Serious changes of jonathan lyte tremain in the novel

In the novel Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Jonathan Lyte Tremain undergoes some very serious changes. It is this reader’s impression that as Johnny grew up in Boston, Massachusetts in these Pre- Revolutionary War times, he matured much since the time hat he left the Lapham household, until the end of this novel. Some examples of his maturity were:

• When he learned to control his temper.
• When he learned to treat people (especially Cillwith respect.
• When he helped his country in the war against England.

The first example of Johnny’s maturity was when he learned to calm down and hold his temper. He did this by counting to ten every time something angered him. An example of this, is on pages 109+110 when Sam Adams’s housekeeper Sukey throws her dishwater out of her door without looking. She hit Johnny with the dish water when he was riding past. Instead of yelling at her and telling her what h thought of the matter, he counted to ten and found that it had worked. Sukey cleaned him off and gave him a piece of pie. Johnny also was lucky enough to meet Sam Adams while he was sitting in his kitchen. Johnny quickly gathered that patience definitely had its rewards.

the next way that Johnny had matured in this novel was the way he learned to treat others with respect. This mainly applied to Cilla and Isannah. When he was young, he used to insult and tease the two sisters. But after having been away from them for so long, he realized just how much he needed them as friends, or enemies. Johnny used to call Cilla a skinny, pale faced child, but now he though of her as young, and beautiful. He began to like Cilla. He made a promise to them. Every Thursday and Sunday, while delivering his newspapers, he would meet them at the water pump, just to say hi and to talk. They would meet at the water pump because Mrs. Lapham had sold Cilla And Isannah to the Lytes and they were sent there to fetch the drinking water. Unfortunately for all three of them, Johnny could not keep his promise of meeting the two girls at the water pump. His work was very demanding.

Finally, he matured by standing up for his country as they fought the Revolutionary War. While doing this act, Johnny did many other things. One thing that he did was to deliver messages for the British soldiers quartered in Boston, Massachusetts. This all came about when Johnny was hanging around the Afric Queen. The British were looking for someone to deliver their messages who had a fast horse. Having seen Johnny’s horse Goblin ride before, they decided that Johnny would be a good courier. Because they were not aware of the fact that Johnny was a Whig, Johnny was really putting his life in serious jeopardy. Johnny deepened his danger even more when he overcharged the British officers for the job well done. Johnny also went to the edge when he got a musket for Rab. To do this, he had to plan carefully. First, he had to find a soldier who was willing to give up his musket. He found just that in Pumpkin. Pumpkin as a soldier who wanted to get away from the army life. He did not want to die on the battlefield. So, he made a deal with Johnny. Pumpkin was to leave his musket and army attire at a designated location. Johnny was to leave a smock and a straw hat with fake black hair attached to it in that same place. Then, they would exchange. So he would not be caught bearing a musket illegally, Johnny disguised himself in Pumpkin’s army uniform and went back home. when he got home, he gave Rab the musket. Johnny also put himself on the verge of death when the war had began. Rab had gone to fight in the war, and Johnny felt that he may be in trouble or even dead! Once more disguising himself in Pumpkin’s uniform, he went on a mission to find Rab. When he finally found Rab, he was dying from excessive blood loss. Nevertheless, Johnny had acted when he needed to and had succeeded at heart.

In conclusion, It is my opinion that Jonathan Lyte Tremain matured greatly over the coarse of his novel. He learned many valuable lessons in this story that can be used to infinite rewards. That is why this reader believes that Johnny Tremain has matured in this book.