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Dr. Warren
Rab’s uncle, Uncle Lorne, prints the Boston Observer, a seditious newspaper. He lives with his wife, Aunt Jenifer, and their infant son Rabbit in a house across from the Boston Observer’s office. He’s a thin, “tweedy” man with glasses. He’s very shy and awkward. Uncle Lorne feels very strongly about the Patriots’ cause and insists that he’ll keep printing the Observer until he dies or the British hang him for sedition. Uncle Lorne and Aunt Jenifer graciously accept Johnny as a member of their family when he begins working for the paper. They supply him with a library of novels and nonfiction books, as well as snacks—they believe a young man should feed his brain and his curiosity, and they don’t see reading as a waste of time. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, when the British vow to catch any seditious printers, Mrs. Bessie agrees to take in Mr. and Mrs. Lorne and pretend that Uncle Lorne has always been there working as a stable hand.
Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne Quotes in Johnny Tremain
The Johnny Tremain quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne or refer to Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 5 Quotes
The idea that Goblin was more scared than he gave him great confidence and so did Rab’s belief in him and his powers to learn. […] But one day he overheard Uncle Lorne say to Rab, ‘I don’t know how Johnny has done it, but he is riding real good now.’
‘He’s doing all right.’
‘Not scared a bit of Goblin. God knows I am.’
‘Johnny Tremain is a bold fellow. I knew he could learn—if he didn’t get killed first. It was sink or swim for him—and happens he’s swimming.’
This praise went to Johnny’s head, but patterning his manners on Rab’s he tried not to show it.
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Chapter 7 Quotes
‘Uncle Lorne is upset. He says the printers will not be able to go on with the newspapers. He won’t be able to collect subscriptions, or get any advertising. He won’t be able to buy paper nor ink.’
‘He’s sending the Webb twins home?’
‘Yes. Back to Chelmsford. But he and I can manage. The Observer is to be half-size. He won’t give up. He’ll keep on printing, printing and printing about our wrongs—and our rights—until he drops dead at his press—or gets hanged.’
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Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne Character Timeline in Johnny Tremain
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne appears in Johnny Tremain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Soon, Mr. Lorne , Rab’s uncle, returns from lunch with the Webb twins, the two smaller apprentices. Rab...
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Chapter 5
...As Captain Bull enters and bows, Johnny slips out and runs to the Boston Observer. Uncle Lorne is there, and Johnny asks to work delivering papers. Rab, who’s making ink in...
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...himself every day and then talking to the horse in his stall. Soon, he overhears Uncle Lorne and Rab talking about how Johnny is doing surprisingly well with Goblin. This makes...
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...in the loft where he and Rab sleep. He eats his supper with Aunt and Uncle Lorne and their infant, and Johnny also begins caring for Goblin himself. Soon, he’s spending...
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Chapter 6
...the fall of 1773. On Sundays, Rab and Johnny go to church with Aunt and Uncle to listen to Doctor Cooper, who talks a lot about “taxation without representation.” England is...
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...and that they’ll know what the Observers decide once the meeting is over. Soon after, Mr. Lorne calls downstairs for Rab and Johnny to bring up the punch. The atmosphere is tense,...
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Chapter 7
...has no work, either. As he and Johnny stare at the harbor, Rab says that Uncle Lorne is sending the Webb twins home, but Uncle Lorne is going to continue printing...
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...Aunt Lorne. General Gage, meanwhile, tries to keep things civil and doesn’t stop men like Uncle Lorne from publishing. And Boston doesn’t starve, as towns and villages send shipments of food...
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Chapter 9
Johnny takes the torn-up letters back to the printing office, and he, Rab, and Mr. Lorne put them together. The letters are all about a dance on December 15 that he...
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Chapter 10
...and then leaves. From the window, Johnny watches Rab say goodbye to Aunt Jenifer and Uncle Lorne, but by the time he runs to say goodbye himself, Rab is gone. Everything...
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Chapter 11
...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...
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...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...
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