Johnny Tremain

by

Esther Forbes

Johnny Tremain

The novel follows Johnny, its protagonist, from age 14 to 16 as he comes of age during the leadup to the Revolutionary War. At the beginning of the novel, Johnny is an arrogant, prideful silversmith’s… read analysis of Johnny Tremain

Rab

Rab is the oldest apprentice at the Boston Observer—he’s about two years older than Johnny. He has dark hair and moves in an unconcerned, languid manner that makes it seem like he’s constantly… read analysis of Rab

Dove

Dove is the oldest apprentice in Mr. Lapham’s shop. However, because he’s lazy and not particularly intelligent, he’s not very good at working silver—and Johnny is extremely cruel to both Dove and Dusty because… read analysis of Dove

Mr. Lapham

Mr. Lapham is Johnny’s elderly master. He’s extremely religious (in addition to training his apprentices to work silver, he also takes a keen interest in their religious education) and an avowed Tory. In… read analysis of Mr. Lapham

Mrs. Lapham

Mrs. Lapham is Mr. Lapham’s daughter-in-law. She has four daughters, Madge, Dorcas, Cilla, and Isannah, and she manages her father-in-law’s apprentices as well. A coarse, thick woman who’s very loud… read analysis of Mrs. Lapham
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Cilla Lapham

Cilla is Mrs. Lapham’s daughter; she’s about Johnny’s age and the two are engaged to be married once Johnny finishes his apprenticeship. As kids, the two find this “mildly offensive,” and Cilla loves… read analysis of Cilla Lapham

Isannah Lapham

Isannah is the youngest Lapham sister. According to her mother Mrs. Lapham, due to her being so sickly, Isannah is barely worth the bother to raise. However, Isannah is beautiful, with blond hair and… read analysis of Isannah Lapham

Dorcas Lapham

Dorcas is the second Lapham sister. She’s stout and coarse like Madge, but she “strives for elegance” and goes out of her way to powder her face and otherwise make herself look beautiful. However… read analysis of Dorcas Lapham

Dusty Miller

Dusty is the younger, smaller apprentice in Mr. Lapham’s silver shop. He both admires and hates Johnny, as Johnny is skilled and likeable, but cruel to Dusty and Dove. So, Dusty forms… read analysis of Dusty Miller

Mr. Percival Tweedie

Mr. Tweedie is a journeyman silversmith from Baltimore whom Mrs. Lapham brings to Boston to be Mr. Lapham’s business partner. Johnny detests him instantly, calling him a “squeak-pig” and a “spinster aunt dressed up… read analysis of Mr. Percival Tweedie

Miss Lavinia Lyte

Merchant Lyte’s daughter, Lavinia Lyte is one of the most beautiful—and wealthiest—young women in Boston. She splits her time between London and Boston, and she’s a fashion icon in Boston. Miss Lavinia is unconventionally… read analysis of Miss Lavinia Lyte

Merchant Lyte

Merchant Lyte is one of the wealthiest and most successful men in Boston. The patriarch of the powerful Lyte family, he lives with only his adult daughter, Miss Lavinia (most other family members in Boston… read analysis of Merchant Lyte

Johnny’s Mother/Vinny

Johnny’s mother died just before Johnny was apprenticed to Mr. Lapham, so she never appears in person in the novel. He remembers her as a sickly seamstress who desperately wanted her son to… read analysis of Johnny’s Mother/Vinny

John Hancock

John Hancock is the wealthiest man in Boston; a merchant and landowner, he owns Hancock’s wharf and even the Laphams’ home. An ardent Whig and a member of the Boston Observers, he’s also one of… read analysis of John Hancock

Paul Revere

Paul Revere is one of the best silversmiths in Boston; he’s also a member of the Boston Observers and runs a spy network of his own. Johnny greatly admires the silversmith and asks him for… read analysis of Paul Revere

James Otis

James Otis was one of the original Boston Observers and was one of the group’s leaders. However, sometime before the novel begins, he was hit in the head and now suffers intense and unpredictable mood… read analysis of James Otis

Dr. Warren

Dr. Warren is a prominent figure in the Boston Observers and in the resistance movement against the British. He’s a young, kind man. Although Johnny likes him, Johnny is inadvertently rude to Dr. Warren due… read analysis of Dr. Warren

Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne

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… read analysis of Mr. Lorne/Uncle Lorne

Mrs. Lorne/Aunt Jenifer

Aunt Jenifer is Rab’s aunt; she quickly adopts Johnny as one of the family, too, when he begins working for Uncle Lorne and living with Rab. She’s a kind, red-headed woman who encourages Johnny… read analysis of Mrs. Lorne/Aunt Jenifer

Goblin

Goblin is Johnny’s horse, though Uncle Lorne owns him. He’s a nervous, flighty horse with a light coat, blue eyes, and dark brown mane and tail. Johnny has never ridden before Rab teaches him… read analysis of Goblin

General Gage

General Gage is the lead commander of the British army in Boston. He’s generally seen as temperate and sensible; indeed, his unwillingness to engage, kill, or arrest rebels enrages King George. However, Gage fears that… read analysis of General Gage

Colonel Francis Smith

Colonel Smith is an overweight, unhealthy officer who lives at the Afric Queen during the British occupation of Boston. Johnny carries post for him regularly, and he also spies on the colonel. This becomes easy… read analysis of Colonel Francis Smith

Lieutenant Stranger

Lieutenant Stranger is second in command to Colonel Smith, and he and Johnny become friends over the course of the novel. This is in part because Stranger reminds Johnny of Rab with his dark… read analysis of Lieutenant Stranger

Gran’ Hopper

Gran’ Hopper is the old midwife whom Mrs. Lapham calls to attend to Johnny’s burnt hand. Though she’s a skilled midwife and has lots of experience with various maladies, burns aren’t her specialty—so… read analysis of Gran’ Hopper

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is a British private whom Johnny tries to help desert. Pumpkin is sympathetic to the Patriot cause and wants only to raise cows, so he’s thrilled when Johnny offers to help him sneak out… read analysis of Pumpkin

Grandsire Silsbee

Grandsire Silsbee is Rab’s grandfather. He lives on a farm out in Lexington and hosts Minute Men militia training on his farm. When war finally breaks out, Grandsire Silsbee refuses to hide with the… read analysis of Grandsire Silsbee

Sergeant Gale

Sergeant Gale is a British officer who falls in love and marries Madge. He’s extremely short, which Johnny finds funny given Madge’s height and weight. Though Johnny knows Gale is technically the enemy, he’s… read analysis of Sergeant Gale

Mrs. Bessie

Mrs. Bessie works in the kitchen at the Lytes’ house. She and Cilla are the only Whig servants. Aside from her divergent political leanings, Mrs. Bessie isn’t particularly loyal to the Lytes—she finds Miss Laviniaread analysis of Mrs. Bessie
Minor Characters
Madge Lapham
Madge is the eldest Lapham sister. Like her younger sister Dorcas, she’s coarse, stout, and red-faced—and like her mother Mrs. Lapham, she isn’t fussy about manners. Before Mr. Tweedie can marry her, Madge runs off with a British lieutenant, Lieutenant Gale.
Governor Hutchinson
Governor Hutchinson is the governor of Massachusetts Colony. Rab describes him as a Tory he can respect, as Governor Hutchinson legitimately believes that it’s possible and worthwhile for the colonies to continue negotiating with England and remain British colonies.
Jehu
Jehu is John Hancock’s personal enslaved boy. He’s always well-dressed and polite.
Frizel, Junior
Frizel, Junior is a leatherworker whom Dorcas runs off with and marries.
Cousin Sewall
Sewall is a Lyte cousin who ultimately ends up running away and joining the Minute Men.
Samuel Adams
Sam Adams is one of the leading members of the Boston Observers. He’s an older, slightly shaky man, but this doesn’t diminish his power or his prestige.
Mr. Justice Dana
Mr. Justice Dana is the judge who presides when Johnny appears in court accused of stealing Merchant Lyte’s silver cup. Though he’s friends with Merchant Lyte, Cilla and Isannah’s testimony leads him to rule in Johnny’s favor.
Josiah Quincy
Mr. Quincy is a young, nervous lawyer who represents Johnny free of charge when Merchant Lyte accuses Johnny of stealing a silver cup. He’s a Whig and is loosely associated with the rebel movement.
Captain Bull
Captain Bull is a hulking ship’s captain whom Merchant Lyte attempts to use to intimidate Johnny.
The Webb Twins
The Webb twins are two little boys apprenticed in Uncle Lorne’s printing shop. Uncle Lorne sends them out of Boston after the Boston Tea Party grinds business to a halt.
Rabbit
Rabbit is Aunt Jenifer and Uncle Lorne’s infant son. Johnny pretends not to like the baby, but he actually adores Rabbit and gives him his nickname.
William Molineaux
Mr. Molineaux is one of the Boston Observers.
Mr. Rotch
Mr. Rotch owns one of the three tea ships stuck in the Boston Harbor prior to the Boston Tea Party.
Lydia
Lydia is an enslaved Black woman who works at the Afric Queen tavern. Annoyed by the British officers’ desire for fresh sheets weekly, she begins helping Johnny spy on them by relaying any potentially important information she overhears.
Colonel Nesbit
Colonel Nesbit is the British officer who catches Rab and a farmer trying to purchase a stolen British musket. Though Nesbit tars and feathers the farmer, he sends Rab away and tells him to buy a popgun, as Rab is only a boy.
Dr. Church
Dr. Church is a member of the Boston Observers, but he’s an odd man, and by the end of the novel, Paul Revere no longer trusts him.
Earl Percy
Earl Percy is a British officer who leads reinforcements to join Colonel Smith when the British march on Lexington and Concord.
Sandy
Sandy is Colonel Smith’s warhorse. He’s extremely well trained, calm, and affectionate.
Nan
Nan is one of Colonel Smith’s horses. She’s favored for riding around Boston, as she has easy gaits to ride.
Billy Dawes
A member of Paul Revere’s spy network, Billy dresses as a drunken farmer, pays off the guards at the Neck, and rides north to warn Minute Men that the British are marching the night before the battles at Lexington and Concord.
Robert Newman
Robert Newman is a member of Paul Revere’s spy network; he hangs two lanterns in the Christ Church tower, indicating that the British will leave Boston by the river. He’s jailed for this.
Major Pitcairn
Major Pitcairn is a foul-mouthed but well-liked British officer. He leads a regiment of marines to back up Colonel Smith at the battles of Lexington and Concord.