Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Muhammed
I think Muhammed was real determined because he would not let anyone tell him what or who he was. "But every morning he would get up and say I am a man"(pg.15)
I'm Scared for Lizzy
I was scared for Lizzy when Joshua and Lem left because Mister Joe Haynes and Master Lewis might think that Lizzy knows where Joshua and Lem are and could try to get the infomation from. and she does not tell them she could get whipped.
the long walk home
it was hard not cry during the movie(the long walk home)staring Whoppi Goldberg and Sissy Spacaek. I love the scene were the bus driver kicked the white kids off the bus!!!!
Emmett Till's Funeral Opinion
Emitt's mom showed her son's dead and torcherd body to public. Wich I agree with because It shows what whites can do to black.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
my scrapbook
I can’t imagine being Mahummad because he has been trough a lot of hard stuff in his life, he had to kill a Seen-ba. The when he stopped to catch his breath BAM he was sold in to slavery. Oh and the living conditions on the ship were no vacation too. You were crammed into the smallest room on earth with lots of other people. Don’t get me started with the smell. All what you could smell was sweat human waist and vomit. The smell could kill a fly. If I was mahummad I would be asking myself “Is my family and friends ok” and “will I ever go back to Africa.” (pg.6-7) It must of been so hard for him to go though this when he was only 11 years old, not knowing what’s going to happen to you and were you are or going to end up. I would be so scared to watch other people even your friends getting whipped and knowing that could be you. Lots of people died from food shortage they only getting food once a day and water twice a day.
I woke up one morning to in 1864 by bags and booms of guns. Later that day Lizzy said that she over herd some white folks talking and they called it the civil war. I can’t even imagine how Lizzy would be felling because she hade to go though this with out her mom at the age of 13. A while a go Joshua and Lem ran away. But Master Lewis and Mister Joe Haynes found Lem and brought him back to the plantain. After dinner Miss Julia invited Lizzy into her house. Lizzy thought that she hade to clean the kitchen but Saran all ready clean the house today. But all what they did was talk about stuff and to have tea with her, because she was bored. Personally I think Miss Julia should not have the right to do that, it is all ready stupid that you can make some one else to do your house work but force them to talk and have tea with you. That’s just plain wrong. Miss told Lizzy that she would take her to Jonson city and by her pretty dresses. She all so told Lizzy that her daddy was going to tie Lem to a tree for the whole night and see if he will tell were Joshua is. When I was talking to Lizzy later that night she told me, that her Grandma Dolly said not to believe every thing she hears and when I told her I agreed she didn’t say any thing she ran away. When I call back at her and said “were are you going” she said “bringing Joshua water” and kept on running. Lizzy got caught and Master Lewis whipped her. Which tarred a piece of her dress off. I herd that Joshua was bleeding a lot. Owch I cant imagine what they did to him.
I cant stop worring about how Grandma Saran and Grandpa Mosesare going to pay thier taxes. I dont whant to lose the farm because the farm is one of the few things we own. My family and I wouls be homeless and thats the last thing I whant to happen. At the farm I over heard Cliton and Grandma Saran thalking about little david and hw he whent fishing withwith foster “Who was all was all ways half jucid uo”(pg.83) Elija and his friend Abby were going to look for littl david when Elija hade a briliant idea to tell Mr.Turner and see if he would offer some reward money. Mr.Turner said if they found his son he would give them $35.oo. I don’t think I have ever sen the much money in my life.Sherif Glover whent with Abby and Elija in the storm to find little David. It was so windy that the wind was all what you could hear and the waves crashing on the side of the boat. Elija wa s just about give up when he heard someone calling for help.When they saw that Foster was serisly hurted and that littleDavid hade a broken leg. they all head back to the boat were Abby was waiting for them. The storm made it hard for them to get back were evryone was waiting for them.when they got back Mr.Turner and Sherif Glover walked away with little David.Leaving Elija wondering if he would ever see the reward money. In the town paper it said that little David was rescued by Sherif Glover. It did not say anything about Abby and Elija. Elija whent to old man turnershouse asking for the money. When he saw Frank petty waiting by the boat. He asked Elija if he could borrow the boat and Elija said no. when Elija whent home with the money.Sherif Glover wa there worning him that he was going to get wipped.so Elija ran away to Chicgo.
Tommy Lewis loves basketball, and when he and his team won the city finals and broke Delaney High's long victory streak. Tommy And his team were celebrating in the locker room. "Tommy, you did it!" Jimmy Manigault grabbed Tommy's shoulders. "No," Tommy said. "We did it! We won it because we're the best team. One guy doesnt beat Delaney!" (pg.213). all the other scouts were looking at Aiken, Tommy's check but he was too old for college ball and he probably couldn’t keep up with the school work.I find Mr. Chase really suspicious. What he said seems too good to be true, and it sounds like he's trying to sweet talk Tommy. Tommy, though, seemed quite convinced. He was a little nervous, but he was also really excited about skipping his last year of high school. To go play for a collage basketball team.,Virginia Lewis(his mom) wasnt so sure. "I still dont see how you can go to college if you dont finish highschool," his mother said. "Remember this, child. You are not white and you cannot be cutting corners like white folks do." (pg.223) That nightthe phone rang. It was his white friend, Skeeter, and he was asking for a ride to the hospital. He'd been bitten by a snake. Tommy went with his Dad and drove Skeeter to Johnson City to the hospital for whites. No one had ever said officially that Mercy Hospital...was the hospital for whites, or that Dow...was the hospital for Negroes. (pg.226Tommy went to work later that night and spoke with his boss about segregationIt sure would've been a lot different.Mr. Chase called while Tommy was eating dinner with his mom, father and grandmother. He said, "I spoke to some of the trustees at the school, and they were really pleased that you were thinking about the offer to come to Johnson City State." (pg.253). Now, back to the whole march, Jennie came and told Tommy that Martin Luther King Jr couldnt come to the march! That meant that the march wouldnt get much coverage at all. "Dr. King's not coming to the march...He sends his blessings and stuff like that, but he cant come. Half the newspeople left already." (pg.257) But they werent going to call off the march, because otherwise they would look like they were too afraid. Skeeter, who was now out of the hospital and was going to the march.People were really acting up about this march. Some kids tried to scare Tommy with a pistol. People were running about in the Klan uniform. The woman behind the counter of a coffee shop became really rude with Tommy. Tommy didnt march with the rest of the coloured people. Still, with or without Tommy, they marched and sang, And before I'd be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave, and go home to my Lord and be free. But soon after, I think Tommy regretted not marching. After the march Skeeter had been beat up really bad. It was pretty serious, but Skeeter didnt take back anything he'd done at the march. "I'm glad I marched." he said. (pg.273)Tommy felt something really needed to be done. Skeeter was only trying to help! Everyone felt that nothing could be done. Tommy went to a Press Conference Meeting that was being held at the local library. Sheriff Moser and Reverend McKinnon were saying that they were going to make demonstrations near the library and on public property. " Wont that just about stop all demonstrations in Johnson City?" a white reporter asked. (pg.282 Just as the press was getting bored, Tommy ran to the front of the room, brought out a pair of old shackles, and locked one side onto Sheriff Moser, and the other onto his own wrist. Everyone was so confused, but this was Tommy's time. "This is the chain used to bring the first of my family to Johnson City over two hundred years ago!" Tommy called out. (pg. 284) His method was so effective to me, and it's meaning really cut me deep. Tommy was put in jail for performing a demonstration. Mr. Chase had called and said they had to withdraw the scholarship. Tommy had expected that, though. He didnt really care about it then, because everyone was congratulating and thanking him. Reverend McKinnon had said that his own little demonstration had been on television.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Elijah
I think Elijah is grown up because he whent out on the water to rescue a little boy who was with a drunk man. I think that takes a lot of courage and everyone should be proud of him. I know I am
jim crow laws
If I were Black I would be Fighting Mad I went to the South with my grandmother when I was 12 years old. For the first time I saw that there actually were separate drinking fountains, separate everything for blacks. I was shocked and outraged. I knew if I were black I would be fighting mad. As a child, I didn't know what to do, so when I was in a grocery store I mixed all the brown eggs up with the white eggs in the dairy department while my grandmother shopped. It was the only way I felt I could do something to rebel against the injustice I saw. Cynthia BormanEnglewood, CO http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/remembering/children.html#39
I really look up to that little girl she has a lot of passion and courage to change the world. I wish everyone did something to make the world a better place for everyone to live it could be anything (big or little) whats the diffrents between black and white its a shade and a skin coulor big deal were all the same in side. even if your white your still diffrent from othe whites. we all are diffrent.
I really look up to that little girl she has a lot of passion and courage to change the world. I wish everyone did something to make the world a better place for everyone to live it could be anything (big or little) whats the diffrents between black and white its a shade and a skin coulor big deal were all the same in side. even if your white your still diffrent from othe whites. we all are diffrent.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
the glory field summery
the glory field is about one family. a family whose history saw it first ancestor captured, bound and brought to this country from Africa. a family who can still see remants of shackels that enslaved some its members-even today. its a story of pride determaination,struggle and love.and of piece of land that holds them together throught it all.(written by.Walter Dean Myers)
Summary of The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
The Glory Field
1864
p. 11-23
The Lewis slaves were made to work on the fields even though is was Sunday. It was a year ago since they worked the fields on a Sunday.
Joshua Lewis, Moses Lewis' brother had run away because he had heard that his wife, Neela might be sold, and Lem Lewis, Mose's son, was described by Grandma Dolly as being like her grandfather Muhummad and “did things differently”(p.15), and Grandma Dolly also says, “If you born with a taste for freedom in your mouth, you got to satisfy it.” Lem had escaped and run away too.
There were patrollers out looking for Joshua and Lem. Everybody was wondering what happened to them. Master Lewis, his family, his overseer Mister Joe Haynes and his workers, and Moses Lewis, his family and the other slaves all wondered if they would be caught.
While they were working in the fields, Moses sees Lem off at a distance because he starts singing a spiritual referring to the lost lambs, “The young lambs must find the way...” and eventually the slaves see what Moses had seen, Lem being dragged behind a horse.
Saran, Lem's mother, grandma Dolly, Moses and the other slaves back in their quarters, rely on their faith and call on God to keep Lem safe.
Miss Julia, Master Lewis' daughter comes to get Lizzy with the excuse that the kitchen is dirty, in order to manipulate Lizzy into telling her what she knows about Lem and Joshua. She acts so high and mighty when she says to Lizzy that it's thanks to her that Lem is still alive, “They should hang him from a fruit tree...and they would have, too, if it hadn't been for me...I told them not to hang him because I knew you were sweet on him.”(p.23)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 24-34
Miss Julia and Lizzy drink tea and Miss Julia sweet talks Lizzy even telling her that one day she is going to buy Lizzy from her father and set her free so that they can walk hand and hand in pretty dresses in Johnson City.
Lizzy is told by Master Lewis to return to the quarters, and she listens for a minute behind the door to see if she can hear anything about Joshua and Lem. When she arrives to the quarters everyone asks her questions about what she heard. She tells them that Lem is tied to a tree out in the woods and tomorrow they are going to talk to the slave trader Mister Oakes and see if he can sell him to Foster.
Moses doesn't trust Miss Julia and he has no qualms in telling Lizzy that Miss Julia is just sweet talking her, and Grandma Dolly says, “And don't think you overheard nothing they don't want you to know. Anything you know is what they want you to know so they can use you.”(p.30)
Everybody in the slave quarters is wondering if Joshua is going to come back for Lem. Everybody knows that Joshua knows what tree Lem is tied to only they don't know if he is going to come back for him. Moses tells a story of two boys and how they couldn't take the abuse from the master anymore and they end up being hung for fighting with a white man. He tells this story to remind them that Lem and Joshua are not safe.
We find out how Lizzy came to live with Moses Lewis and his family. Lizzy's mother died because of all the hard work in the rice plantations, therefore, Lizzy came to live with Moses and his family. Lizzy lying in bed remembers a coachman from Savannah, Georgia and how fine he looked in his fine clothes and how he talked about how the white people treat the blacks in Savannah, and how he doesn't understand why the blacks aren't just happy with their situation and should accept it instead of fighting it. He says, “And be like them folks that call themselves free?...they ain't doing no kind of good...they were better off being slaves. Least they had something to eat and knew how to behave themselves.”(p.33) Moses did not agree with the coachman from Savannah, and he shows his repulsion by spitting on the ground and saying “...a poor excuse for a man...”(p.33)
Lizzy keeps pondering about Lem and turning her thoughts over and over again about him, and asks herself if Lem had a freedom dream and that's why he left. Lizzy wants to go and say bye to Lem and “say something good to him so he wouldn't feel so all alone,”(p.34)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 35-44
Lizzy was lying down in the cabin when she decides to go out to see Lem and bring him water. She is surprised by her Grandma Dolly on the porch. Lizzy listens to her Grandma's advice that Grandma Dolly's father told her. “He used to say they keep us in between the whip and the North Star. One hand holds out freedom and the other holds out a whip. Long as we sitting there turning our heads which way and that...If they can't turn your head, they can't turn you at all”(p.37). The whites offer the blacks the North Star in one hand, but have the whip in the other. The North Star representing freedom and the whip representing the south and slavery.
Lizzy goes off to see Lem and brings a clay jug of water with her to give some water to Lem. She is hesitant about going and at times stops on the way wondering if she should have brought Lem something to eat, if he is going to ask her to cut him loose, how will she find Lem, and if they find her there with him if she would be whipped? She remembers seeing Bill being whipped just because Old Master Lewis thought that Bill was being disrespectful to young Master Lewis. All that Bill had done really was to drop a bolt of fabric by mistake in the mud. A small thing made into a bigger problem for no reason really.
Lizzy finds Lem tied to a tree and his face is swollen and there was blood on his cheek. She decides to clean Lem and offer him some water. While Lem was drinking water all of a sudden Lizzy was whipped by Mister Joe Haynes! He whipped her three times! Once across her back, once on her ankles, and once across her hip even tearing her thin dress. Mister Joe Haynes accuses Lizzy of trying to free Lem. Mister Joe Haynes justifies himself with this excuse to whip Lizzy.
While Mister Joe Haynes was occupied by Lem and Lizzy, and he whipped Lizzy one more time, he did not see Joshua come through the bushes. “Joshua's body crashed into the overseer's bent frame and sent him backwards.”(p.44) Lem urges Lizzy to grab the rifle that “...still lay across the bush.”(p.44)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 45-51
Joshua gets Mister Joe Haynes pinned to the ground, and Mister Joe Haynes begs for his life. “...But don't kill me. I got a wife and family.”(p.46) Lizzy begs Joshua not to shoot Mister Joe Haynes too. Joshua says that Lizzy has to run away with them otherwise Master Lewis will whip, and probably kill her. Lizzy can't believe that she has to go and won't be able to see Grandma Dolly or the rest of the family again. Joshua decides that she can run back to the quarters to say good-bye, but that she has to hurry. “If you get back in a short while, I won't kill him...If you don't, I'm going to have to break his neck...”(47)
Lizzy runs back to the quarters and tells everyone what happened. Lizzy wished that this would had never happened. Saran takes Lizzy's face in her hands and says, “When folks take your freedom, and the only way for you to get it is to risk dying for it, then dying comes when it wants to. You go on, you'll be all right. You young. You got plenty to live for...”(50) Saran tells Lizzy that Miss Julia came to get Lizzy to take her back to the big house, but Saran told Miss Julia that Lizzy was in the field because she was sick. Saran urges Lizzy to change her dress because Miss Julia would be back and if Miss Julia saw her dress she would know that something was wrong. Every one agrees that Lizzy has to get back to Joshua and Lem to run away.
Miss Julia comes to the door and wants Lizzy to come to the big house, but Lizzy pretends that she is sick and Miss Julia says, "Well you do look a sight"(p.51).
The Glory Field
1864
p. 52-58
Miss Julia wants to bring Lizzy to the big house, but Lizzy convinces Miss Julia that she will come in the morning. Everybody at Lizzy's house are frantic because they know that Lizzy has to get going to meet Lem and Joshua. Lizzy says her goodbyes to everyone and Saran says, “If you get caught, act like you ain't right in the head”(p. ). Saran tells Lizzy not to turn back.
Lizzy meets up with Joshua and Lem away from the tree. As they head out Lizzy keeps asking," where are we going?"(p54) Of course Joshua doesn't really know where they are going and so is his frustration Joshua just says , “Just going.”((p.54) Lizzy wonders if Lem and Joshua killed Mister Joe Haynes and that's why they were not talking much. Joshua wants to take them to an abandoned smoke house, but when they get close they realize that they are not going to make it to the house so Lem and Lizzy hide up in some trees. Lizzy was feeling exhilarated at the thought of herself being free, and she contemplates these thoughts as she watches some white men out with children playing in the fields.
Joshua leaves them and Lizzy and Lem sleep in the trees. Lizzy realizes that something profound has happened to her...”It was what had happened to her. She was free. It was a scary free, and it was a hungry free and a tired free, but it was free.”(p.58)
The Glory Field
1864
p.59-70
Lizzy woke up and all of a sudden remembered where she was and she felt scared. She couldn't see Lem, and she heard sounds in the distance that sounded like booms. She climbs down the tree and Lem calls out to her. They decide that the sounds must be coming from the fighting of the civil war, and that they have to keep moving because Mister Joe Haynes and the dogs are probably after them.
They hear the dogs drawing closer and closer! They see some lights and head to the lights running, and walking when they get too tired. They are afraid because the riders on horses point in their direction, and Lizzy and Lem are not sure if they are pointing at them, but then they realize that they are pointing at the fires. The riders call off the dogs and the dogs circle one more time and they ride away. Lem and Lizzy are relieved and head towards the fires when someone comes up behind them and they can't believe their eyes! The soldier is black! “You're black!” she said. Glad you noticed it,” the soldier grinned. I had just about forgot it.”(p65)
They find out about the Yankee army and how there are many black soldiers and how the army is going to start a black regiment. And they find that Joshua is at the camp too!! The soldiers feed Lem and Lizzy and put them to work.
Lizzy has an important decision to make: follow some people who are trying to escape North, or follow the regiment and help out...Lizzy “...ran as fast as she could, her feet slapping against the hard road. When she got around the bend, the men were still in sight, tall and proud. She followed them, never looking back.”(p.70)
The Glory Field
April 1900
Curry Island, South Carolina
p.
Elijah, Lizzy and Richard's son is out contemplating life while ploughing the fields with Sukey, the old mule. Elijah is plowing the Lewis' own fields! The Lewis' received eight acres of land from the Yankee soldiers when they assigned plots of land to the former slaves.
The white people and the black people had to adjust to life after slavery. The whites had a hard time realizing that the blacks were freemen and the blacks had to learn what it meant to be free. The whites wanted things to be like it was before the civil war and they tried to return it to the old ways through terror and maltreatment of the blacks. The Klan would ride at night and terrorize the blacks just because they thought that a black had been disrespectful to the whites, or not working hard enough if they were on farms that were sharecropping farms. It was a hard time for all.
Grandma Saran and Grandpa Moses were trying to hold on to their plot, but they were behind on their taxes, and tried to borrow some money from the bank, but the bank manager said, “...the King Street Bank was for white folks.”(p.75) Elijah was worried about his grandma and grandpa.
Elijah's father, Richard Lewis and his mother, Lizzy lived in Savannah, Georgia because Richard had a job in a pulp mill, but were on a visit to South Carolina. Elijah has a friend Abby, and Abby wants to go start a fishing business with Elijah instead of farming. Abby also wants to get a guitar to play ragtime music which the elders don't agree with. Abby and Elijah traded some firewood for an old boat that Grandpa Moses helped to fix up. They would go out fishing every time they had a chance, and even on Sunday sometimes and catch some fish and sell it when Grandma Saran was at her sister's house in Johnson City because Saran did not approve of them working on the Sabbath day.
The Glory Field
April 1900
p. 78-89
The Lewis family gathers at the African burial ground on their plot of land at the Live Oaks Plantation. Moses says, “Lord, bless this precious earth.” After blessing the cemetery they gather for a family picnic.
The whole family gathers at the picnic together. Goldie and Elijah like each other and they tease each other at the picnic. “I might have to marry you quicker than I planned,” said Elijah.(p80) We find out that Lem died in the war and the Lewis family was not allowed to bury him in the grave yard, so they buried him in the Glory Field instead. A storm was coming their way and it looked to be a big one.
Sister Clinton, who does laundry for the white folks, and who is a busy body, came by and was talking to Grandma Saran about a little boy who Grandma Saran takes care of and whose name is David. Sister Clinton said that she saw little David with Foster and they were supposed to go fishing. Grandma Saran plays a bit dumb with Sister Clinton, but when Sister Clinton leaves, Grandma Saran tells Elijah she knew who Sister Clinton was talking about and says that Foster is “...always half juiced up.”(p.83). Foster is always hanging around little David Turner's father because Turner has a lot of money and Foster can “...borrow some drink money once in a while (p84).
The Lewis family is enjoying the picnic when old man Turner shows up looking for little David. Old man Turner and Grandma Saran make small talk and old man Turner asks if Grandma Saran hasn't seen Foster. Old man Turner doesn't ask about David, and Grandma Saran didn't want to ask about him even though she suspected that it was David that old man Foster was looking for. Finally Grandma Saran “...called out to him. 'Mr. Hamlin!...Where's David?' The balding white man turned slowly, lifted his hands upward, and exhaled deeply. 'Aunt Saran, I don't know where they are' (p.89).
The Glory Field
1900
p.90-107
Old man Turner leaves the Lewis place on his covered surrey, and Grandpa Moses says, “Serves him right.”(p.90) The family talks to Lizzy about being in the north and how the white folks treated the blacks up north. “Most of them were really nice” (p.91). Grandma Saran asks, “What are we going to do about little David?” (p.92) Grandpa Moses puts in his two cents worth and says that Foster is out on that little island near the key. And Grandpa Moses says he goes out there because he is a lazy man and he can follow the tide out and follow the tide in.
Elijah asks Grandma Saran if she wants him to go out to the island to find little David. And Grandma Saran says, “It don't hurt to make believe you were awake when you went to church this morning” (p.93). Elijah's parents were going to head back to Savannah, and by the time Elijah would be back they would be gone.
It took about one hour for Elijah and Abby to get into town. They were going to see if they could help find little David. The storm was brewing and there was “...brief smatterings of rain” (94). Elijah has an idea and he asks Abby if he wants to go along with the idea. Abby says he has an idea too, but Elijah says that if it has anything to do with ragtime music, then Abby should forget about it.
Elijah tells Abby his idea of telling Mr. Turner that he will find little David if he lends the money for the taxes to Grandpa Moses and Grandma Saran. Abby thinks Elijah is “...too hot-blooded. You say something like that to Mr. Turner and he's liable to get mad and start some trouble”(p.96) But Elijah wants to help because he “...saw something in Grandma Saran's eyes...I looked at Grandpa Moses” (p.97). Elijah is not sure if he can stand up to old man Turner, but he is going to try.
They arrives at the beach and a group of men were there. Sheriff Glover and the men were talking to old man Turner, and when Hamlin Turner saw them he invited Elijah and Abby over. Old man Turner and all the men discuss the risks of going out in the storm to look for little David and Foster., and he eventually offers 25 dollars to the man who can rescue little David. One by one the men drop out and when only Sheriff Glover, Mr. Turner and two white men, Abby and Elijah were left, Elijah finally offers himself and Abby to rescue little David, but for thirty-five dollars!!
Sheriff Glover tries to intimidate Elijah and Abby with his gun, but Elijah does not back down. Frank Petty insults Elijah with the N word and Elijah starts to walk away, but stops when he sees “the concern in the white man's eyes” (p.102) Mr. Turner finally offers twenty dollars, but eventually offers him the thirty-five dollars.
Even though Sheriff Glover doesn't know where Foster and little David are, he goes out on the boat with Elijah and Abby too. He wants a part of the rescue money! Elijah and Abby go to get the Pele Queen and bring it around and Sheriff Glover met the boat. The three are off in the Pele Queen to find little David.
The Glory Field
1900
p. 108-113
Elijah, Abby and Sheriff Glover go out into the storm on the boat, and Sheriff Glover takes hold of the tiller while Elijah and Abby row because it was no use to use the little sail in a storm like that. The two boys struggle as they try to make their way to Key Island. The water is extremely rough and they need to navigate around one edge of Gray Rock. Sheriff Glover realizes that what they are doing is very dangerous and he threatens the boys with a gun to turn around. “Sheriff Glover unsnapped the leather flap on his holster, pulled the long-barrel revolver from its nesting place, and pointed it at Abby. “I said turn back, boy!” (p.111) The boys stare Sheriff Glover down and Sheriff Glover puts his gun away. They reach Key Island and Abby stays with the boat and Sheriff Glover and Elijah start searching the Island for little David and Foster.
The Glory Field
1900
p. 114-125
When Elijah and Sheriff Glover start searching the island, Elijah goes one way and Sheriff Glover goes the other way. The wind is blowing so hard that it is hard for Elijah to hear anything other than the wind. Elijah calls out to David many times and he almost gives up hope of finding him when he hears a faint cry for help, “Help!” The cry was weak, but it was clear. Elijah looked to his left and saw the boy's thin arm swinging over his head”(p.116).
Elijah calls Sheriff Glover over and they realize that Foster is holding onto David's leg for dear life. Foster was hurt and Sheriff Glover had to point a gun to Foster's head for him to let him go of little David. Elijah gets ready to take little David to the boat, and Sheriff Glover threatens Elijah with death if he leaves with him. Sheriff Glover sets Foster's broken leg and finally carries him back to the boat.
The storm was howling and they had a rough time rowing back to the mainland. They finally make it and the Lewis family is waiting along with Old man Turner. Old man Turner and Sheriff Glover walk away with David and leaves Elijah wondering if he is going to see any of the money. : “...Elijah saw Sheriff Glover walking with Hamlin Turner. He was carrying David"(p,122).
In the local paper, The Gazette, the credit for the rescue was given to Sheriff Glover and there was no mention of it to Elijah and Abby. “We don't never get no credit.” Grandpa Moses was carving on a piece of driftwood”(p.123).pg. 211 to 222
It was the day of the All-City Tournament. Tommy Lewis plays basketball for Curry Secondary and he is the MVP of his team. In the locker room, the team celebrated its win. There were hugs all around, and Tommy's hand was shaken a hundred times. He felt as good as he had ever felt. (pg.213) The Curry Cougars won its first Tournament!Mr. Chase, a scout from State College, invited Tommy and his girlfriend Mandy over for refreshments and Mr. Chase talked to Tommy about a scholarship. Mr. Chase told him that "States looking for some good people" (pg.219) Tommy liked the idea of going to State, but he was also uneasy about going to an all white college. "It would be a challenge in which he wouldnt be at all sure who was on his team" (pg. 222)
1864
p. 11-23
The Lewis slaves were made to work on the fields even though is was Sunday. It was a year ago since they worked the fields on a Sunday.
Joshua Lewis, Moses Lewis' brother had run away because he had heard that his wife, Neela might be sold, and Lem Lewis, Mose's son, was described by Grandma Dolly as being like her grandfather Muhummad and “did things differently”(p.15), and Grandma Dolly also says, “If you born with a taste for freedom in your mouth, you got to satisfy it.” Lem had escaped and run away too.
There were patrollers out looking for Joshua and Lem. Everybody was wondering what happened to them. Master Lewis, his family, his overseer Mister Joe Haynes and his workers, and Moses Lewis, his family and the other slaves all wondered if they would be caught.
While they were working in the fields, Moses sees Lem off at a distance because he starts singing a spiritual referring to the lost lambs, “The young lambs must find the way...” and eventually the slaves see what Moses had seen, Lem being dragged behind a horse.
Saran, Lem's mother, grandma Dolly, Moses and the other slaves back in their quarters, rely on their faith and call on God to keep Lem safe.
Miss Julia, Master Lewis' daughter comes to get Lizzy with the excuse that the kitchen is dirty, in order to manipulate Lizzy into telling her what she knows about Lem and Joshua. She acts so high and mighty when she says to Lizzy that it's thanks to her that Lem is still alive, “They should hang him from a fruit tree...and they would have, too, if it hadn't been for me...I told them not to hang him because I knew you were sweet on him.”(p.23)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 24-34
Miss Julia and Lizzy drink tea and Miss Julia sweet talks Lizzy even telling her that one day she is going to buy Lizzy from her father and set her free so that they can walk hand and hand in pretty dresses in Johnson City.
Lizzy is told by Master Lewis to return to the quarters, and she listens for a minute behind the door to see if she can hear anything about Joshua and Lem. When she arrives to the quarters everyone asks her questions about what she heard. She tells them that Lem is tied to a tree out in the woods and tomorrow they are going to talk to the slave trader Mister Oakes and see if he can sell him to Foster.
Moses doesn't trust Miss Julia and he has no qualms in telling Lizzy that Miss Julia is just sweet talking her, and Grandma Dolly says, “And don't think you overheard nothing they don't want you to know. Anything you know is what they want you to know so they can use you.”(p.30)
Everybody in the slave quarters is wondering if Joshua is going to come back for Lem. Everybody knows that Joshua knows what tree Lem is tied to only they don't know if he is going to come back for him. Moses tells a story of two boys and how they couldn't take the abuse from the master anymore and they end up being hung for fighting with a white man. He tells this story to remind them that Lem and Joshua are not safe.
We find out how Lizzy came to live with Moses Lewis and his family. Lizzy's mother died because of all the hard work in the rice plantations, therefore, Lizzy came to live with Moses and his family. Lizzy lying in bed remembers a coachman from Savannah, Georgia and how fine he looked in his fine clothes and how he talked about how the white people treat the blacks in Savannah, and how he doesn't understand why the blacks aren't just happy with their situation and should accept it instead of fighting it. He says, “And be like them folks that call themselves free?...they ain't doing no kind of good...they were better off being slaves. Least they had something to eat and knew how to behave themselves.”(p.33) Moses did not agree with the coachman from Savannah, and he shows his repulsion by spitting on the ground and saying “...a poor excuse for a man...”(p.33)
Lizzy keeps pondering about Lem and turning her thoughts over and over again about him, and asks herself if Lem had a freedom dream and that's why he left. Lizzy wants to go and say bye to Lem and “say something good to him so he wouldn't feel so all alone,”(p.34)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 35-44
Lizzy was lying down in the cabin when she decides to go out to see Lem and bring him water. She is surprised by her Grandma Dolly on the porch. Lizzy listens to her Grandma's advice that Grandma Dolly's father told her. “He used to say they keep us in between the whip and the North Star. One hand holds out freedom and the other holds out a whip. Long as we sitting there turning our heads which way and that...If they can't turn your head, they can't turn you at all”(p.37). The whites offer the blacks the North Star in one hand, but have the whip in the other. The North Star representing freedom and the whip representing the south and slavery.
Lizzy goes off to see Lem and brings a clay jug of water with her to give some water to Lem. She is hesitant about going and at times stops on the way wondering if she should have brought Lem something to eat, if he is going to ask her to cut him loose, how will she find Lem, and if they find her there with him if she would be whipped? She remembers seeing Bill being whipped just because Old Master Lewis thought that Bill was being disrespectful to young Master Lewis. All that Bill had done really was to drop a bolt of fabric by mistake in the mud. A small thing made into a bigger problem for no reason really.
Lizzy finds Lem tied to a tree and his face is swollen and there was blood on his cheek. She decides to clean Lem and offer him some water. While Lem was drinking water all of a sudden Lizzy was whipped by Mister Joe Haynes! He whipped her three times! Once across her back, once on her ankles, and once across her hip even tearing her thin dress. Mister Joe Haynes accuses Lizzy of trying to free Lem. Mister Joe Haynes justifies himself with this excuse to whip Lizzy.
While Mister Joe Haynes was occupied by Lem and Lizzy, and he whipped Lizzy one more time, he did not see Joshua come through the bushes. “Joshua's body crashed into the overseer's bent frame and sent him backwards.”(p.44) Lem urges Lizzy to grab the rifle that “...still lay across the bush.”(p.44)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 45-51
Joshua gets Mister Joe Haynes pinned to the ground, and Mister Joe Haynes begs for his life. “...But don't kill me. I got a wife and family.”(p.46) Lizzy begs Joshua not to shoot Mister Joe Haynes too. Joshua says that Lizzy has to run away with them otherwise Master Lewis will whip, and probably kill her. Lizzy can't believe that she has to go and won't be able to see Grandma Dolly or the rest of the family again. Joshua decides that she can run back to the quarters to say good-bye, but that she has to hurry. “If you get back in a short while, I won't kill him...If you don't, I'm going to have to break his neck...”(47)
Lizzy runs back to the quarters and tells everyone what happened. Lizzy wished that this would had never happened. Saran takes Lizzy's face in her hands and says, “When folks take your freedom, and the only way for you to get it is to risk dying for it, then dying comes when it wants to. You go on, you'll be all right. You young. You got plenty to live for...”(50) Saran tells Lizzy that Miss Julia came to get Lizzy to take her back to the big house, but Saran told Miss Julia that Lizzy was in the field because she was sick. Saran urges Lizzy to change her dress because Miss Julia would be back and if Miss Julia saw her dress she would know that something was wrong. Every one agrees that Lizzy has to get back to Joshua and Lem to run away.
Miss Julia comes to the door and wants Lizzy to come to the big house, but Lizzy pretends that she is sick and Miss Julia says, "Well you do look a sight"(p.51).
The Glory Field
1864
p. 52-58
Miss Julia wants to bring Lizzy to the big house, but Lizzy convinces Miss Julia that she will come in the morning. Everybody at Lizzy's house are frantic because they know that Lizzy has to get going to meet Lem and Joshua. Lizzy says her goodbyes to everyone and Saran says, “If you get caught, act like you ain't right in the head”(p. ). Saran tells Lizzy not to turn back.
Lizzy meets up with Joshua and Lem away from the tree. As they head out Lizzy keeps asking," where are we going?"(p54) Of course Joshua doesn't really know where they are going and so is his frustration Joshua just says , “Just going.”((p.54) Lizzy wonders if Lem and Joshua killed Mister Joe Haynes and that's why they were not talking much. Joshua wants to take them to an abandoned smoke house, but when they get close they realize that they are not going to make it to the house so Lem and Lizzy hide up in some trees. Lizzy was feeling exhilarated at the thought of herself being free, and she contemplates these thoughts as she watches some white men out with children playing in the fields.
Joshua leaves them and Lizzy and Lem sleep in the trees. Lizzy realizes that something profound has happened to her...”It was what had happened to her. She was free. It was a scary free, and it was a hungry free and a tired free, but it was free.”(p.58)
The Glory Field
1864
p.59-70
Lizzy woke up and all of a sudden remembered where she was and she felt scared. She couldn't see Lem, and she heard sounds in the distance that sounded like booms. She climbs down the tree and Lem calls out to her. They decide that the sounds must be coming from the fighting of the civil war, and that they have to keep moving because Mister Joe Haynes and the dogs are probably after them.
They hear the dogs drawing closer and closer! They see some lights and head to the lights running, and walking when they get too tired. They are afraid because the riders on horses point in their direction, and Lizzy and Lem are not sure if they are pointing at them, but then they realize that they are pointing at the fires. The riders call off the dogs and the dogs circle one more time and they ride away. Lem and Lizzy are relieved and head towards the fires when someone comes up behind them and they can't believe their eyes! The soldier is black! “You're black!” she said. Glad you noticed it,” the soldier grinned. I had just about forgot it.”(p65)
They find out about the Yankee army and how there are many black soldiers and how the army is going to start a black regiment. And they find that Joshua is at the camp too!! The soldiers feed Lem and Lizzy and put them to work.
Lizzy has an important decision to make: follow some people who are trying to escape North, or follow the regiment and help out...Lizzy “...ran as fast as she could, her feet slapping against the hard road. When she got around the bend, the men were still in sight, tall and proud. She followed them, never looking back.”(p.70)
The Glory Field
April 1900
Curry Island, South Carolina
p.
Elijah, Lizzy and Richard's son is out contemplating life while ploughing the fields with Sukey, the old mule. Elijah is plowing the Lewis' own fields! The Lewis' received eight acres of land from the Yankee soldiers when they assigned plots of land to the former slaves.
The white people and the black people had to adjust to life after slavery. The whites had a hard time realizing that the blacks were freemen and the blacks had to learn what it meant to be free. The whites wanted things to be like it was before the civil war and they tried to return it to the old ways through terror and maltreatment of the blacks. The Klan would ride at night and terrorize the blacks just because they thought that a black had been disrespectful to the whites, or not working hard enough if they were on farms that were sharecropping farms. It was a hard time for all.
Grandma Saran and Grandpa Moses were trying to hold on to their plot, but they were behind on their taxes, and tried to borrow some money from the bank, but the bank manager said, “...the King Street Bank was for white folks.”(p.75) Elijah was worried about his grandma and grandpa.
Elijah's father, Richard Lewis and his mother, Lizzy lived in Savannah, Georgia because Richard had a job in a pulp mill, but were on a visit to South Carolina. Elijah has a friend Abby, and Abby wants to go start a fishing business with Elijah instead of farming. Abby also wants to get a guitar to play ragtime music which the elders don't agree with. Abby and Elijah traded some firewood for an old boat that Grandpa Moses helped to fix up. They would go out fishing every time they had a chance, and even on Sunday sometimes and catch some fish and sell it when Grandma Saran was at her sister's house in Johnson City because Saran did not approve of them working on the Sabbath day.
The Glory Field
April 1900
p. 78-89
The Lewis family gathers at the African burial ground on their plot of land at the Live Oaks Plantation. Moses says, “Lord, bless this precious earth.” After blessing the cemetery they gather for a family picnic.
The whole family gathers at the picnic together. Goldie and Elijah like each other and they tease each other at the picnic. “I might have to marry you quicker than I planned,” said Elijah.(p80) We find out that Lem died in the war and the Lewis family was not allowed to bury him in the grave yard, so they buried him in the Glory Field instead. A storm was coming their way and it looked to be a big one.
Sister Clinton, who does laundry for the white folks, and who is a busy body, came by and was talking to Grandma Saran about a little boy who Grandma Saran takes care of and whose name is David. Sister Clinton said that she saw little David with Foster and they were supposed to go fishing. Grandma Saran plays a bit dumb with Sister Clinton, but when Sister Clinton leaves, Grandma Saran tells Elijah she knew who Sister Clinton was talking about and says that Foster is “...always half juiced up.”(p.83). Foster is always hanging around little David Turner's father because Turner has a lot of money and Foster can “...borrow some drink money once in a while (p84).
The Lewis family is enjoying the picnic when old man Turner shows up looking for little David. Old man Turner and Grandma Saran make small talk and old man Turner asks if Grandma Saran hasn't seen Foster. Old man Turner doesn't ask about David, and Grandma Saran didn't want to ask about him even though she suspected that it was David that old man Foster was looking for. Finally Grandma Saran “...called out to him. 'Mr. Hamlin!...Where's David?' The balding white man turned slowly, lifted his hands upward, and exhaled deeply. 'Aunt Saran, I don't know where they are' (p.89).
The Glory Field
1900
p.90-107
Old man Turner leaves the Lewis place on his covered surrey, and Grandpa Moses says, “Serves him right.”(p.90) The family talks to Lizzy about being in the north and how the white folks treated the blacks up north. “Most of them were really nice” (p.91). Grandma Saran asks, “What are we going to do about little David?” (p.92) Grandpa Moses puts in his two cents worth and says that Foster is out on that little island near the key. And Grandpa Moses says he goes out there because he is a lazy man and he can follow the tide out and follow the tide in.
Elijah asks Grandma Saran if she wants him to go out to the island to find little David. And Grandma Saran says, “It don't hurt to make believe you were awake when you went to church this morning” (p.93). Elijah's parents were going to head back to Savannah, and by the time Elijah would be back they would be gone.
It took about one hour for Elijah and Abby to get into town. They were going to see if they could help find little David. The storm was brewing and there was “...brief smatterings of rain” (94). Elijah has an idea and he asks Abby if he wants to go along with the idea. Abby says he has an idea too, but Elijah says that if it has anything to do with ragtime music, then Abby should forget about it.
Elijah tells Abby his idea of telling Mr. Turner that he will find little David if he lends the money for the taxes to Grandpa Moses and Grandma Saran. Abby thinks Elijah is “...too hot-blooded. You say something like that to Mr. Turner and he's liable to get mad and start some trouble”(p.96) But Elijah wants to help because he “...saw something in Grandma Saran's eyes...I looked at Grandpa Moses” (p.97). Elijah is not sure if he can stand up to old man Turner, but he is going to try.
They arrives at the beach and a group of men were there. Sheriff Glover and the men were talking to old man Turner, and when Hamlin Turner saw them he invited Elijah and Abby over. Old man Turner and all the men discuss the risks of going out in the storm to look for little David and Foster., and he eventually offers 25 dollars to the man who can rescue little David. One by one the men drop out and when only Sheriff Glover, Mr. Turner and two white men, Abby and Elijah were left, Elijah finally offers himself and Abby to rescue little David, but for thirty-five dollars!!
Sheriff Glover tries to intimidate Elijah and Abby with his gun, but Elijah does not back down. Frank Petty insults Elijah with the N word and Elijah starts to walk away, but stops when he sees “the concern in the white man's eyes” (p.102) Mr. Turner finally offers twenty dollars, but eventually offers him the thirty-five dollars.
Even though Sheriff Glover doesn't know where Foster and little David are, he goes out on the boat with Elijah and Abby too. He wants a part of the rescue money! Elijah and Abby go to get the Pele Queen and bring it around and Sheriff Glover met the boat. The three are off in the Pele Queen to find little David.
The Glory Field
1900
p. 108-113
Elijah, Abby and Sheriff Glover go out into the storm on the boat, and Sheriff Glover takes hold of the tiller while Elijah and Abby row because it was no use to use the little sail in a storm like that. The two boys struggle as they try to make their way to Key Island. The water is extremely rough and they need to navigate around one edge of Gray Rock. Sheriff Glover realizes that what they are doing is very dangerous and he threatens the boys with a gun to turn around. “Sheriff Glover unsnapped the leather flap on his holster, pulled the long-barrel revolver from its nesting place, and pointed it at Abby. “I said turn back, boy!” (p.111) The boys stare Sheriff Glover down and Sheriff Glover puts his gun away. They reach Key Island and Abby stays with the boat and Sheriff Glover and Elijah start searching the Island for little David and Foster.
The Glory Field
1900
p. 114-125
When Elijah and Sheriff Glover start searching the island, Elijah goes one way and Sheriff Glover goes the other way. The wind is blowing so hard that it is hard for Elijah to hear anything other than the wind. Elijah calls out to David many times and he almost gives up hope of finding him when he hears a faint cry for help, “Help!” The cry was weak, but it was clear. Elijah looked to his left and saw the boy's thin arm swinging over his head”(p.116).
Elijah calls Sheriff Glover over and they realize that Foster is holding onto David's leg for dear life. Foster was hurt and Sheriff Glover had to point a gun to Foster's head for him to let him go of little David. Elijah gets ready to take little David to the boat, and Sheriff Glover threatens Elijah with death if he leaves with him. Sheriff Glover sets Foster's broken leg and finally carries him back to the boat.
The storm was howling and they had a rough time rowing back to the mainland. They finally make it and the Lewis family is waiting along with Old man Turner. Old man Turner and Sheriff Glover walk away with David and leaves Elijah wondering if he is going to see any of the money. : “...Elijah saw Sheriff Glover walking with Hamlin Turner. He was carrying David"(p,122).
In the local paper, The Gazette, the credit for the rescue was given to Sheriff Glover and there was no mention of it to Elijah and Abby. “We don't never get no credit.” Grandpa Moses was carving on a piece of driftwood”(p.123).pg. 211 to 222
It was the day of the All-City Tournament. Tommy Lewis plays basketball for Curry Secondary and he is the MVP of his team. In the locker room, the team celebrated its win. There were hugs all around, and Tommy's hand was shaken a hundred times. He felt as good as he had ever felt. (pg.213) The Curry Cougars won its first Tournament!Mr. Chase, a scout from State College, invited Tommy and his girlfriend Mandy over for refreshments and Mr. Chase talked to Tommy about a scholarship. Mr. Chase told him that "States looking for some good people" (pg.219) Tommy liked the idea of going to State, but he was also uneasy about going to an all white college. "It would be a challenge in which he wouldnt be at all sure who was on his team" (pg. 222)
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