In the novel Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham, the story intertwines the lives of two teenagers from different eras. Each faces issues of race, identity, and justice. Rowan Chase comes upon a century-old body, of unknown origin. As she faces the case head-on, she is forced to face her perceptions and biases. As her story unfolds, the reader also follows Will Tillman, who is forced to navigate the time of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Both characters morph significantly through their struggles, revealing the impact of societal and personal conflicts on their development. The conflicts Rowan and Will face, though in different eras, drive their personal growth and shape their perspectives following the issues of race, their identities, and justice. …show more content…
In the end, Rowan found something. Rowan doesn’t want anything like the Tulsa Race Riot to happen ever again, acknowledging she can't change the past, but she sure can influence the future, hoping to help resolve the racial tensions she grew to despise even more. Will’s struggle seems to start due to his exposure to the racial tensions in Tulsa, in 1921, as when his story begins he is very quickly exposed to racism firsthand. In the novel, Will states, “I’d heard the stories but seeing them in person was different. It made me feel sick.” Right from the beginning, Will had a sense of right and wrong, and witnessing it, he knew it wasn’t right, but what was he supposed to do. He was just a boy who should stay out of trouble. That was what everyone thought and why no one ever stopped the issue. Eventually, Will became directly involved in the night of the race riot, he saw the brutal reality at the moment, …show more content…
As the fires raged and the gunshots echoed through the streets, I knew I had to act. I helped as many people as I could, guiding them to safety, even if it meant putting myself in danger.” Will, in the beginning, had no sense of himself much like Rowan, and understood the tensions and issues, but now towards the climax, if not the climax, he wanted to help and understand those who aren't as fortunate as he was. In the end, Will reflects on the tensions that resulted from that night, he hopes the memories will never fade, but would, once, like to see everyone, regardless of the color of skin, get along. Both Rowan and Will fought through the racial tensions in hopes of helping but also developed themselves into people they at the beginning of the novel would dream of becoming. As the racial tensions were discovered and resolved in Rowan and Will’s way, Latham’s characters also faced discomfort in their identity. Both characters struggle with their identities while learning and discovering the Tulsa Race Riot or living through it. The discovery of the skeleton in her backyard sent Rowan down the history of her house and the whole timeline, plus the events of the race