Joseph Simmons In April Morning By Howard Fast

Action is Louder than Words “Good heavens, Adam, we declared ourselves. There just is no stronger declaration of a man’s purpose than to take a gun and shoot someone dead” (Fast 159). April Morning is written by Howard Fast. It is about a boy named Adam Cooper fighting for his manhood and trying to survive the beginning of the American Revolution. April 18th, 1775 in and around Lexington, Massachusetts is where Adam finds out that he must become a man to survive. Joseph Simmons, also known as Cousin Simmons, treats him like a son and protects him as Adam tries to find his way. Simmons is round because he shows he is loyal, caring, and moral. Cousin Simmons is also static because he keeps his personality and compassion throughout the book. Joseph Simmons is a character who is caring, moral, and loyal.

Adam and Cousin Simmons traveled to the Atkins place to recover and rest. “Cousin Simmons couldn’t bear to watch those women breaking their backs over the well handle. He said he didn’t think that war was any reason for men to turn into hogs and women into slaves; and he took over the handle himself and then shamed others into turns” (Fast 152). Simmons believes that making the women work a mans was not the right thing and even though they were tired. The resistance broke up into parties of two or three on their way to the Atkins place, so on their way they encountered a young redcoat that was dead. “God’s name, what are you to rob the dead with the fight going on! Cousin Simmons roared. They tried to outface him, but Joseph Simmons was as wide as two average men, and it would have taken braver men than these were to outface him” (Fast 147). Even though they were fighting British Simmons thought it was wrong to rob the dead in the middle of a battle. Simmons was very virtuous; he did what he thought was the right thing. Not only was he caring and moral, he was also