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Nightjohn By Gary Paulsen

950 Words4 Pages

Nightjohn Even though the United States have improved, we must not forget the horrendous acts of slavery. In the historical fiction novel Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen, the topic of slavery is thoroughly explained. Although Gary Paulsen’s novel, Nightjohn, is considered historical fiction, descriptions of brutal punishments, resistance to conditions, and Determination to learn can be corroborated with multiple sources. The book Nightjohn shows the historical accuracy of brutal punishment as if the people who were enslaved were trapped in a cage with a starving tiger. In Nightjohn the author, Gary Paulsen, elaborates on this topic by writing about how the slaves would disobey Waller by praying for freedom at night, …show more content…

The topic is written about in the book by saying how enslaved people would pray when the stars shined the brightest and no matter how many attempts it took, they longed to feel the peaceful breeze of their escape. In an excerpt from Heather Andrea Williams’ African American Education in Slavery: Self-taught, it says, ‘...asking the white children to tell her everything they learned that day at school each day.” This proves that Nightjohn, even though it is labeled as historical fiction, is historically accurate because Sarny would repeat everything she did a day, since she could talk, so she wouldn’t forget just like in the excerpt. This is an example of resistance to conditions because even though the slave owners banned the enslaved people from reading an writing Sarny would disobey and repeat everything that had happened that day. Another key point is, Solomon Northup also talked about resisting conditions, in his Twelve Years a Slave book, when he states, “...until I had become an expert swimmer, and felt at home in the watery element.” This shows how enslaved people resisted conditions because no matter the consequences they still tried to escape until they succeeded. Solomon Northup kept escaping until he learned to be a great swimmer so he would feel relaxed when he reached the comfort of the water. As seen above, Nightjohn is proven to be historically accurate because other sources shows how enslaved people would resist the harsh

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