What I've Learned From Recent Books
"Cast Two Shadows" by Ann Rinaldi
My Favorite Quotes From Miz Melindy
• “You doan trade off the devil you gots fer the devil you knows nothin’ about” (43). • “We knew right and wrong, we knew what was important to us and what wasn’t, and just because the British had come and turned our world inside out, it made no never mind. We must hold fast to what we knew” (98). • “Eat your pride” (120). • “You jus’ make it, is all. You set yerself to the task. You take a turn an’ set yer heart to look in other ways” (136). • “People all look like each other, all talk the same, all farm the same. Sometimes all fightin’ fer the same cause. An’ nobody kin trust nobody, no matter what” (132). • “The river give us all life. Flows by an’ we all part of it. But the river doan know what it be, either. Up north it be the Catawba. Here it be the Wateree. Below us, where it runs itself into the ocean, it be the Santee. It be the river” (191). • “You soon put great store in ‘em. You come to know they meant somethin’ to you. You come to know you kin learn from ‘em. Those people you got hangin’ inside, they make you diff’rent. Better. You see” (209). |
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"Cast Two Shadows" From a Different Perspective The novel, “Cast Two Shadows” by Ann Rinaldi, was written from the perspective of Caroline. The story tells of how Caroline is forced to grow up quickly in order to save all that she loves. It also includes how Caroline is pushed to clarify where her loyalty and love stands. While I loved the story of Caroline, my mind wondered how the story would change if it was told from a different perspective. Isom, Caroline’s uncle and Miz Melindy’s son, caught my attention.
Isom is a slave to Caroline’s family, yet Isom was very fortunate. Caroline’s father refused to have his salves beaten or abused unlike most slave owners. When Johnny, Caroline’s half-brother, leaves to fight in the war for the King, he leaves Isom in charge of his prize horse, Fearnaught. As I shifted from Caroline’s perspective to Isom’s perspective I noticed two main things. One, Isom was probably deathly afraid. He watched as his friends and family left the only place they had known to follow Cornwallis for promised freedom. And then he learns they ended up in the West Indies where they will be worked to death. He watches as soldiers take over his home and destroy everything he knows and loves. He must feel so overwhelmed and scared to see this happen in the few short months and then to watch it all be burned to the ground must be absolutely heart braking. The second thing I noticed was Isom is very trustworthy and hard working. Johnny trusts Isom to watch over Fearnaught and protect his horse with Isom’s life if necessary. This is the first instance that caught my eye with Isom. Johnny loved Fearnaught and that horse meant the world to him and he trusted Isom to watch over and protect Fearnaught while he was gone fighting a war. Isom has to be a very trustworthy person to be handed such an extremely important responsibility. Isom wasn’t included in Caroline’s story, but I think that’s why he would have an interesting and diverse perspective of the story. Caroline left her home in search of Johnny. Isom stayed and dealt with Rawdon. Caroline lived in hiding for a while after Rawdon burned down their home. Isom had nowhere to go and most likely lived in the wilderness until everything had settled down. In my opinion Isom’s perspective would wildly increase the understanding of the story for the reader. |
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Rinaldi, Ann. Cast Two Shadows. 1998. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers. March 1, 2004. Print