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| Plot Summary of American Diaries: Zellie Blake |
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"After the death of her beloved grandmother, twelve year old Zellie Blake is forced to find work at a boarding house in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is 1834 and Zellie is an African American young girl who was born free during slavery. Mrs. Gird, who runs the boarding house, is a tough taskmaster and she works Zellie very hard in exchange for room, board, food and small wages. Much to Zellie's dismay, Mrs. Gird has asked Zellie to spy on the young women who live at the boarding house and who work at the textile mills. Mrs. Gird is convinced that these girls are up to something and she wants Zellie to help her get to the bottom of the mystery. Zellie hates the idea of spying on people and she can't imagine how the girls will react if they discover that she is spying on them for Mrs. Gird. When Zellie makes the acquaintance of an Irish seamstress, Miss O'Brien, she immediately strikes up a friendship with the kindly woman. In return for giving her a headache cure, Miss O'Brien promises to teach Zellie to sew. As Zellie begins to take sewing lessons with Miss O'Brien she begins to see a light at the end of her tunnel. Miss O'Brien shows her that she can make a life for herself as a seamstress or as a teacher. When Zellie discovers that the girls in the boarding house are staging a woman's right's demonstration at the textile mill she can't bring herself to tell Mrs. Gird. But when Mrs. Gird realizes that Zellie didn't provide her with the information she was seeking, will Zellie be thrown out on the street?"
Sandra Calhoune, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of American Diaries: Zellie Blake |
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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?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Kids:
- struggling to earn a living to survive
Political/social activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- union leaders fighting for labor rights
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Age 11-14
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- grade school
Parents/lack of parents problem?
- orphan story
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- blue collar
Age:
- a kid
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Black
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 9 (quite a lot)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Unusual Style:
- written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Kathleen Duey Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Sandra Calhoune
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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