Was NightJohn Historically Accurate? In the United States, history was desensitized so that parts of it wouldn’t seem as bad as it actually is. Slavery didn’t end much too long ago compared to how old our nation is. It was not until President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided that former slaves’ experiences should be recorded. NightJohn, by Gary Paulsen, is a novel about a 12 year old girl named Sarny that is a slave on Waller’s plantation who was willing to do anything to earn a bit of education after meeting a fellow slave named John. In the novel, Paulsen historically portrays slavery through harsh punishments, resistance to conditions, and determination to learn. To start off, Paulsen’s historical accuracy on slavery can be justified through the cruel and brutal …show more content…
In NightJohn, Paulsen’s details portrayed the typical harsh punishments experienced by slaves ranging from being whipped to being chased by packs of bloodthirsty hounds. As shocking as the details may seem to the reader, these types of consequences can be corroborated in history: in the narrative “The Experience of Slavery” by Gus Smith, “He whupped dem all de time, I’ve seen their clothes sticking to their backs from blood and scabs, being cut up with de cowhide. He just whupped dem because he could.” Smith is talking about how some masters wouldn’t show mercy when whipping someone and sometimes would do it for leisure. In NightJohn, the main character, Sarny, says that her master, Waller, always carries a gun and a whip. She also describes that when John came to the plantation covered in whip scars, Waller chased him to the fields with his whip and forced him to work. Not to mention, in Solomon