Across Five Aprils As the Civil War went on thousands of lives were lost. Not only did the war take lives it also changed them. Such as in Jethro’s life which changed for the better and worse. Jethro Creighton is a young boy in his teens who lives in Illinios on his family farm and is the main character of the book “Across Five Aprils.” Jethro lost people who had inspired him, came of age, but in the end he recieved better opportunities and got goods news. In my upcoming paragraphs I will support these claims. One of the many reasons Jethro's life changed for the worst was the loss or imprisonment of individuals who inspired him. This is shown after Jethro hears of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This news puts Jethro in a somewhat state …show more content…
One way his coming of age is shown was when he felt that he had physical change in a good way. He phrases this by saying “He had grown tall during the years of the war...his muscles had attained a fine precision in working for the achievement of a needed strength,” (pg 197, Hunt). By Saying this Jethro tells us that he feels he has physically become stronger and has attained amazing fine motor skills. Jethro also mentally changed in a good way , evidence of this was when Matt and Ellen Noticed that “He was gentle with them … but there was a reserve about him that had grown steadily greater with the years,”(pg 197, Hunt). This shows that Jethro has become Composed and understanding. The last reason Jethro’s coming of age was enriching to his life was his gain of responsibility from those close to him. Mathew shows that he trust Jethro by asking him “Do you think you could manage the team and do some chores fer us in Newton tomorrow,” (pg 70, Hunt). This was a huge responsibility for such a young kid as Jethro because he had to make the trip there, get the items, and then come back without any