29 pages • 58 minutes read
Gary PaulsenNightjohn
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Reading and Writing
Gary Paulsen frames reading and writing as two skills that many people in modern day take for granted. He shows how life-changing these skills are. He also suggests that the desire to communicate through reading and writing is an innate quality in all humans. Even before Nightjohn arrives and starts to teach Sarny, she is aware of and curious about literacy. She’s noticed the slave owners in the white house looking at papers and understanding their symbols. She also copies the “100 lbs” marking she observed on a feed sack. Even without understanding the marking, she recognizes that it communicates meaning.
When Nightjohn starts to teach Sarny the alphabet, the letters open a new world of possibilities for her. She relishes making words in her mind, and this joy gives Nightjohn purpose. Because he recognizes the positive impact of literacy, he is willing to risk his life to share knowledge with others. Reading and writing as a motif illustrates the power of education and reminds readers to appreciate greater access to resources.
Punishment
Although the novel is geared toward young readers, Paulsen does not shy away from depicting the cruel, gruesome punishments endured by slaves. To omit descriptions of punishments wouldn’t do the experiences of slaves justice. Some of the punishments (for leaving the plantation) described in the novel include those of Alice, Jim, and Pawley. Other punishments are Mammy having to pull Waller’s buggy and the amputation of Nightjohn’s middle toes (for teaching Sarny to read). These examples coincide with historically factual accounts of cruelty endured by slaves.
Punishment also manifests as the slaves’ constant fear. Not every slave on the plantation experiences a whipping in the novel, but they all live in fear of one. Exchanges between Mammy and Sarny highlight this anxiety. Mammy often tells Sarny to keep things hidden or quiet, such as her penny and praying. She knows that even small infractions will lead to humiliating, painful punishment. Punishment as a motif exposes the slave owners’ wicked treatment and weaponizing of fear to keep slaves subdued.
Nightjohn’s Scars
When Nightjohn arrives at the plantation, he is naked, his scarred back exposed. These scars indicate multiple past whippings and symbolize the whippings that thousands of slaves suffered. They also symbolize the personal sacrifice that Nightjohn made and continues to make by teaching reading and writing. For him, seeing his fellow slaves learn to read, write, and voice their stories is worth his scars. Despite years of extreme physical pain, he remains undaunted; his scars show that his spirit is unbreakable.
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