Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes Book Analysis

When people undergo change sometimes it is for the better. The novel Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes is a great example of this idea. This story is set in Boston during the late 1700s. Johnny Tremain, the protagonist, is a silversmith's apprentice. One day Johnny burns his hand and his life changes. He has to find new work. That is when he meets Rab. Rab points out Johnny’s actions and he starts becoming more mature and humble. Throughout that story Johnny changes from a prideful and arrogant boy to a humble and mature man. 

In the beginning of the novel Johnny is prideful and arrogant. He acts like he is incharge by telling Dove and Dusty what to do. He always acts like he is incharge even though Mr. Lapham is incharge. For example “He could have easily made friends with stupid Dove for Dove was lonely and admired Johnny as well las envied him. Johnny preferred to bully him”(Forbes 5). This illustrates that Johnny prefers to bully him even when he could have been Dove’s friend. He thought he was superior to Dove; he would just rather be mean to him. In addition “Johnny worth-his-weight-in-gold Tremain. If you don't think he is wonderful- ask him Isanah, Oh, just how wonderful are you Johnny? Johnny said nothing, stood there and grinned. The two youngest Laphams were always insulting him, not only about how smart he was, but how smart he thought he was”(Forbes 6).  This shows that Johnny likes to hear people say nice things about him. Johnny likes when people think he is amazing. He also thinks he is amazing as well.

As the novel progresses Johnny learns to be more humble. He learns that he is not as perfect as he used to think he was. When he met Rab he pointed out Johnny's actions and Johnny started to think before he said things. According to the text “Everybody along Long Wharf knows you called him a gallows bird. He’s not used to it. Was it fun he wondered- going about letting everybody in your way have it? After that Johnny began to watch himself. For the first time he learned to think before he spoke”(Forbes 116-117). This shows that Johnny is trying not to be rude to people for no reason. He is actually trying to be more like Rab. Johnny is carefully choosing his words and not being rude to anyone for no reason.  Also “This praise went to Johnny’s head, but patterning his manners on Rab’s he tried not to show it”(Forbes 109). Johnny is trying to become more like Rab. Rab is his role model and Johnny wants to be more like him. Johnny wanted to show Rab that he can act more mature than.

At the end of the story Johnny was a mature man. He was no longer the prideful and arrogant boy that he used to be. For example “They shook hands silently. Johnny knew that Warren was always conscious of the fact that he had a crippled hand. Everybody else had accepted and forgotten it”(Forbes 259). Johnny and other people forgot that he had a crippled hand. He just accepted it and is trying not to think about it anymore. He put it in the past and is not ashamed of his hand. Additionally “And in a way he had died in that room, at least something had happened in the bright little silversmith's apprentice was no more”(Forbes 175). Johnny was not the same person that he was at the beginning of the story. He went through a lot of change after he burnt his hand. 

It is evident that Johnny has changed a lot throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel he was prideful and arrogant. After he burned his hand and met Rab everything changed. He changed into a humble and mature man. Johnny Tremain changed and became a better person at the end of the novel.