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 wakes up after dawn, feeling entirely at peace. Will he be calling Merchant Lyte “Grandpa” later? Mrs. Lapham will be shocked when Johnny drives up in the Lytes’ coach. Johnny will take Cilla for a ride, but he’ll ignore Isannah. Lost in his daydreams, Johnny bathes in the river and then, passing the Boston Observer on his way, heads for the Lytes’ counting house. Inside, three clerks refuse to let Johnny in to see Merchant Lyte. But as two of them tease the third about his crush on Lavinia Lyte, the embarrassed clerk tells Johnny to go into Merchant Lyte’s office once some captains come out.
Johnny may have hit rock bottom in the graveyard last night, but he hasn’t changed his ways at all. His daydreams suggest that he almost expects Merchant Lyte to welcome him with open arms, but Johnny doesn’t consider that this might not be the case. Continuing to pass the Boston Observer’s office creates the feeling that Johnny experiences some sort of pull to the space, and perhaps to Rab, whom he admires.
Themes
Johnny slips into the office. Mr. Lyte would be handsome, except his skin is yellow and sags like tallow. Johnny says that he’s Jonathan Lyte Tremain, which elicits no reaction. His voice shaking, Johnny starts to say something about his mother—but Mr. Lyte says he knows the story. She told Johnny he was related to Mr. Lyte and told Johnny to come. Well, Mr. Lyte laughs, any woman can name her son “Lyte,” so it’s time for Johnny to leave. He calls the third clerk, Sewell, to show Johnny out. Suddenly angry, Johnny spits that even a monkey wouldn’t name her child after Mr. Lyte, and he’s no longer interested in being relatives. But, Johnny says, he does have a cup to prove his story. After he describes the cup, Mr. Lyte tells Johnny to visit after sundown.
The way that Merchant Lyte responds to Johnny suggests that he’s seen this before: perhaps other boys really have tried to pose as Lyte family members for money. As such, Merchant Lyte isn’t at all willing to consider that Johnny is telling the truth. In Johnny’s shock, he lashes out rudely, highlighting his pride and arrogance once again—recall how powerful the Lyte family is. Johnny is playing with fire here. Things seem to change, though, when Johnny mentions the cup, though it creates some tension when Mr. Lyte asks Johnny to visit after sundown.
Themes
2. Johnny daydreams about his comfortable future as he walks to the Laphams’ house. He’d hoped to sneak in, but Mrs. Lapham calls him into the kitchen. There, she says that Mr. Lapham won’t let her kick Johnny out, but he has to move back to the attic. She also tells him he can’t insult Mr. Tweedie anymore, and he’s not to even look at Cilla. Enraged, Johnny says that he wouldn’t marry a “sniveling, goggle-eyed frog” like Cilla. He fetches his cup and passes Cilla peeling apples on his way back out. Sweetly, she and Isannah say that Johnny is angry—the best thing Johnny has heard all day. They’re not pitying him anymore.
Despite seemingly having every reason to not trust Merchant Lyte, Johnny seems oddly certain that Lyte will welcome him with open arms once Johnny reveals the cup. And again, Johnny lashes out when Mrs. Lapham tells him something he doesn’t want to hear, creating the sense that Johnny simply can’t be told what to do. Things look up, though, when the girls tease Johnny. This makes him feel like things might return to normal.
Themes
For several hours, Johnny daydreams. He decides to stop and see Rab, and he tells Rab the entire story. Rab warns Johnny that Merchant Lyte is “crooked”; he signed the agreement not to import goods until the Stamp Act was repealed, and then he imported things under a different name. Sam Adams had to talk to him. Johnny knows little about politics, but he can tell that Rab is a Whig (they believe “taxation without representation is tyranny”). Rab explains that he can stomach Tories (British sympathizers) like Governor Hutchinson; he at least genuinely believes that the colonies are better under British rule. But he detests men like Lyte, who try to play both sides. Johnny says he doesn’t have a choice in relatives, so Rab lends him some nice clothes and offers to let him sleep at the shop if the night doesn’t go well.
Rab confirms readers suspicions that Johnny shouldn’t trust Merchant Lyte, and he has evidence to support this claim. The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act the British Parliament to levy a tax on many printed materials. Colonists widely disapproved of the act (as the narration states, they thought it violated their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent or without representation in Parliament), ultimately leading to the united colonies’ first major acts of resistance. Merchant Lyte, Rab reveals, is selfish and only looks out for himself. He attempted to get the Whigs to think he’s a loyal patriot, but he really just cares more about getting his money than about making a political point.
Themes
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3. Johnny isn’t sure whether to go around back or to go to the front door of Merchant Lyte’s house. Feeling bold thanks to his borrowed clothes, he uses the fancy brass knocker. A maid shows him into a drawing room, where the Lyte family—including Miss Lavinia and Sewell, all of them like “wax candles”—is assembled. Mr. Lyte studies Johnny and then asks to see the cup in the dining room. There, Johnny places his cup next to three matching ones on the sideboard. Quietly, Mr. Lyte notes that the cup matches and wonders how it was separated from the set. Johnny seems like the only one who doesn’t know the answer—but then, Mr. Lyte says the cup was stolen in August. He asks the sheriff, who has been there the whole time, to arrest Johnny.
It shows how arrogant Johnny is that he goes to the front door of the Lytes’ house. This isn’t something a working-class boy would do, so Johnny is stepping far above his station in this instance. However, it quickly starts to look like Johnny was going to get in trouble no matter which door he used, as Merchant Lyte already had the sheriff there ready to arrest Johnny for theft. Because of his prestige and power, Merchant Lyte has full control of this situation. Johnny, on the other hand, as a poor apprentice, has no power to advocate for himself or even tell his side of the story.
Themes
The sheriff steps forward and says that Johnny can explain himself to a judge later. Johnny is so afraid (he could hang for this) that he appears nonchalant, which doesn’t go over well. The Lyte family members suggest that Johnny stole his coat too, so the sheriff agrees to speak to Rab. Mr. Lyte announces that he sent Sewall to the Laphams’ earlier; Johnny was signed to Mr. Lapham as “Johnny Tremain,” not “Jonathan Lyte Tremain.” Mrs. Lapham also insisted that Johnny owned nothing, while Mr. Tweedie insisted Johnny is “evil.” With this, the sheriff takes Johnny to the jail. Kindly, the sheriff offers to call Johnny’s family, but Johnny asks him to let Rab know instead.
In this brush with the law, Johnny’s arrogance comes back to bite him. Looking unafraid doesn’t go over well when the Lytes seem to want Johnny to look scared and deferent. Then, Johnny’s bad behavior toward Mrs. Lapham and Mr. Tweedie means that neither of them is willing to vouch for him—indeed, Mr. Tweedie goes so far as to insist that Johnny is flat-out a bad person. Feeling like there’s nowhere else to turn, Johnny turns to the one person who makes him feel like he matters: Rab.
Themes
4. Johnny sleeps well in jail—he hit bottom sleeping in the graveyard, so he can only go up from there. He’s certain he can deal with these accusations, though the thought of the gallows haunts him. Rab arrives the next morning with blankets, food, and some books. Johnny notices that he has a medal signifying that he’s a member of the secret Sons of Liberty society. Members of the society terrorize Tories and British officers. The Laphams thought they were evil, but Johnny now thinks it’d be fun to join. Because the jailer is also a “Son,” he gives Johnny a private room.
The Sons of Liberty were one of several secret societies during the Revolutionary era; as Johnny observes here, being connected to one of the societies could give someone like Johnny or Rab better treatment. It’s another sign that Johnny is beginning to come of age when he expresses interest in the Sons, thereby rejecting the Laphams’ assessment of the group. He’s beginning to interpret the world for himself.
Themes
Rab knows the case will come before Mr. Justice Dana on Tuesday, and he asks if Johnny showed his cup to anyone prior to when someone stole the cup from Merchant Lyte. Johnny says he showed it to Cilla on July 3rd, and though he’s sure she’ll vouch for him, Mrs. Lapham won’t. The next day, Rab returns: Mr. Lyte has ordered silver from the Laphams and will order more “if all [goes] well.” In response, Mrs. Lapham has refused to let Cilla out next Tuesday. Rab adds that Mrs. Lapham is also trying to please Mr. Tweedie, who hates Johnny for calling him a “squeak-pig.” Johnny is annoyed, but Rab says that Josiah Quincy has offered to represent Johnny for free. Rab, meanwhile, is plotting with Cilla.
Merchant Lyte begins to look particularly evil here: he’s clearly trying to influence the trial’s outcome by intimidating the one witness who could corroborate Johnny’s testimony. This isn’t something that a person with good character does: Merchant Lyte, despite his wealth, isn’t a moral or just person. Though Johnny is beginning to grow up a bit, it’s a sign of his immaturity that he’s so annoyed when Rab brings up Mr. Tweedie’s hatred of Johnny. Johnny fully earned Mr. Tweedie’s hatred by calling him rude names—and now he’s paying the price for his rudeness.
Themes
5. Johnny huddles close to Mr. Quincy, watching Mr. Justice Dana deal with case after case. Mr. Lyte and Sewall arrive first, followed by Miss Lavinia. Rab and Cilla slip in soon after. Then, Mr. Justice Dana calls Johnny’s case. In a friendly manner, Mr. Lyte details how his great-grandfather had six identical cups made. Four cups came to the colonies, and somebody stole one of them last August. Because the hole in the broken window was small, Mr. Lyte knows the thief was a boy. Sewall brings forward the four cups as Mr. Lyte describes Johnny’s visit yesterday. Mr. Justice Dana asks if it’s possible that Johnny truly is a Lyte, but Mr. Lyte presents the certificate of Johnny’s indenture, listing his name as Johnny Tremain. Then, Mr. Lyte asks for the death penalty—young apprentices are getting out of hand.
The conversation’s tone between the judge and Merchant Lyte suggests that the two are friends—and that Merchant Lyte is trying to use that friendship to influence the trial’s outcome. Again, he’s trying to use his wealth and prestige to pull strings, rather than seeking out real justice. Indeed, asking for the death penalty reads as more of a power grab than anything else; he just wants to intimidate people who have less power (in this case, all apprentices). For his part, Mr. Justice Dana seems far more interested in seeking real justice and finding out the truth, offering hope that Merchant Lyte won’t be successful.
Themes
With Mr. Quincy’s prodding, Johnny tells the story of how his mother gave him the cup and what she told him about the Lytes. He describes his accident and the difficult spot he’s in now. Then, he says he showed Cilla the cup last July. Cilla steps forward and recounts seeing Johnny’s cup. Just as she finishes, Isannah bursts into the courtroom, flings herself at Mr. Justice Dana, and repeats Cilla’s story. The little girl is so enchanting that Mr. Justice Dana gives her licorice and dismisses the case, telling Johnny to take his cup. Mr. Quincy suggests going to a tavern to celebrate, but Isannah has slipped away and is holding Miss Lavinia’s hand. When Isannah returns to the group, she kisses Johnny’s burned hand. Johnny almost cries.
Readers, of course, know that Johnny is telling the truth (and in the case of his mother’s story, what he believes is the truth) about not stealing the cup. Isannah’s testimony, however, is questionable—recall that she was asleep when Johnny showed Cilla the cup, so it seems likely that she was coached to back Cilla up. However, Johnny is in the right in this instance, so it’s not a negative thing that Rab and Mr. Quincy brought forth a witness who wasn’t actually there—they’re fighting for the right thing, so the novel casts their methods as justified and forgivable.
Themes
