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Bud Not Buddy Analysis

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The civil war was one of the best wars fought on ending morally wrong treatment of people. Even today we still face racism on both fronts where often both parties are racist to the other. However, despite the racism that exists today it is nothing close to the disgusting and repulsive way people used to treat others of different skin. “Bud not Buddy” and “Elijah of Buxton” are stories of adventure from two young black boys in a non-accepting of black people world, and how they made the most of their situations. Elijah was born in Buxton, Canada as the first free black baby, the area in which he was born is a place people went to escape slavery above Michigan. On his way home from fishing, fish he caught by throwing rocks at the fish, he …show more content…

Similarly in “Elijah of Buxton” Elijah faces racism at every turn and comes to an unprepared slap in the face of a realization about the way the world worked outside of his safe town in Canada. In many ways, the stories are just older and younger versions of each other. Bud was very young so he might not have experienced quite the same amount of cruelty and blunt hatred that an older Elijah experiences from his adventure. In the end both people walk away better people, however, Bud feels the world to be a better place than he initially believed. Elijah probably feels the world to be a much worse place than he ever could have imagined. Before he left his small town the worst racism he had experienced was the director of the carnival believing he wasn't a free slave. “Elijah of Buxton” was put through a much clearer lens in which the real world was viewed for what it really is unlike “Bud not Buddy” in which many people were helpful and nice despite having no other emotional connection to Bud. Though both realistic, “Bud not Buddy” is more of a children's version of the experiences described in “Elijah of

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“People cry not because they 're weak. it 's because they 've been strong for too long”-Johnny Depp. This quote relates to the main character of the novel, Bud, Not Buddy, the main character Bud Caldwell is an orphan and a fictional character that lived during the time of the Great Depression; a time where there was a slump in the economy. Bud at the beginning of the book, is shown as a character with a tough exterior, defiant, and pessimistic character, who is “unable” to cry. Bud being toughened by life, is defiant and pessimistic, but after releasing his hurt that he had hidden for a long period, and finding what he longed for, the character of Bud drastically takes a change in his character.

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Elijah Freeman, the protagonist and main character of the book, is the first child in town to be born free. He is known all around town for this, however, Elijah is also known as a very “fra-gile” boy who is fearful of the smallest things and who is prone to talking too much at times. This place, and time period especially, impacts the whole book; without the setting, there is no story or conflict. At this time in history, people would try to buy their families out of slavery which is what Mr. Leroy, one of Elijah’s good friends, wanted to accomplish. Mr. Leroy had spent over 5 years working hard trying to earn money to free his family.

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