Author’s Note: This piece is about the historical fiction novel War Comes to Willy Freeman and how it relates to actual events, people, and places of history.
Imagine watching a gruesome, bloody battle in person where you’re Dad and many other men were killed. Think about being taken captive by your own side and treated like a prisoner. This is what the fictional character, Willy Freeman goes through and sees in her adventures in the story War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier. This historical fiction book had many events that actually happened in history. The Battle at Fort Griswold and the Continental Army’s whaleboat raids really happened in the Revolutionary War era. Some other things in the book were real such as places, characters, and people. But there were also some things in the story that were entirely fictional. The book War Comes to Willy Freeman is spectacularly related to actual history but it has fictional aspects as well.
The very first event that was realistic in the novel was the Battle at Fort Griswold. As written in the story, it was a gruesome fight where Americans were killed for no apparent reason. What happened in the battle was that the American’s were fighting for their freedom and would not give up, although the British forces outnumber them greatly. Since the American’s would not give up, the British slaughtered everyone inside the fort except for the teenage girl, Willy Freeman. It was a terrible sight for her because her Pa, Jordan Freeman, was killed in the battle. Once again, this battle was a legit event in the Revolutionary War.
Following this further, another nonfictional event in War Comes to Willy Freeman is the whaleboat raids on Long Island. In the battle between the Americans and British, there were surprise attacks held by the Americans. These attacks are where members of the continental army, snuck behind enemy lines as the crews of whaleboats and then they attacked the red coats form behind. This appeared in the story when Willy was escaping from the Ivers’ house. She was sailing away on her Pa’s jollyboat when she was picked up by one of the whaleboats because they thought she was a British spy. After convincing them she was not, she made a clever escape and ran off.
Although there are some legit events in the story, there were also some real people and places written in it as well. The actual people in this novel are: Jack Arabus, Captain Ivers, Sam Fraunces, Mr. Goodrich, Mr. Chauncey, and Judge Wadsworth. The places that were true in this story were the Queen’s Head tavern, Fort Griswold, and Canvas Town.
Besides the fact that there are many nonfictional aspects in the historical fiction novel War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier, there are also some fake ones as well. Willy, Horace, Willy’s Ma, Aunt Betsy, and Cousin Dan were all unreal people. The places/events in the story that were bogus was almost everywhere that Willy was; Her Pa’s jollyboat, her log cabin, and anything involving Wilhelmina Freeman was false.
In conclusion, the book War Comes to Willy Freeman is written really well in accordance to history but also has some fictional attributes as well. This story was a great historical fiction book because the authors made it seem like the sum of the book was legit. I am so glad that I chose this book for Social Studies class because it was an adventurous history book with some mysteries in it as well!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Conflicting Willy
Just imagine, actually being free from slavery, nothing to worry about, except for the fact that your Pa is fighting in a horrible war. I want you to think about seeing your Pa get stabbed by a bayonet, only to go home to find that your Ma has been kidnapped by the British. Finally, think about having the chance, to actually get re-instated and become a slave again. These are some of the main conflicts in the story, War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier. All of these problems happen to occur to the narrator, a teenage girl named Wilhelmina Freeman. Her Pa gets killed, her Ma is taken, and she might get returned to slavery. But somehow, someway, she overcomes all of those conflicts to find a resolution.
One of the larger conflicts throughout the whole book is that her Ma was taken by the British and Willy is trying to find her. She first begins this large journey by taking her deceased father’s boat down to Newport, to see her aunt. When her aunt asks her who she came with, she replies, “No ma’am, I came by myself. The British took Ma down to New York”. (Willy on page 45) Her uncle Jack Arabus then told Willy to make the long trip down to New York to Black Sam Fraunce’ tavern because he believed that Sam could help. When she’s at the tavern she meets the man and he says that she can stay and work there while looking for her Ma. Willy ends up looking all over New York for her but was unable to find her. So as an act of desperate hope she sends a letter to her aunt, telling her that she was okay and asking about her mother. A few months later she gets a letter back with terrible news. Her aunt told her that her mother was ill and about to die. So Willy makes the bold decision to go back to Connecticut to see her mother before she passes. When she gets to the Ivers’ house, she finds her Ma lying in the basement with no medical help whatsoever. She explodes and runs to the doctor to see if he would give her medicine but he said it was too late. When she got back to the house her Ma was in fact dying. Consequently she did end up dying but although her Ma was dead, Willy did find her and she resolved the conflict.
Another main conflict in the novel was that with no parents, Willy had the chance to get put back into slavery. When she went to her Aunt Betsy the first time she tried to see if she could live there and work for the Ivers’. When they actually discussed this with them, Mr.Ivers exclaimed, “She’s staying, until I decide what to do with her.” Instantaneously, Willy new that she had to get out of there or else she would be returned to the horrible life she knew she hated. So, at the first chance she had, she escaped from the house and sailed away in her Pa’s Jollyboat.
However, the last main conflict in the historical fiction book, War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier is that Jack Arabus, Willy’s uncle, might be kept as a slave although the law states that he is free. When a slave wants to sign up for the war, the law back then was that they were to be freed so they can in fact fight for their country. So Jack was forced to take it to court where he and 300 other black slaves were freed. This case is actually pretty popular and is known as Arabus v. Ivers.
Even though there were many conflicts in the story War Comes to Willy Freeman by Christopher and James Collier, all of them were resolved and Willy really lived happily ever after. I really enjoyed this book because there were many twists and turns. At the end of the story she exclaims proudly that at that moment, she was “Grown up; and it was all going to be new.”
One of the larger conflicts throughout the whole book is that her Ma was taken by the British and Willy is trying to find her. She first begins this large journey by taking her deceased father’s boat down to Newport, to see her aunt. When her aunt asks her who she came with, she replies, “No ma’am, I came by myself. The British took Ma down to New York”. (Willy on page 45) Her uncle Jack Arabus then told Willy to make the long trip down to New York to Black Sam Fraunce’ tavern because he believed that Sam could help. When she’s at the tavern she meets the man and he says that she can stay and work there while looking for her Ma. Willy ends up looking all over New York for her but was unable to find her. So as an act of desperate hope she sends a letter to her aunt, telling her that she was okay and asking about her mother. A few months later she gets a letter back with terrible news. Her aunt told her that her mother was ill and about to die. So Willy makes the bold decision to go back to Connecticut to see her mother before she passes. When she gets to the Ivers’ house, she finds her Ma lying in the basement with no medical help whatsoever. She explodes and runs to the doctor to see if he would give her medicine but he said it was too late. When she got back to the house her Ma was in fact dying. Consequently she did end up dying but although her Ma was dead, Willy did find her and she resolved the conflict.
Another main conflict in the novel was that with no parents, Willy had the chance to get put back into slavery. When she went to her Aunt Betsy the first time she tried to see if she could live there and work for the Ivers’. When they actually discussed this with them, Mr.Ivers exclaimed, “She’s staying, until I decide what to do with her.” Instantaneously, Willy new that she had to get out of there or else she would be returned to the horrible life she knew she hated. So, at the first chance she had, she escaped from the house and sailed away in her Pa’s Jollyboat.
However, the last main conflict in the historical fiction book, War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier is that Jack Arabus, Willy’s uncle, might be kept as a slave although the law states that he is free. When a slave wants to sign up for the war, the law back then was that they were to be freed so they can in fact fight for their country. So Jack was forced to take it to court where he and 300 other black slaves were freed. This case is actually pretty popular and is known as Arabus v. Ivers.
Even though there were many conflicts in the story War Comes to Willy Freeman by Christopher and James Collier, all of them were resolved and Willy really lived happily ever after. I really enjoyed this book because there were many twists and turns. At the end of the story she exclaims proudly that at that moment, she was “Grown up; and it was all going to be new.”
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Willy Freeman, the Brave
Author's Note: This piece is about how the point of view of the narrator, Willy in the book "War Comes to Willy Freeman" by James and Christopher Collier creates bias opinions about the events of the story.
Imagine being a child, during one of the most gigantic wars in world history. Think about being dragged right in the middle of the battle, just to take the horse back home. Lastly, I want you to theorize about watching your own father get stabbed by bayonets, only to come back home to find that your mom was taken. This is what the poor Wilhelmina Freeman goes through during the story. The story is narrated through her point of view which I do think has an effect on the reader. But, what if it went through the eyes of her kidnapped and jailed mother? Would the main theme of the story be different?
The adventurous story “War Comes to Willy Freeman” by James and Christopher Collier is written through the point of few of a little girl who generally looks like a boy. Her attitudes and emotions towards things like the war or slavery might be different than those of her mom. Willy Freeman generally believed that “Although the war is over, slaves wasn’t going to be no freer under the America’s than they was under the British, and women was still going to have to keep their place. I was black, and I was a woman, and I knew there were limits.” That is shown many times as the author’s wrote her as the narrator. This sentence and some other quotes portray bias feelings for the reader that the British were just fighting for rule and that women were not respected back then. Her bias feelings definitely influence the opinions of the readers of the book.
If the story was written with a different narrator such as Willy’s uncle, Jack Arabus, there would be a different plot and opposite opinions of the rules, laws, and thoughts about the rules of that time period. If it was, Willy Freeman and all of the fictional characters would barely be in the story because he was off fighting in the war for General Washington. He would also give the readers the feeling that he liked “keeping the women in place” which would make it a different story.
The book, War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier is written with the narrator, as a teenage girl. During the story, she develops many bias feelings about the Revolutionary War and slavery. As I was reading this, I definitely caught these points of views in preparation for future reference. I really enjoyed this book because there was many twists and turns, a great adventure book about American history!!!
Imagine being a child, during one of the most gigantic wars in world history. Think about being dragged right in the middle of the battle, just to take the horse back home. Lastly, I want you to theorize about watching your own father get stabbed by bayonets, only to come back home to find that your mom was taken. This is what the poor Wilhelmina Freeman goes through during the story. The story is narrated through her point of view which I do think has an effect on the reader. But, what if it went through the eyes of her kidnapped and jailed mother? Would the main theme of the story be different?
The adventurous story “War Comes to Willy Freeman” by James and Christopher Collier is written through the point of few of a little girl who generally looks like a boy. Her attitudes and emotions towards things like the war or slavery might be different than those of her mom. Willy Freeman generally believed that “Although the war is over, slaves wasn’t going to be no freer under the America’s than they was under the British, and women was still going to have to keep their place. I was black, and I was a woman, and I knew there were limits.” That is shown many times as the author’s wrote her as the narrator. This sentence and some other quotes portray bias feelings for the reader that the British were just fighting for rule and that women were not respected back then. Her bias feelings definitely influence the opinions of the readers of the book.
If the story was written with a different narrator such as Willy’s uncle, Jack Arabus, there would be a different plot and opposite opinions of the rules, laws, and thoughts about the rules of that time period. If it was, Willy Freeman and all of the fictional characters would barely be in the story because he was off fighting in the war for General Washington. He would also give the readers the feeling that he liked “keeping the women in place” which would make it a different story.
The book, War Comes to Willy Freeman by James and Christopher Collier is written with the narrator, as a teenage girl. During the story, she develops many bias feelings about the Revolutionary War and slavery. As I was reading this, I definitely caught these points of views in preparation for future reference. I really enjoyed this book because there was many twists and turns, a great adventure book about American history!!!
Friday, December 2, 2011
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" Breakdown
Author's Note: This is just a simple breakdown of the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost and how it relates to the story.
Nature's first green and gold,
This line of the poem is talking about the sunrise. How if Dally would have just looked at a sunrise or sunset, he might have been a better person.
Her hardest hue to hold,
This means that all of the colors and brightness is hard to capture mentally. That's why Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry always looked at sunrises and sunsets, to try to capture the picture.
Her early leafs a flower,
This is talking about the climax of the story. When Johnny kills Bob, everybody's attitude changed and nothing in the novel was ever the same again. Just like the changing of a leaf to a flower.
But only so an hour,
This means that all of the excitement of Johnny killing Bob was gone.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
I believe that this relates to The Outsider's every excitement in their town has died and normal subsided back to normal.
So Eden sank to grief,
This means that the innocence or purity of Johnny and Ponyboy were lost after he murdered Bob.
So dawn goes to day,
I predict that this means that the sunrise/sunset is over and the brilliance Is done.
Nothing Gold Can Stay.
Finally, this last line says that nothing really exciting can stay exciting.
Nature's first green and gold,
This line of the poem is talking about the sunrise. How if Dally would have just looked at a sunrise or sunset, he might have been a better person.
Her hardest hue to hold,
This means that all of the colors and brightness is hard to capture mentally. That's why Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry always looked at sunrises and sunsets, to try to capture the picture.
Her early leafs a flower,
This is talking about the climax of the story. When Johnny kills Bob, everybody's attitude changed and nothing in the novel was ever the same again. Just like the changing of a leaf to a flower.
But only so an hour,
This means that all of the excitement of Johnny killing Bob was gone.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
I believe that this relates to The Outsider's every excitement in their town has died and normal subsided back to normal.
So Eden sank to grief,
This means that the innocence or purity of Johnny and Ponyboy were lost after he murdered Bob.
So dawn goes to day,
I predict that this means that the sunrise/sunset is over and the brilliance Is done.
Nothing Gold Can Stay.
Finally, this last line says that nothing really exciting can stay exciting.
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