Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Johnny Tremain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age
Pride vs. Humility
Patriotism and the Revolutionary War
Violence
Moral Integrity and Class
Summary
Analysis
1. Johnny sleeps until Dr. Warren wakes him. Moving to the back of the house so they can speak freely, Dr. Warren tells Johnny that it started in Lexington. It was 700 against 70, and the British won—it was target practice for them. They’re headed for Concord now, as are thousands of Minute Men. Gage, though, doesn’t know the war has started. As soon as Colonel Smith learned that Paul Revere had been able to alert everyone, he sent back for Earl Percy and reinforcements. So, almost no one knows that it’s begun. Johnny and Dr. Warren wonder whether Rab was at Lexington, and then Dr. Warren says he needs to go attend to the wounded. Johnny is to stay here and gather information, and then slip out and find him later.
Dr. Warren paints a picture of a bloodbath in Lexington—still, he also insists that the British response to the rebel mobilization hasn’t been as good as it could be, if General Gage has no idea the war has started. If he doesn’t know the war started, he can’t effectively decide what to do next. So, for now, the rebels have the upper hand—and with Johnny in Boston to gather information, the rebels can hopefully maintain the upper hand.
Themes
2. Everyone seems excited, but no one knows what they’re excited about. At the Province House, Johnny can see that General Gage is still asleep—he clearly sent Earl Percy out and went back to bed. At the Common, he sees the “head of [the] scarlet dragon,” the British reinforcements, waiting for marines to arrive so they can cross the river. The marines arrive momentarily—and Madge follows them and flings himself on Johnny, as Sergeant Gale is with the marines. She explains that the marines are late because they didn’t know Major Pitcairn left last night—Johnny knew this last night, but the British didn’t.
Describing the British reinforcements as a “scarlet dragon” allows readers insight into how Johnny still sees the British army: as invincible, like a dragon. He doesn’t yet have faith that the rebels can beat them. However, things start to look up for the rebels when Johnny discovers that there have been major communication breakdowns between the British officers. Without good communication, the British “dragon” won’t be very effective.
Themes
Suddenly, everything goes quiet as Earl Percy and four other men canter across the Common, flying the English flag. Johnny is an Englishman, as are all the others watching the spectacle. The flag stands for liberty, but liberty means something different in the colonies. Johnny hasn’t removed his hat for the British flag for some time, and he does so now without thinking. This will probably be the last time. Earl Percy gives the command, and the “scarlet dragon” starts off. Every soldier and horse is perfect, and Johnny feels sick. The British are playing “Yankee Doodle,” which they hope will insult the Yankees.
This is a significant moment in Johnny’s development, as it’s where he fully commits to the rebel cause and comes to support colonial independence from Britain. Removing his hat for the British flag is a sort of last hurrah before Johnny fully makes this transition. Still, Johnny doesn’t feel entirely at ease with his side’s prospects; the British still seem invincible and like they know exactly how to insult and best the rebels.
Themes
3. The gathered crowd watches the soldiers go, and a man says angrily that “They go out by ‘Yankee Doodle,’ but they’ll dance to it before night.” People repeat this phrase and soon, everyone knows about the shots at Lexington. The British soldiers hanging around seem to know what happened, too. About midday soldiers attempt to arrest rebel printers and leaders, but nobody is home. They do arrest Robert Newman. Johnny sends a message to Uncle Lorne after observing the jail, and then he heads for Salt Lane. He finds the Observer’s office trashed and Aunt Jenifer sitting in her kitchen, sewing an enormous feather bed. When Johnny says the soldiers are gone, Uncle Lorne emerges from the mattress, delighting little Rabbit.
What the gathered crowd is saying is essentially that before long, the rebels will win—and they’ll reclaim “Yankee Doodle” as a victorious song, rather than a taunting one. (This is, in fact, what happened.) In Boston, Johnny finally witnesses Gage attempt to arrest those he believes are spreading seditious material, such as Uncle Lorne. Uncle Lorne’s job has always been dangerous, but with the war started it’s become even more so. Rabbit, as a toddler, has no idea that what’s going on is so important, adding some levity to an otherwise somber scene.
Themes
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Johnny and Aunt Jenifer discuss the frightened, angry soldiers. Johnny takes their fear as a sign that the colonists are winning, and he’s pretty sure that he’ll be able to see the British fleeing the Minute Men from Beacon Hill soon. Outside, British soldiers are saying that they’re going to kill the rebels—everything has changed. On Beacon Hill, Johnny joins others who assumed, like him, that they’d be able to see Smith’s troops. Sure enough, he can see “a scurry of red ants.” And as night falls, the crowd sees flashes of musket fire.
While Johnny found the British soldiers civil before, now, it’s unthinkable that a soldier would be as kind to a rebel as, for instance, the British medic was when Rab touched a musket. Johnny’s perspective in the British has changed, too. That he now describes them as “a scurry of red ants” rather than a fearsome dragon suggests that he no longer sees them as invincible.
Themes
4. As Dr. Warren promised, getting the injured British soldiers back across the river to Boston will give Johnny an opportunity to sneak across in the opposite direction. Johnny goes to the Lytes’ in search of Pumpkin’s uniform and finds the Lytes moving out. Mrs. Bessie and Cilla, though, are sitting idly in the kitchen. Mrs. Bessie says the Lytes are afraid, and Cilla adds that she and Mrs. Bessie are the only two Whig servants and so are refusing to go. Izzy will go with the Lytes, though Cilla argues about this—she insists that Mrs. Lapham won’t give Isannah away to Miss Lavinia like a kitten.
The Lytes are wealthy Tories the Whigs have targeted once before, so they have good reason to be afraid now that the war has begun. Cilla believes that this represents an opportunity for her to save her sister from Miss Lavinia’s influence, showing that she hasn’t entirely given up on Isannah (or, for that matter, on her mother). As she sees it, letting Isannah go with the Lytes damns the child, while also depriving Isannah of any agency and hope for her future.
Themes
Just then, Miss Lavinia appears in the doorway in a black cloak. She reveals that Mrs. Lapham is letting her take Isannah, who appears from behind Miss Lavinia’s skirts. Cilla gently tells her sister not to go, but Miss Lavinia says it’s Isannah’s choice—Isannah has to choose who she loves more. Johnny can tell that Izzy loves how dramatic this all is. She’ll go. Isannah cries, but says she wants to be a fine lady with a pony and a cart—she’ll go. Miss Lavinia explains that she’ll marry in London and then make sure Izzy gets the best care and training; Izzy will be an actress. Then, Miss Lavinia tells Cilla to help Izzy pack her things while she speaks privately to Johnny.
Miss Lavinia ostensibly gives Isannah a choice. Still, Isannah is just a child—and a spoiled one at that. She doesn’t have the emotional maturity to understand what she’s giving up; instead, she focuses on the fine things she’ll enjoy in London and continues to selfishly enrich herself. In this passage, Isannah also completes her transformation from Isannah to Izzy, something that suggests she’s no longer morally upstanding. While actresses of the era often sought respectability, they were often conflated with sex workers, which negatively affected their reputations.
Themes
Calling him Jonathan Lyte Tremain, Miss Lavinia says that Merchant Lyte honestly thought Johnny tried to swindle him out of the cup—but he also never mentioned that five cups did come to Boston. Johnny interjects angrily, but Miss Lavinia tells him to be quiet and listen. Merchant Lyte had no idea that his niece, Vinny Lyte, had a child; she married a French Catholic naval surgeon against her family’s wishes and moved to France. When the surgeon died, his family sent word to the Lytes informing them of the surgeon and Vinny’s deaths. Johnny was born in a convent in France. Miss Lavinia says that Vinny, Johnny’s mother, was the wildest, most beautiful girl in Boston. This sounds nothing like the mother Johnny remembers: she was sad and sick.
Finally, Miss Lavinia redeems herself somewhat by acknowledging that her father did indeed try to trick Johnny and didn’t tell the whole truth in court. Still, her entitlement shows through, as she expects Johnny to listen attentively and not get upset when he learns that his suspicions about Merchant Lyte were correct. Recall that Johnny’s mother was sickly and died just before he was apprenticed to Mr. Lapham. It’s a shock to hear Miss Lavinia describe his mother as being so vivacious and wild. It adds yet another layer to Johnny’s understanding of who his mother was as a person, which helps Johnny come of age.
Themes
Miss Lavinia explains that she began looking into all this when she noticed Johnny’s widow’s peak. She discovered that Johnny’s father said his last name was Latour, not Tremain, as he was ashamed of being a prisoner of war. Merchant Lyte also wants Johnny to know that he didn’t try to cheat Johnny; the cup was Vinny’s. He’s promised to write everything out so that after the war, Johnny can try to claim property. Then, Johnny asks what Miss Lavinia is to him. She says she’s a sort of an aunt. This dissolves Johnny’s crush on Miss Lavinia—one can’t love one’s aunt.
Finally, Miss Lavinia clears up the mystery of why Johnny couldn’t find his parents in Merchant Lyte’s Bible: his father gave a pseudonym out of shame, so nobody knew that he, Vinny, and Johnny’s mother were actually all Tremains. Though Merchant Lyte’s offer to allow Johnny to try to claim property later is pretty generous, Johnny doesn’t seem entirely sold. He’s unwilling to fully believe Miss Lavinia that her father is as good and kind as she insists he is.
Themes
5. Pushing aside all this new information, Johnny asks Mrs. Bessie for Pumpkin’s uniform. She refuses: Johnny will get shot, and she and Cilla need a man around to care for the horses (General Gage has promised the Lyte house won’t be damaged). Johnny suggests that Goblin come to the Lytes’ and that Uncle Lorne and his family come and pretend he’s always worked here. Mrs. Bessie agrees; they can even hide Uncle Lorne’s press. As Cilla runs to get Pumpkin’s uniform, Mrs. Bessie asks if Johnny, now 16 years old, is a boy or a man. Johnny laughs that he’s a boy in peacetime and a man during war. The uniform is a bit big, but Mrs. Bessie braids Johnny’s hair like the British.
In this passage, there’s a lot of tension surrounding Johnny’s age and whether he’s technically an adult. Mrs. Bessie’s first instinct is to try to protect him by refusing to hand over the uniform, though she ultimately relents. And Johnny even acknowledges that really, he’s still a boy—but the war is forcing him to grow up faster than he would otherwise. Donning Pumpkin’s uniform allows Johnny to experiment with being an adult; he’s essentially playacting and figuring out what it’s like to have others treat him like an adult.
Themes
When Cilla asks, Johnny says he’s been spying for Dr. Warren and now, he has to cross the river to find the doctor and Rab. Johnny hasn’t spoken Rab’s name since Rab left, and he’s tried hard not to think about him so he doesn’t lose control of his emotions. So, Johnny collects himself and salutes the ladies. He feels confident in the uniform and Rab is probably alright—bullets can’t kill him. He kisses Cilla and struts off, thinking that small men like him strut more. What happened to Sergeant Gale?
Whether or not Johnny truly feels like an adult is a bit beside the point here, as Johnny recognizes that it’s most important to pull himself together and act like a competent adult. This helps Cilla and Mrs. Bessie feel good about lending Johnny the uniform and letting him do something dangerous. Still, Johnny can’t shake his knowledge that terrible things have happened, and people he cares about on both sides of the conflict (Rab and Sergeant Gale) may be suffering—or dead.
Themes
