Coming of Age
When the Civil War breaks out in April of 1861, Jethro Creighton is just nine years old, still a child who deeply respects and admires the adult men in his life. Over the course of the war, Jethro grows up both in chronological years and in maturity. Because Across Five Aprils focuses almost exclusively on the concerns and affairs of men, it explores its vision of maturity in terms of what it means to be…
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The Realities of War
Across Five Aprils vividly imagines the costs of the American Civil War, which remains the deadliest conflict in United States history. The book opens with the juvenile and simplistic view of war that Jethro Creighton, his brothers John and Tom, and his cousin Eb hold. But the complexity of the conflict soon comes into focus. The Creightons live in a Northern state—Illinois. But because they live in the extreme south of the state…
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Self-Determination
Just before he leaves to enlist in the Union Army, Shadrach Yale tells Jethro Creighton that he wishes the long-simmering tensions that led to the American Civil War hadn’t come to a boiling point just as he himself reached adulthood, since he had other plans for his life. Still, he chooses to serve, setting aside his own desires to work toward the greater good and showing how American democracy demands a balance between self-determination and…
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Personal Conviction
Set during the American Civil War, Across Five Aprils imaginatively explores many dearly held American beliefs and values, including the importance of democracy, the value of freedom, and the value of hard work. When social and political issues divide Northern and Southern states, ultimately leading to the Civil War, it shows how unclear and muddied right and wrong can be. In doing so, it develops a powerful argument not just for the importance of American…
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Hardship, Suffering, and Beauty
The world in which nine-year-old Jethro Creighton lives at the beginning of Across Five Aprils is one of both great beauty and great hardship. The youngest of Ellen Creighton’s 12 children, the novel wastes no time in letting readers know that the same year Jethro was born, three of his siblings died within a week of polio. Life on a farm means a lot of hard work, but being outside allows Jethro to appreciate…
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