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Literary Analysis Of Nightjohn

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Nightjohn, a novel written by Gary Paulsen, takes location throughout one of the finest periods of prejudice and racism in American records. Nightjohn is the story of a young slave lady named Sarny. Within the book, Sarny meets any other slave named Nightjohn, he teaches Sarny a way to study and write. Ultimately, after Nightjohn is punished for coaching Sarny, he runs away, however, later he returns to complete coaching Sarny. Sarny failed to accept the fact that she was a slave or the unfairness in opposition to her prevent her from learning. This literary analysis paper, will discuss Gary Paulsen’s use of prejudice, bravery, and freedom to advance his perception of the book, Nightjohn. In Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen he uses word choice to …show more content…

Three examples of Gary Paulsen’s use of pathos are the following. One example is “All I know for a mammy is the one that raised me, old Delie, and she be the one who raises all the young. Breeders don’t get to keep their own babies…”(16). Another example, “Then the master he whipped her his own self with a rawhide whip cut from an old gin belt used on the cotton gin. Sometimes he doesn’t whip and makes a field hand do it and stands back with pistol in his belt and smiles. But sometimes he likes to take the whip and this time he whipped her until her back was all ripped and bleeding. We had to watch”(43-44). This represents pathos to create the subject of freedom by way of showing simply come cruel they may be treated. Mothers are used for breeding but, don't even get to keep their children in the end. It’s even worst to think that Sarny as a child doesn’t realize what she has lost and thinks it not only normal but okay from children to be taken away from their parent and passed on for someone to take come on till they themselves are old enough to work and to create the theme of freedom by showing how old hearted the ‘master’ is that it is clear he enjoys the pain he causes and that he makes the other slaves watch in a way of a silent threat or promise that this could and will happen to them if they too step out of line. As nicely that he makes it that the slaves can’t even believe every …show more content…

Nightjohn would be characterized as brave, literate, clever, and rebellious. After gaining the knowledge and freedom that came with learning to read and write, he wanted to impart this to others. Though it is covered in scars and mutilated, it represents in the fact that he is still living and passing on his knowledge the power of literacy and what it can add to the inside of a person, even if the outside is beaten and torn. Overall, nightjohn endures a punishment in order to give slaves the art of literacy, so that they might become aware of their situation and be inspired to fight for their

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