Across Five Aprils Summary
The book begins as Ellen Creighton and her nine-year-old son, Jethro, plant potatoes for the summer crop. Ellen has had twelve children, four of whom have died. She is a tired woman who favors Jethro most of all. Three of Jethro's siblings died from children's paralysis the year Jethro was born, but Jethro managed to escape the disease. Ellen knows he is special, "as if, somehow, Destiny had marked him." They break to say goodbye to Shadrach Yale, Jethro's teacher who, upon not having enough money to continue his studies, began teaching at the school where Matt Creighton, Jethro's father, worked. Ellen had nursed Shadrach back to health after he contracted typhoid fever, and Shadrach is now part of the family-especially to Jethro's sister Jenny, who has been in love with Shadrach for some time. Shadrach is planning to leave to go to a neighboring town to receive news about the dispute between the North and the South. Ellen worries that he will bring back news of war. As they are working in the field, Jethro tries to distract his mother by telling her about Copernicus, but he knows that nothing can make her forget about the troubles. Talk of Abraham Lincoln's election, issues of tariffs, free states, slave
Jethro is hurt and angry, but during a visit Nancy tells him not to be upset and explains that sometimes when someone writes words meant for only one other person, they should not be shared. Jethro runs up to the house to reunite with his sister. Shadrach and Jethro begin talking about the war, and Jethro suggests that it is almost over. The North has just won its first battle in Fort Henry, and the people learn of and begin to worship Ulysses S. Jethro and Jenny talk later, and Jenny bemoans the fact that Matt will not let her marry Shadrach before he leaves. Later that night, Jenny confronts Jethro about being angry with her and offers to let him read the rest of the letter. In the morning he takes the food Jenny gave him, some tea, and a quilt to Eb. Ed says that more than 12,000 Union soldiers were killed and says he hopes they hear from Tom or Eb soon. " The men of the county help the Creightons build a new barn, and Mr. He says that he hates slavery but also hates "laws passed by Congress that favor one part of a country and hurts the other. Shadrach reports that there has been firing at Fort Sumter and that after thirty hours, the Union general surrendered. Matt says that despite Congress not being in session, it is indeed war. One of the men gets angry and accuses Jethro of covering for Bill, saying that the Creightons should pay for Bill's betrayal. "Chapter 9 Deserters start arriving, and many of them are still armed.
Common topics in this essay:
Tom Eb,
Ross Milton,
Yale Jethro,
South Carolina,
Abraham Lincoln's,
Burdow Travis's,
Matt Creighton,
Shadrach Bill,
Eb Eb,
Nancy John's,
tom eb,
tells jethro,
ross milton,
matt creighton,
sherman's army,
letter shadrach,
travis burdow,
jethro leaves,
home jethro,
southern illinois,
burdow tells jethro,
neighbor ed turner,
help jethro fields,
jethro feels sorry,
milton warns jethro,
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Acceptance Essays
