Paulsen , G. (1993). Nightjohn. New York: Delacorte
Press
Gary Paulsen’s Night John is a beautiful story about a
strong courageous man named Night John. This story fits the multi-cultural genre
because of the black slave culture that the story is centered around. The story details the lives of a group of
slaves that live on a plantation. The plantation is owned by a very evil antagonist
named Clel Waller. Paulsen does a great job building up Clel’s character
through his dialogue with the slaves and through the physical abuse that he
inflicts on those who try to run away.
The story is told by the narrator Sarny. Sarny’s southern
dialect is what makes the book so interesting. As you read it aloud you become
one with her character. I enjoyed the dialect because it helped make the story
more believable. Sarny introduces each of the characters and drives the plot
through her present day stories and retellings through flashbacks. As I listen
to Sarny talk, it is hard to believe that the person writing the book didn’t live
in this time period and isn’t from the same culture.
Sarny is taken care of by a lady named Delie. Her mother was
sold by Clel Waller when Sarny was very young. Sarny is at a turning point in
her life because she is getting older and once females hit puberty Clel begins
to breed them off to add to his number of slaves. The book takes a turn when
Clel brings in the new slave Night John. Sarny is intrigued by Night John the minute
he arrives. When Clel brought night john in he had scars all over his back. All
of the slaves could infer that Night John was trouble because of the number
times he had been beat by his master.
Paulsen does a great job of developing the relationship between
Night John and Sarny. They formally meet in the living quarters at night when
Night John is very exhausted and he desires some tobacco. Sarny being the
person responsible for spitting tobacco juice on the bugs in the bushes trades
Night John tobacco for letters. This is the point when the reader understands
Night John’s past. He is able to read and apparently suffers the consequences
for teaching others how to read.
The stories that Sarny tells about the slaves that try to
run a way are gut wrenching. The images of dogs ripping the skin off of one
slave Jim make the reader cringe. It gets worse with the story of the love
struck Pawley who hadn’t intended on running away. He had just fallen asleep in
his ladies arms on another plantation. The most gruesome of all, which made
tears roll down my face, was the story of Alice. Sarny describes her as addled
in the mind. This makes me assume she was handicapped. The evil old Clel Waller
didn’t show any sympathy and made her breed when she became of age. This sent
her deeper into her mental issue. When she tried to run away Clel sent the dogs
after her.
Although the conflict in the story is that Sarny gets Night
John caught by writing her new found word Bag in the sand, the reader is
delighted when Night John escapes to freedom after having his toe chopped off. The lead character is Sarny because she is a
well developed character who is in every scene. But the protagonist is Night John
in my opinion. He is the hero who stands fights for what he believes is right.
One of the moving moments is when he says he has to teach people to read in
order to have the slave story told in the future years.
This story is great for the middle school classroom because
students can make text to self connections with Sarny’s life and their own
lives. They can compare and contrast their responsibilities at home to the life
that Sarny lives.
Big Idea Question: If you were Sarny would you want to learn
to read? Why or Why not?
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