution happened the way it did.
The compelling accounts of Boston King and David George certainly allow the reader to attain a higher degree of respect and sorrow for the slaves of the south during the time of the American Revolution. There is no question that these two slaves, in addition to countless others, suffered much more than any man should ever have to. The daily fear that amounted to chaos in their minds day in and day out are enough to send shivers down ones spine. The risks these men took for their family to acquire freedom certainly should not go unnoticed. One can read and immediately see many distinct similarities in these two accounts of dangerous decisions made by these men to overcome their slavery, but these similarities are, as mentioned, easily spotted.
The American Revolution was an important historical event in America and is widely seen as the precursor to the declaration of independence. 1776 is a historical book by McCullough about the events surrounding the American Revolution in the year 1776. The book dwells on military elements of the revolution. The book also details the military command chain of the British Army as well as that of the continental Army. The author digs a little about the politics of the time but the political aspects remain mostly in the background. McCullough writes a flowing story with fair coverage of the events of the Revolution, using detail and objectivity through reliable archival sources from both countries that took part in the war.
In the beginning of the late seventeenth century a sense of fear and panic was sweeping throughout the colonies of North America this fear began in a small town in Massachusetts called Salem and would lead to the death of nineteen people. This fear was caused by young Puritan girls who started randomly convulsing and accusing people of being witches many of the accused were women many single or widowed who owned land and this event was titled The Salem Witch Trails, but another smaller very significant event also took place during this period of time that event is the attempted hanging of Mary Webster. Both of these events are very significant in the fact that they would become a basis of American literature and would bring about a very big theme even in today`s literature that theme being “A majority does not always make the right decision.” Both of these events would lead to the writing of two significant pieces
...ct most of his military blunders came in the year 1776. But he always learned from his mistakes. McCullough also examines the mistakes the British made, that may have cost them the victory in the war. 1776 is truly eye opening. It takes a more human look at men like Washington and his generals, and is full of letters and stories written by actual soldiers from both the British and American armies. One of the things that I enjoyed about this book was the way McCullough manages to also show the way the British felt towards the Americans and their opinions and thoughts about the rebels. The book ended on a high note, with Washington's historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night. It was the turning point of the war for the future president and his army, and it provided the first great victory for the young American county. The rest, as they say, is history.
The main character, Goodman Brown is introduced as a well-mannered man who is happily married to Faith. Initially, the language such as "sunset" and "pink ribbons" symbolizes light and a positive environment in Salem Village, where the story takes place. Then, as Goodman Brown journeys through the woods, changes in the environment make him change the way in which he sees the world and people around him.
The main character and narrator is Eugene Jerome. Eugene is a 15-year-old boy who is in the midst of going through puberty. Like Rusty-James in Rumble Fish, Eugene looks up to his older brother Stanley. His hobbies and hopes include playing baseball in hopes of becoming a New York Yankee, writing, and to see the "Golden Palace of the Himalayas", which in other words is seeing a naked woman. Eugene always feels as if he is being blamed for everything that goes wrong. He finds liberation from a household of seven by writing in his diary, which he calls his memoirs.
The main character is Mitchell. He is round and dynamic. He is round because the story revolves around him. His thoughts and actions are crucial to the story and are described in great detail. He is dynamic because he changes from a relatively carefree, self-assured man into an impetuous man who feels old and becomes consumed with guilt. After witnessing the rape: 'He did not know what it was like to be very old ? but he assumed it was like this: fatigue beyond relieving by rest, by sleep.';
Slave rebellions are the common topic of the two stories. Melville plays with the anxiety whites had of such and Douglass of its possibility to elevate slaves out of their misery. If paraphrased, the end of chapter X in Douglass’s Narrative serves as a perfect illustration of this: Douglass describes his Master Hugh seizing the money Douglass had earned; “not because he [Hugh] earned it, - not because he had any hand in earning it … but solely because he had the power to compel me to give it up.” Exchange ‘money’ with ‘liberty’ and Babo’s right to revolution as that “of the grim-visaged pirate upon the high seas”, becomes as right as the white man’s enslavement of blacks. In understanding this, Babo turns into a true hero – albeit a literate one – on a level with Nat Turner, Madison Washington and others. His quest for freedom and his struggle to achieve it deserves to be remembered, just as Douglass is remembered today.
He interviews people such as George Saunders, Kathryn Schulz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and several more well-known experts about topics ranging from books to music to the theory of gravity. These interviews give the points Klosterman is making credibility as he jumps from topic to topic. He also cites historical examples of the future being completely unpredictable during the present; for example, the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville went from being a total flop at the time of publishing to being known as the greatest novel of all time. Nothing in Melville’s time indicated the success of that book, and there is no particular reason that the order of events couldn’t have led to another unknown brilliant novel’s success. While citing these historical examples and interviews with great thinkers, Klosterman maintains a conversational, humorous, and engaging tone that keeps the reader wanting more. There were times where I found myself laughing out loud while reading, a very rare occurrence for me. One of my favorite lines in the book was when Klosterman was speaking about how people’s perceptions of presidents change over time. He writes about how the “worst US president of all-time” has changed throughout the years from Grant while he was in college to Buchanan. Along with this,
The main character, Tom Tin, faces hardships and struggles many fourteen year olds do not have to face so early on. His father has mistakenly got himself into trouble and it is up to Tom to save his father and help make his family’s future bright again. Tom has good intentions throughout the novel, but he gets himself into trouble. He turns out to be an unlikely hero after pushing through his doubts and finally triumphing over his mistakes along his journey.