Excerpt from Mr. Revere and I Literature Essay Example

The first passage “Excerpt from Mr. Revere and I” is written as 1st person by Paul Revere’s horse and is a fictionalized account of the Boston Tea Party. The horse is concerned for itself and its master Paul Revere because their daily lives are constantly being interrupted amidst threats from the British. The horse recalls feeling bad for Revere and finding the increasing amounts of labor slightly “miserable”. This is partly because it is an enslaved horse that doesn’t understand the significance of the revolutionary war. On the other hand, the 2nd passage, “Excerpt from The Many Rides of Paul Revere: The Boston Tea Party” is written by a 3rd person author, who, unlike the horse, is impressed by the rebel’s determination and unwillingness to tolerate British tyranny. Both perspectives have an influence on the reader’s understanding oof the Boston tea party. Because the first text is from the perspective of a horse who works for Paul revere, the readers are given a sense that the Boston Tea Party was meaningless and just involved even more physically painful labor (for the animal). However, since the 2nd text is written by a human who understands what Paul Revere and the sons of liberty were fighting for, the readers understand that the British were violating them and their land, and that it was necessary to demonstrate that they weren’t going to surrender easily. We also get to appreciate the colonists loyalty and patriotism toward one another. Overall, the main difference between the reads understanding of these texts is that “…” is written by a captive animal whose life is given up for something it doesn’t even understand, while “…”’s author is appreciative of the perseverant colonists who refused to give in to the British having authority over their land.

The point of view presented in “Excerpt from Mr. REVERE and I” is by a 1st person captive horse owned by Paul Revere who is irritated and sympathetic towards his master due to the constant calls to duty amidst threats from the British. Throughout the passage, the horse just appears to be sympathetic towards Revere for having to work more often, and complaining about its labor, rather than acting proud of Paul Revere’s loyalty towards the colonies. For example, in paragraph 22, the horse complains about a “miserable cold wet ride to Marblehead and Salem” and that it was “the longest we had yet taken.” However, unlike a human, the horse doesn’t understand that these longer trips are necessary towards preventing the British from unloading tea onto their harbors and forcing taxes on them. Furthermore, the horse knows that that it just has to learn to serve its master, whether or not it cares or understands what it is doing. For this reason, it has been shown that for the horse, the Revolutionary War just means adjusting to an uncomfortable new daily routine. For instance, “ I had barely finished my oats when he reappeared, mounted (with considerable groaning), and we set out on the long trip home.” And instead of expressing any concern for the British threats at Boston Harbor, it is just irritated and even feels bad for Paul Revere because he and the horse are much busier than they used to be. “There was no peace in the Revere home…” All day, Paul Revere was called to duty and “almost never was allowed to finish a meal without interruption.” Therefore, the horse has no care for the Revolutionary war, but feels sympathetic towards his master Paul Revere, irritated at the increasing calls to action and the interruption of normal life. 

On the other hand, the point of view of “Excerpt from The Many Rides of

Paul Revere: The Boston Tea Party” is by a 3rd person author who, unlike the horse, sees the Revolutionary war in a broader scope, not just from a personal perspective. This author wants readers to feel appreciative about the colonists perseverance and patriotism towards one another. A way he does this by expressing admiration for Paul Revere and acting rather impressed by his hard work and loyalty towards the Sons of Liberty. For example, he makes remarks on how Paul Revere “must have been an excellent rider” since he contributed so much to his fellow colonists. Furthermore, throughout the passage, the author never mentions anything about Revere’s personal life, suggesting he only cares about the colonists’ hard work against the British as a whole, not the more personal aspects of the War. In addition, the author is impressed and proud of the colonist’s patriotism, loyalty, and determination towards one another. Even though the author mostly lists out the events of the Boston Tea Party in consequential order, he also expresses gratitude towards Paul Revere for consistently traveling long distances and carrying out duties to the colonists even though the conditions were “in dry weather, muddy when wet, and always rough.” 

Finally, both authors’ points of view impact the reader’s understanding of the events that occurred in the Boston Tea Party. By reading the first text, “excerpt from Mr. Revere and I”, the readers have insight on the Boston Tea Party uprooting normal life and requiring the Sons of Liberty to work more and start treating the situation as a war. For example, “Mr. Revere was on the guard over the tea ships every night.”, and he almost never could “finish a meal without interruption”, suggesting that something detrimental would happen to the colonists if they allowed the British unload the tea onto their land. Although some fundamental aspects of the Boston Tea Party are provided, a majority oof the passage is centered on the uncomfortable new reality for Paul Revere and his horse. On the other hand, the second passage, “Excerpt from The Many Rides of Paul Revere: The Boston Tea Party”, gives readers a broader perspective on what happened in the Boston Tea Party, which better helped us understand that the colonists weren’t that concerned about their personal needs but were determined to protect their colony from serious threats. For example, “Twenty-five members of the Sons”, including Paul revere, “armed with muskets and bayonets, stood guard” to ensure that ships wouldn’t unload tea onto the docks. To further demonstrate the seriousness of this, “the Sons assigned five horsemen, including Paul, to carry their urgent message” about the British unloading the tea. This point of view also helps us better understand the colonist’s patriotism and bravery because it is not from a personal perspective. When the author provides phrases including “Paul must have been an excellent rider for this would be only the first of many rides

he would make on behalf of the Revolution.”, and when Paul Revere travels a “rough” long journey just to inform more colonists, I better understand that the effort Paul Revere and the sons’ efforts were focused on the colonists, and that their personal lives weren’t their top priority based on their actions. This also shows that the colonists fought for each other and took urgent situations extremely diligently. 

To conclude, the first passage “Excerpt from Mr. Revere and I” is written as 1st person by Paul Revere’s horse and is a fictionalized account of the Boston Tea Party. The horse is concerned for itself and its master Paul Revere because their daily lives are constantly being interrupted amidst threats from the British. The horse recalls feeling bad for Revere and finding the increasing amounts of labor slightly “miserable”. However, the second passage “Excerpt from The Many Rides of Paul Revere: The Boston Tea Party” is written in the 3rd person by an author who appreciates the colonists’ relentless patriotic efforts to stop the British from taxing them. His word choices also allow the readers to admire Revere and the colonists hard work and perseverance and demonstrate that their personal lives didn’t matter because they were fighting for each other’s freedom.