Woods Runner Literary Elements and Review By Robert E. Aquino AIG – 5th grade Ms. Webb

Setting Time: 1776 Place: The story takes place in Pennsylvania. The main character (Samuel) travels until he reaches New Amsterdam (New York City) to find his parents that were taken captive by the British. The story ends with Samuel’s family returning to Pennsylvania. Social environment: Because of the events related to the Revolutionary war, the environment is sad, mad, tense, and tragic.

Characters Samuel Smith: main character. He is mature, brave and determined because he risks everything to find his parents. He is 13-16 years old. Samuel’s parents (father & mother) are caring towards their children (they adopt Annie). They are farmers. They love music and art. They lack survival skills. Samuel has to provide them with food. Abner McDougal: is a retired old man. He helps Samuel and Annie find Samuel’s parents. He is a spy for the Americans. Annie: is a girl (age 8-11) that is very curious. She wants to find out what is happening around her. Cooper: a helpful and caring man that takes care of Samuel when he is injured in the head with a tomahawk. Matthew: Abner’s brother. He helps Samuel and Annie cross a river by lending them a boat. Isaac: a character that appears at the beginning of the story.

Point of View The author uses a third person point of view for the story. He presents a sadness, anger and tragedy. “Samuel smelled it before he saw anything. Not just the smoke from the fires. But the thick, heavy smell. Blood. Death.” “They had been taken away. They had not been killed. He clung to the thought. They had not been killed. He stood breathing ragged and started sobbing softly.” “Twice he had thrown up and the smell and taste mixed with the tears of frustration and grief for his friends and raged for what had been done to them.”

Plot Samuel’s parents are taken by the British. Samuel finds his town and everyone in it destroyed. Samuel travels with Cooper’s men. Samuel is injured by an Iroquois Indian in a battle trying to help the Indians defeat the British. Samuel finds his parents in the British headquarters in New Amsterdam, NY. Samuel’s parents adopt Annie. Samuel’s family returns to Pennsylvania. Samuel goes to fight in the Revolutionary War.

Conflict and Resolution The conflict is that Samuel’s parents are taken away by the British. The resolution is that Samuel finds his parents in the British headquarters in New Amsterdam and they escape using Matthew’s boat.

Theme The themes of the novel are love and perseverance. All of Samuel’s actions he did for love. Examples: He loved his parents. He was willing to sacrifice his life in order to find his parents. He loved Annie. He took care of her. He was willing to sacrifice his life for Annie. Samuel shows perseverance in that he never stopped trying to save his parents from the British.

Flashback “Dreams of his mother, dressed all in buckskins, ladling some kind of thick stew with a wooden spoon into a wooden bowl, chewing tobacco and spitting off to the side while she held the bowl out, shaking her head.”

Foreshadowing “Darkness like the inside of a dead cow. There had been a sliver of a moon but clouds covered it and with them came a soft rain. Enough to make everything wet and uncomfortable outside. A godsend. Even drunken soldiers didn’t like to be out in the rain.”

Tone The tone of the novel is sadness and hope. “Dreading what he might find he forced himself to search the ashes looking for the slightest indication of… bodies. He could not bring himself to think about what he was really looking for: his parents.”

Mood The mood that the reader feels is hope and suspense. Example of suspense: Samuel is in danger. “Had they come upon Samuel, they surely would have taken or killed him. Samuel kept his head near the ground. Through small holes in the bush he could see them from the waist down. They wore leather leggings and high moccasins and each carried a musket in one hand - ” Example of hope: Samuel is following the attackers that took his parents hoping to get them back. “He made good time, running hard until his lungs seemed to be on fire, then jogging until he got his breath, then back to the full out run. There was probably another half hour of daylight before it was too dark to see. As he approached the settlement he slowed and moved off to the side.”

Figurative Language Simile: “Darkness like the inside of a dead cow.” Simile: “Hunger took him like a wolf.” Idiom: “He snaked his pants on.” Metaphor: “Samuel felt as if he were following some kind of a killing storm.” Simile: “Like a hot knife in his brain”. Idiom: “Pitch dark”

Dialogue “What’s to think about” Annie asked “We have to go to New York to get our ma and pa.” Annie did not realize what she had just said but she’d found a way to stand it all. Abner: “I like a good scrap and I’m too old for this one. So I go back and forth with news. Try to help.” Samuel: “You’re a spy?”

Samuel change At the beginning, Samuel is a 13-year old boy that is skillful in how to survive in the forest. He provides food for his family and neighbors. He is a lone wolf, and does not interact well with other people. He matures through the novel by facing the dangers of war (the Hessians, the Iroquois, the British). By the end of the novel, he is a brave young man that goes fight in the war. He loves his family and sister (Annie). He shows his love by rescuing his parents and taking Annie with him.

Review of the novel Woods runner is a very good, suspenseful novel. The author showed how a war really was for the people living at the time. The suspense was well written because you did not know what was going to happen next. An example is when two soldiers approached Samuel. He was hiding and the reader did not know if Samuel was going to be caught. The author was also successful in showing love and loyalty of family. Samuel never gave up in finding his parents and grew a strong-enough love for Annie to call her his sister.