Abbie Character Analysis: A Lantern In Her Hand

“One time Grandma told me she was the very happiest when she was living over all her memories.” A Lantern in Her Hand is about the life of Abbie Deal as she moves with her husband Will, from Iowa to Nebraska for a new start. In the 1800s this was not easy but Abbie and Will accepted the challenge. Abbie is a dreamer and Will is quiet and rarely complains. Abbie has so many dreams that she knows she will not be able to live out but as her life goes on and she sees her children grow she realizes what her true dreams are. “”If I could just get down life as I have seen it,” she would think, “. . . and people as I have known them . . .”” At the beginning of this story Abbie Deal is Abbie Mackenzie at eight years old moving with her mother and five

I will admit this book confused me at many points because it went so quickly through the years, for example it would mention that she gave birth and then the next three pages that child would be five years old. Also the vocabulary was very old-fashioned and I would have to look up what something meant. Other than those thing it was a fairly easy read. Seeing as this was written in 1928 less than one hundred years after its takes place I think it was fairly accurate to the hardships Abbie, Will, and their children would have had to have gone through. The style of writing I found was very old-fashioned as I mentioned before but I found it interesting how the author started and ended the book she started the book exactly where it ends. I also enjoyed how there were many things that carried on throughout the book such as the Lady of the Lea song, Abbie sings it throughout most of her life and remembers it when she thinks about her past dreams of memories and how it would always bring joy to

And I’m sure if I were the one taken I would go on with you, remembering all you had been to me.”” I think this book deserves four stars because though it was a good book and I enjoyed reading about Abbie’s life I wish it went more into the journey that they went on to get to Nebraska. I loved learning about some of the hardships the farmers had to go through and the problems Abbie had. One of my favorite quotes that I hope stays with me is, ““You have, to dream things out. It keeps a kind of an ideal before you. You see it first in your mind and then you set about to try and make it like the ideal. If you want a garden,—why, I guess you 've got to dream a garden.”” I love this quote because I felt that what Abbie said fit her character very well and is advice we can all use once in a