Essay, Research Paper: Johnny Tremain

In the novel Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes the main character Jonathan Lye
Tremain is an apprentice to an old silversmith Mr. Lapham. In a tragic accident Johnny
melts his thumb to his index finger and he can no longer use his right hand for
sislversmithing. Then Johnny changes his attitude from a young aragonite boy to a wise
man.
For example he learned to control his temper. He did this by counting to ten when
he was angered. The first time he tried this, is when Sam Adams' slave Suky throws a pan
of dishwater out the front door without looking. She hit Johnny with the water when he
was going up the walk way to the house. Instead of yelling at her and telling her what her
thought a bought her race and master he counted to ten and found it had worked. Suky
cleaned him off and gave him an apple pie to eat while she was cleaning his jacket. Johnny
also met Sam Adams while he was in his kitchen. Controlling his temper really paid off.
The second way that Johnny changed was the way he treated others, he treated
them with respect and courtesy. This is the new way he treated Cilla and Isannah. When
he was young, he used to in insult the two younger sisters. But after been from them for
a long time he realized that he wanted them as friends. Johnny used to call Cilla a skinny,
pale faced, gobblely eyed child, but now he sees her as young and beautiful, and begins to
like her. He made a promise to the sisters that every Thursday and Sunday, while
delivering newspapers, he would meet them at the water pump to talk. They would meet
at the water pump because Mrs. Lampham had them go get the drinking water every
afternoon. Of course Johnny could not keep his promise for long his work was very
important.
A third way Johnny changed was by spying on for his country as they fought the
Pre-Revolutionary War. While doing this Johnny did many other things. One thing that
he did was delivering messages for the British officers in Boston. This all happened When
Johnny was hanging around the Afric Queen stables. The British wanted someone to
deliver their letters who had a fast dependable horse. Having seen Johnny with his horse,
Goblin, they decided that Johnny would make the perfect carrier. They ignored the
thought that Johnny might be a Whig.
Johnny also risked his live when he got a musket for Rab. To do this, he had to
plan carefully. First, he had to find a solider who would give up his musket and uniform,
he found a solider in the forth regiment who fit this job perfectly. His name was Pumpkin.
Pumpkin was a British solider who wanted to quit the British army. He did not want to
die in combat, he wanted to become a farmer and farm the lands instead. So he made a
trade with Johnny. Pumpkin was to leave his musket and uniform in a known location.
Johnny was to leave a blue smock, a straw hat, and an old black wig in the same place.
Rab's uncle smuggled the gun out under his wagon. When Rab got the musket he took
off to go fight in the war. Many days later Johnny disguised himself in Pumpkin's uniform
and went off to find Rab. When he finally found Rab he was dying from a very bad
stomach wound and very big amount of his blood was lost. However Johnny had acted
when he was needed most.
In conclusion Johnny Lyte Tremain changed greatly in this novel. He learned lots
of wise lessons in this novel that can be used in later life. That is why the reader should
believe that Johnny Tremain has changed from an aragonite, stuck up boy to a wiser
young man in this book.