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| Plot Summary of Or Give Me Death |
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"Patrick Henry traveled through the American colonies, advocating independence from the British. But at Henry's plantation in Virginia, his family faces a challenge of their own when Sarah, Henry's wife, becomes mentally ill and tries killing her infant son. Knowing her mother is a danger to herself and the family, Sarah's oldest daughter Patsy confines Sarah to the cellar.
As Sarah's mind deteriorates, however, she claims she gains the ability to see into the future and tells her daughter Anne which of the five Henry children will inherit her madness. Rather than expose this sibling to Patsy's cruelty, however, Anne lies and tells everyone she has Sarah's "bad blood." Her lie costs Anne over the years, as Patsy browbeats her sister, claiming the harsh treatment will break her "madness."
One night, four years after Patsy confined Sarah to the cellar, Anne hears Sarah beg her husband to "give me my freedom or let me go to my death!" These words haunt Anne when she hears them repeated in her father's famous speech. She wonders if keeping her secret is still the best thing to do. But as Anne wrestles with her decision to tell the truth, her mother's madness threatens to infect her sibling, just as America finds itself in the middle of the Revolutionary War.
"
Michael Jung, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Or Give Me Death |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 18th century
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Mother
because he/she is
- mentally ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- farmer
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- a teen
Profession/status:
- homemaker
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Style
Person
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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