War Comes to Willy Freeman vs. History

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!

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.”

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!!!

"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.

The Dynamic Randy

Author’s Note: This is about how Randy Anderson of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a dynamic character because he changed over a period of time.


Just imagine, being at the top of your school, and best friends with the most popular teenager in the whole grade. Now, I want you to think about watching that friend get stabbed and killed by the opposite group, the greasers. Finally, vision the chance to get to know the greasers and actually find out that the groups are not that different. This is what Randy goes through in the short time in which the story takes place. Like I said before, he was at the top of the popularity chart, his friend got stabbed, and that was what finally changed him. When Randy is talking to Ponyboy in his car, he basically says exactly what Cherry said all along, “It’s rough all over”. Randy Anderson is definitely a dynamic character because his beliefs and actions change over time.

I strongly believe this primarily because he changed his views about the greasers entirely. He started to feel sympathy for the poor, bad, street boys. At the beginning of the story, he was rude to the greasers, picked on them, and beat them up. In the end he apologizes to them because he realizes that the greasers are just like him and his friends. Some other reasons that Randy id dynamic is the fact that he chose himself to not fight against the greasers in the rumble. He thought that it was wrong to fight. Unlike the beginning, where he beat up the greasers willingly. These are the most noticeable reasons on why Randy is very dynamic.

I wouldn’t really say that the changes in Randy Anderson’s bias opinions against the greasers affected the events of the book. Although, what it did do though, was change Ponyboy’s beliefs of the Socs. Also he helped change other people's opinions about the people they stereotype. He helped the socs by telling them that greasers were not that much unlike them. "You can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before- at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the killing. It doesn’t prove a thing. We'll forget it if you win, or if you don't. Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs"(Randy page 103) He learned that being a Soc was not all that great either.

In past novels in which I’ve read, I can compare Randy to Kino of The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino and his family were poor pearl divers who barely had money to eat. Then all of it changed when Kino found this humongous pearl. They thought they were rich until they found that the pearl was bad luck. His opinion and mood toward the “lucky” pearl changed and their baby Coyotito ended up dying in the end. That is why Kino of the novel, The Pearl is like Randy of The Outsiders.

Undoubtedly, Randy Anderson is a dynamic character. He changed his opinions throughout the story. All it took was seeing his best friend die, which is pretty extreme. Randy is definitely the most dynamic character in the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

The Winners Who Came in Second

Author’s Note: This writing piece is about the rumble between the greasers and the socs. It’s also about how the greasers always come in last in the eyes of all of the other people. No matter what happens.

Think about all of the times you were judged for whom you were by your looks or how you acted. Imagine, being looked at as no good thugs who would terrorize anybody and steal from any store. Lastly, I want you to wonder if you, as a greaser, would actually have a chance to prove yourself and make a point to the socs. As a greaser, I would be proud of myself and my family for winning the rumble. But even though they won the fight, the trashy greasers are still second to the west side socs through the eyes of all the other people in the world.

Nobody denies the fact that greasers are tough, strong, and overall better fighters. That is why they achieved their goal of winning the small but statement making fight. Although the greasers feel that they had won and were on their way to more rights and popularity, the group of kids is going to be disappointed. Through the eyes of all of the police, lawmakers, and socs, those families of greasy haired thugs are still going to be people who are going to steal things and hurt people for no reason.

During the story though, Johnny and Ponyboy did defy that stereotype by saving the children in the church. They actually cared about other people in the world and that made an impact on the citizens of the United States. (“Juvenile Delinquents Turn Hero”, Chapter 7)

Again, I would like to compare this theme to The Pearl by John Steinbeck. When Kino finds this wonderful pearl, he thinks they are going to live in a big house with riches, guns, and much more. But everybody else in their city still looks at them as the poor people who live in a small hut on the shore. Just like the greasers of The Outsiders.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows that regular delinquents can defeat and neglect their stereotypes to the opposite group, the socs. Did they really though? In the brains of all of the other human beings around them, they are still no good, very bad greasy haired thugs who would steal and/or harm anybody around them. "You can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before- at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the killing. It doesn’t prove a thing. We'll forget it if you win, or if you don't. Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs"(Randy page 103)

My The Outsiders Predictions

For Whole Book: I think that the greasers and socs will become one group of friends.
 
For Chapter 2: I think that the boys will just go and fool around because there hasn't been much action yet. I also think that there will be a few new characters in the chapter.
Right/Wrong: I was pretty much on target with this prediction because the greasers went around and stole things and they met two new characters at the movie theater. Marcia and Cherry are two soc girls who are very kind and sweet. Ponyboy learns that being a soc isn't all that great either.
 
For Chapter 3: I predict that someone else is going to get mugged and that somebody will get arrested. I think this because the boys are with the two most popular girls in the whole school.
Right/Wrong: This time around I was wrong. As the two socs and three greasers were walking to Two-Bit's car, the socs boyfriends came up in a Mustang and almost got into a fight, but left before things got violent. Then Johnny and Ponyboy accidentally fell asleep in the parking lot and Ponyboy was out way past his curfew. Then Darry was so mad he hit the youngest boy in the face and Pony ran away.

For Chapter 4: I think that the "runaway" Johnny and Ponyboy are going to get into trouble or get beaten by socs. I believe this just because Pony said he was wrong when he thought that they were going to be safe out in the neighborhood at night.
Right/Wrong: I was actually half right on this prediction. Johnny and Ponyboy were walking in the park and got jumped by five socs. Then Ponyboy spit in his face and started to get shoved into the pond in the park. After that, Johnny went and stabbed the soc who was drowning Pony and he died. On an attempt to escape and not get in trouble, they went to Dally and he helped them a lot. He gave them money and a gun to escape for a week or two so the story would die down. The two boys are now hiding at an abandoned church.
 
For Chapter 5: I think that somebody will be in the abandoned church. I also think that the person will force them out or call the cops. I think this because there has been a theme of random turns of the events in the story.
 Right/Wrong: Once again, I was way off with my prediction. At the beginning of the chapter, Johnny went to get supplies for their stakeout(bologna, cigarettes, cards, etc.). Then Ponyboy and Johnny changed their hairstyles by cutting/dying it. Then, just like he promised, Dally showed up and took them to get something to eat. Finally he told them that Cherry was going to spy for them.
 
For Chapter 6: I think that Dally, Ponyboy, and Johnny are going to go back to town and talk to Cherry. This is because the boys had just found out that she was going to be a spy for the greasers.
 Right/Wrong: On this prediction, I was totally wrong. What actually happened was Johnny decided to turn himself in because he had a lot of people on his side because it was just self defense. But on the way, the old church that Pony and Johnny hid out in was on fire.(Probably because of a cigarette bud) They also noticed that there were people around the church and that children were inside of the burning building. What happened next was Johnny and Pony ran inside to save the children. They saved everybody but got hurt themselves. When waiting to see how Johnny and Dally were, Ponyboy was reunited with his family.
 
For Chapter 7: I believe that Dally is going to be alright. But Johnny is going to be in critical condition and that he might die. If Johnny is alright, then I think that he's is going to turn himself in because he is hoping that he won't get into too much trouble because it was self defense.
 Right/Wrong: I wasn't totally wrong with my prediction except that this prediction might be for the next chapter. What happened in Chapter 7 was that Two-Bit and Steve came to Pony's house and talked to him about the crazy weekend. He showed him the paper ("Juvenile Delinquents Turn Hero") which basically stated that Ponyoby and Sodapop may be sent to a boy's home. Then at the gas station, Ponyboy talked with lead soc, Randy Anderson. Both boys then discovered that life for both groups was not that great.
 
For Chapter 8: I think that Two-Bit and Ponyboy will be unable to see Johnny. But I do think that they will be able to see Dally. I also think that Ponyboy and the other greasers will have a talk with Cherry and/or Marcia. I think that this will happen because it is right before the big rumble and their "spy" might want to talk to them.
 Right/Wrong: I was pretty spot on with my prediction this time. The only flaw in this hypothesis was that they were able to see Johnny. He didn't look good and fainted when his mother came to see him. Then, after talking with Dally, they met up with Cherry and talked with her for a little while.
 
For Chapter 9: I believe that this time, the rumble will take place and I think that it will be a blood bath. I also think that something terrible is going to happen because Ponyboy mentioned that he didn’t think the fight was a good idea. S.E. Hinton would not have put that in there if something 'good' was going to happen. Quote: (From Ponyboy, bottom of page 111) “Tonight-I don’t like it one bit.”
Right/Wrong: My prediction was correct to the fullest extent this time. A short summary of this long chapter was that the big rumble took place. It was a no weapon, all skin rumble and the first to run loses. The greasers won with very few injuries. I was also right with the prediction that something bad was going to happen. Johnny died and Dally ran out of the room.

For Chapter 10: I think that Dally is going to get into some big trouble or something bad is going to happen to him. I believe this because after Johnny died, Dally “suddenly bolted through the door and down the hall.” (Pg.130)
Right/Wrong: I was again, correct with my prediction because Dally happened to rob a grocery store and then as the police were chasing him on foot, Dally pulled a gun without any ammo in it. But what Dally really wanted to be dead because Johnny was the only thing that he truly loved. Without Johnny in his life, he couldn’t imagine living anymore, so got shot by the police. Also, in the rumble, Ponyboy got a concussion and was passed out for a week.

For Chapter 11: Since Ponyboy has nothing else to do in bed, he is going to read the Gone with the Wind book and maybe discover something in it. Also, I think he might get some visitors over the week that he’s in bed.
Right/Wrong: I was wrong about the book which he didn’t read at all. But…Randy Anderson did visit him and they just talked about the court date, which was the day after.

For Chapter 12: This time around, I do think that Ponyboy will look at Gone with the Wind. I also believe that Ponyboy and Sodapop will be able to stay with Darry after their court date.
Right/Wrong: This final chapter was very good and my prediction was right. Ponyboy and Soda did get to stay with Darry but Pony and Darry fought a lot. As their fourth straight night of fighting was going on, Soda ran out of the house. He was really stressed out because he couldn’t pick a side to the fights and his family was being pulled apart. Also, the girl that he loved dumped him. Ponyboy and Darry promised not to fight and they lived happily ever after. The boy also looked at Gone with the Wind and found a note from Johnny in it. The note basically explained that his life was less important than all of those children’s lives he saved. Lastly, he examined the poem that Ponyboy had said. He thought that if more people looked at the sunsets, there will be less ‘hoods’ in the neighborhood.

Right/Wrong (Whole Book): My prediction for the book was incorrect only because of the fact that the two groups weren’t super close at the end. They did understand each other a little more though. This relates to the poem that is in the book by Robert Frost(Page 69). They used to really hate each other and the greasers and socs loved to beat each other. But, after a while the two groups were really sick of fighting each other.
"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."(Robert Frost)