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Nightjohn By Gary Paulsen Summary

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Imagine What Would Happen if Everyone Had Passion Nightjohn, written by Gary Paulsen, is the story of a man named Nightjohn, an American slave living in the Southern States. Brought to the Waller plantation with whip slashes and a rope tied to his neck—he was here for one reason and one reason only. He was here with the determination to teach slaves how to read. No matter the risk, he was going to spread his gift that most didn’t have. Through his work, Nightjohn realizes that dedication can help you finish what you start—never give up on your goals. To start off, Nightjohn was driven to teach slaves how to read. He shows his dedication when he took away his own freedom to share his talent with others. Before he was brought to the Waller plantation, he was a free slave in the North after escaping the South. He made the decision of returning to the South because he wanted to share his abilities of reading and writing with other slaves. “And you came back?” another slave in the quarters asked Nightjohn. “I did,” he replied. “To teach reading” (Page 55). Nightjohn was not about to take away his own freedom to quit, which shows that he was going to aim for his goals until they were reached. …show more content…

Nightjohn continued to introduce letters of the alphabet to Sarny—a young African American living on the plantation—even if he was caught for teaching her how to read in the first place. He was knocked down, but got right back up. A couple of days after he got his middle toes chopped, the first words that came from his mouth since the accident were “H”...“The next letter is H” (Page 79). Nightjohn continued his progress after his suffering, showing that he was willing to strive for his goals at all

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