Johnny Tremain

“His ability made him semi-sacred. He knew his power and reveled in it. He could have easily made friends with stupid Dove, for Dove was lonely and admired Johnny as well as envied him. Johnny preferred to bully him.”

Forbes quickly establishes the protagonist’s excessive pride at the beginning of the novel. In the very next chapter, Johnny’s supercilious behavior, especially towards Dove, has grave consequences. Eventually, however, Johnny does befriend the lonely Dove, and this friendship allows Johnny to acquire vital information for the Patriots’ leaders.

“Already the day’s bustle had begun up and down the wharf: A man was crying fish. Sailors were heave-hoing at their ropes. A woman was yelling that her son had fallen into the water. A parrot said distinctly, ‘King Hancock.’ Johnny could smell hemp and spices, tar and salt water, the sun drying fish. He liked his wharf.”

Forbes uses rich auditory and olfactory imagery to establish the setting of Hancock’s Wharf. This detailed language invites the reader into the scene and paints a vivid picture of the bustling neighborhood. Johnny considers the lively place “his wharf,” which reinforces his pride at the start of the novel. He sees Hancock’s Wharf as its own little world and himself as its ruler. As the novel continues, the setting expands far beyond the confines of the Lapham household’s neighborhood, and Johnny gains the humility to see that the world doesn’t revolve around him.

“She read the words in her halting manner: ‘Let there be Lyte.’ And miraculously, as she stumbled over these words, there was light, for the sun came up out of the sea.”

Cilla and Johnny share a close moment as they marvel at the beautiful cup and the seemingly miraculous timing of the dawn. Before Johnny’s mother died, she urged him to keep the silver cup bearing the Lyte family crest a secret. By showing it to Cilla, he demonstrates his complete trust in her.