Part 1--Comparing

Click this link to read the definition of historical fiction. 

Search the sites below to see where Gary Paulsen found ideas that he used in his book NightJohn.

Using MicroSoft Word, create a chart (or table) that shows three things: an event or detail, what you read in NightJohn,  and what you found in your research. Include at least 5 comparisons. 

 Example from internet research

Example from book

Example Event

(what they have in common)

 Charles Ball from SCIWay: "My mother then turned to him and cried, "Oh, master, do not take me from my child!" Without making any reply, he gave her two or three heavy blows on the shoulders with his raw hide, snatched me from her arms, handed me to my master, and seizing her by one arm, dragged her back towards the place of sale. My master then quickened the pace of his horse; and as we advanced, the cries of my poor parent became more and more indistinct-- at length they died away in the distance, and I never again heard the voice of my poor mother. " 

 NightJohn page 15 :" My mammy told me that my birthing mammy was sold when I was four years old because she was a good breeder and Waller he needed the money.  My mammy said that my birthing  mammy brought enough for four field hands and that she cried when the man bought her.  My mammy say that my birthing mammy stood in the back of  a wagon and watched and waved and my mammy held me up so I could see the waving and hear her crying."

 Slave children were often separated from their parents.

 
When quoting something from Nightjohn, use quotation marks and page numbers.

When quoting something from the internet, use quotation marks and give the name of the person speaking and the name of the web site.

NOTE: Some students may be surprised by the language used by the people telling their stories, but as you read keep in mind that they were merely telling the stories of their lives in their own everyday speech. "What makes the WPA narratives so rich is that they capture the very voices of American slavery, revealing the texture of life as it was experienced and remembered" (American Slave Narratives).

The following are links to stories and resources  which will help you compare events in history to events in Gary Paulsen’s NightJohn.

THINK!! Based on your discoveries, does NightJohn qualify as historical fiction?

 

 
Last Modified: Saturday, Feb. 07, 2009
 
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