Day of Tears : A Novel in Dialogue
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the way slaves are treated is disturbing -- they are beaten into unconsciousness, treated like animals with no feelings, and separated from their families. Readers will encounter the whipping of slaves, a forced fight in which a slave loses an eye, the death of a baby in a rainstorm, and a suicide.
Families who read this book could discuss the historical background of the American slave system. How could people who considered themselves to be good, decent people have treated others in this way? How could the slaves endure it? How could Sampson, a slave, come to identify so strongly with being a slave that he resisted freedom?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Lester tells the story in the form of snippets of scripted dialogue, thoughts, flashbacks, and quotes from an historical pamphlet that gives the names and prices of those sold at this auction.
It's easy to see how this format could be adapted for school plays, dramatic readings, and reader's theater performances. Though it sometimes can be a bit confusing when being read silently, the format makes the story very accessible to elementary-age children, as does the author's careful avoidance of the more sensational and lurid aspects of the story.
This same format, though, creates an emotional distance that robs the novel of some of the raw power one might expect from the subject matter. The author skips from character to character, and time to time, never letting the reader identify too strongly with any one person. Perhaps the author felt this was necessary to bring young readers face-to-face with the reality of the situation without overwhelming them.
In any case, as an adjunct to elementary and middle-school history classes, and for children who are interested on their own in the subject, this is a fascinating and engrossing look at a little-known historical event that encapsulates the institution of slavery. The author's note provides historical facts and a short bibliography.
From The Book
White folks have come from all over. Yesterday they was buying up slaves as quick as the slave-seller could get 'em up on the block. Some of the slaves cried worse than a baby that's sick. Most of 'em, however, did their crying on the inside, 'cause if you looked real close you could see the sorrow in their eyes. A few, however, looked like they was dead, but their hearts hadn't got the message yet.
Plot Summary:
In 1857, Pierce Butler, a plantation owner deeply in debt due to a gambling habit, held what became the largest slave auction in American history to raise the money to pay off his debts. Author Julius Lester takes this real historical event and tells the story through the eyes of those involved, black and white, both at the time and reflecting back on it years later.
Some of these characters are: Emma, a child slave who takes care of the Butler children and is sold despite a promise to her mother not to sell her; Sampson, a slave who believes in slavery and the inferiority of his race; Sarah, oldest Butler daughter, who takes after her mother in despising slavery; and Jeremiah, a white abolitionist conductor on the Underground Railway, who sets in motion more than he had planned.
Related Books:
More Novels About Slavery
Steal Away by Jennifer Armstrong
Ajeemah and his Son by James Berry
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln and Christopher Collier
Melitte by Fatima Shaik
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 by Joyce Hansen
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ViolenceWhipping of slaves, a forced fight in which a slave loses an eye, the death of a baby in a rainstorm, a suicide, a son punches his father. |
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LanguageWhites refer to blacks using the n-word. |
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Social BehaviorPervasive racism, as whites discuss how blacks don't have the intelligence or emotions of whites, characters admire the KKK, and in general treat slaves as animals or dimwitted children. |
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