Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Esther Forbes's Johnny Tremain. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Johnny Tremain: Introduction
Johnny Tremain: Plot Summary
Johnny Tremain: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Johnny Tremain: Themes
Johnny Tremain: Quotes
Johnny Tremain: Characters
Johnny Tremain: Terms
Johnny Tremain: Symbols
Johnny Tremain: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Esther Forbes
Historical Context of Johnny Tremain
Other Books Related to Johnny Tremain
- Full Title: Johnny Tremain
- When Written: 1941–1943
- Where Written: Worcester, Massachusetts
- When Published: 1943
- Literary Period: Twentieth-Century Literature
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult Novel
- Setting: Boston, 1773–1775
- Climax: Rab dies after the Battle of Lexington.
- Antagonist: The British, The Lytes, Pride
- Point of View: Third Person
Extra Credit for Johnny Tremain
A Good Time for Books. Forbes began writing Johnny Tremain in 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor also inspired the creation of the Writer’s War Board, a propaganda organization that spotlighted modern novels that the Nazis targeted. During this time, reading and buying books—especially modern novels—was taken as a sign of support for the war.
Silver and Dentistry. In addition to being an accomplished silversmith, Paul Revere also learned to make false teeth. In fact, when Dr. Joseph Warren died in battle in 1775 and was buried in an unmarked grave, Paul Revere ultimately identified the body by the false tooth he’d made for Warren. This is believed to be the first instance in which a body was identified by dental records.