Day Of Tears

I found the book Day of Tears by Julius Lester a very good read and I would certainly recommend the novel to others. This is a historical fiction book about the lives of slaves, and specifically, a major slave auction known as “The Weeping Time.” Lester wrote this book in dialogue of both the slaves and whites in the south. One of my favorite parts of this book was how the author included interlude sections to let readers know about certain characters later in their life. Lester uses this unique feature to describe what our favorite characters will end up doing in the future, which I really liked. There are also many instances of good symbolism in this story. I also thought this book had an intriguing plotline that made me want to keep reading.

Some slave owners were nice and let their slaves have real jobs and earn some money.

5. The novel Day of Tears definitely uses suspense to make the story more interesting. For instance, the night Emma, Joe, Charles, and Winnie escape, all the rain creates suspense. The rain symbolizes the chaos of the night and we want to know if they will successfully escape.Other examples of suspense on that night include when Charles and Winnie lost their baby and when they see the wagon coming toward them. When the light on the wagon approaches them, we think they are about to get caught, and want to know who is really in the wagon. These events all make you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. 6. Thinking About the Novel a. I believe the most important event in this book is when Emma, Joe, Charles, and Winnie decide to run away. This is a big event because their successful escape completely changed the lives of Emma and Joe, now setting them free. If they hadn’t run away, they wouldn’t have been able to live free lives in Philadelphia and then Canada, where they don’t have to worry about slavery. This was a brave chance for the slaves to take, but they risked it and it paid off. The runaways also set a good example to the other slaves who want to live