Johnny Tremain: Pride and Humilation
Johnny Tremain Essay © 2010
Pride and Humiliation
Johnny Tremain is a book written by Esther Forbes and it is about pride and humiliation. In the dictionary pride is defined as “becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.” Pride is mostly found as something good and being happy for yourself. Pride can also be negative. Other people might think you are bragging about yourself and you could get humiliated. Unfortunately, Johnny Tremain learned this the hard way
‘Johnny! Ma sent me. Johnny, its Mr. Hancock himself. He’s in the shop ordering something. Stand by and listen or Grandpa will get it wrong...’ Johnny got his notebook and pencil. ‘ We can do it Mr. Hancock. It will be exactly right...’
Johnny’s pride was good because it got things done around the silversmith shop. Even though Johnny was an apprentice, he almost acted like he was in charge. If Johnny didn’t help his master get the order right, then things would be a mess. The girls even told him to help out their Grandpa!
‘Look sharp Dusty,’ Johnny said, ‘Get the annealing furnace going. Fetch in charcoal. You’ll have to do it by yourself.‘ 'This spoon you finished yesterday afternoon has to be melted down-made over. You beat it to the wrong gauge.’
Sometimes Johnny’s pride was hurtful to others. He told his fellow apprentices what to do and how to do it. Johnny wasn’t the master. Johnny was an apprentice! He even told Dove, the boy who is older then him, that he made a spoon wrong!
‘Johnny did not see Dove standing on a stool, reaching far back and carefully taking out a cracked crucible. It might stand the heat of the furnace, but chances are it would not. It would serve Johnny Tremain right, if the crucible gave way and the hot silver did spill over the top of the furnace.‘ ‘Something happened, he never knew exactly what. The burn was so terrible he at first felt no pain, but he stood stupidly looking at his hand.’
Johnny had...