Banned Books Week 2021
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier--Older Middle Grades Historical FictionDaniel Arabus and his Mum are enslaved by Captain and Mrs. Ivers of Stratford, Connecticut colony and wishing to be free. They SHOULD be free as Daniel's Daddy served in the Revolutionary War and earned the money to buy his freedom. Instead of being grateful Daniel's dad served in his place, Captain Ivers seizes the soldiers' promissory notes given to those who served to be exchanged for paper money soon... eventually... maybe once the Congress in Philadelphia gets around to deciding what they're going to do now they're free from British rule. Daniel and his mother can't wait for the white men to decide. They want to be free, deserve to be free, ARE free but Mrs. Ivers is hiding the money and carrying on as usual. When Daniel steals back the notes, he puts into action a sequence of events that could end with him being dead at the bottom of the ocean or sold into slavery in the West Indies to be worked into an early grave. He's determined not to let that happen for the sake of his mother. She deserves her freedom after the heartache of losing her man to war and finally death. Daniel vows to escape to New York where his family has friends but what will happen once he arrives? What if his journey is all for naught?
This book is one of the top banned books of the 1990s. Published in 1981, written by history scholars, it must have been one of the earliest children's historical fiction novels to honestly portray slavery and racism in the years following the Revolutionary War. The fact this book is set so early and set in New England makes it unusual even today. As a result of much scholarship and debate, the authors modernized most of the language with the exception of the word used to describe Daniel and other people of African descent. They actually DO go there and use THAT word- the mother of all banned words - "n____." Daniel even uses it to describe himself because that's all he's ever heard. Daniel also continually thinks and says White people are smarter than he is. Therefore, lazy parents who don't bother to read the whole book, want this one banned. I didn't like Daniel's lack of self-esteem and the way he kept putting himself down. I do agree that it could be damaging to the self-esteem of young Black students, but it's not a reason not to read the book. We can't know if that's the way enslaved people in the 1770s thought of themselves. Given that many like Daniel's father, fought and died for the new Republic, some probably didn't but Daniel is just out of childhood at 14. He's been told and retold his whole life how White people know more, know better than him. Not even his friendship with the nephew of his enslaver shows Daniel the value of his own thoughts.
Other parents might object to the way Daniel continually lies and breaks the law but if they bother to read the book, Daniel lies to save his life! Slavery in the Caribbean was an automatic death sentence. Work in the sugarcane fields was grueling and hot. The life expectancy of an enslaved person was extremely short. Plus Daniel has his mother to worry about.
This is a coming of age story about a young enslaved boy. As he goes on his journey towards freedom he learns a lot. He learns valuable life skills involved in being a sailor when he had assumed it was mostly standing around singing sea shanties. He learns about the new government forming and what that means for him. He discovers while some Whites are not as horrendous as his enslaver, most really don't care enough to end slavery right now. The Constitution was a COMPROMISE -and a bad one- favoring the southern states. Without them, we would be a loose collection of states, like Europe but tiny, each with their own laws. That would be problematic for many reasons and not to mention the fact the northerners really didn't care about ending slavery any more than the southerners did. It was mainly only Quakers and other fringe religious fanatics like Mr. Fatherscreft.
Some Black readers may object to the character of Tom, a Black man who is nasty and vindictive towards his own race. He wants to be important to Captain Ivers and the White crew so he capitulates and does what they want in order to be respected. I think it's implied he also goes behind their back and helps himself to cargo to sell but is smart enough not to get caught because they trust him.
As the story goes on, Daniel grows in confidence. He learns not to denigrate himself and his race. He STOPS using the very bad n_ word and switches to "negro" which is not so acceptable nowadays either but is more respectful. Daniel learns how to be a man, how to think for himself and make concessions in order to get what he wants in the long run.
I thought the plot started off a little slow and I had a hard time getting past Daniel's constant thoughts about "What do I know? I'm just a ___?" and "White peoples is smarter than us. Once Daniel is on board the ship, the story picks up and it becomes difficult to put down. The writing style is a little stilted and boring. It's not the BEST book about slavery at this time I've ever read and I'd say The Seeds of America Trilogy: Chains / Forge / Ashes is much better written but for the time, this book must have been groundbreaking and shocking. I actually can't think of any other books besides Seeds of America and Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons that even tackle the subject of slavery. I have a feeling this one is going to end up on the banned anti-Critical Race Theory book list if it's still in schools. It's not there yet.Central York (Pa.) Banned Book Club
No, the book offers no redemption for Captain Ivers. He was arrogant and greedy and nearly lost everything but he still will stop at nothing to get his "PROPERTY" back. That's all Daniel is to him. That's the way it was folks. Even the most ardent supporters of the Revolution were ardent supporters of slavery and considered enslaved people property. The authors' note at the end is very good.
A word of caution to devoted fans of the musical Hamilton. Our beloved hero makes a cameo at the end of the novel and let me warn you that he is in no way an admirable or nice man. It was quite a shock but probably more realistic than Lin Manuel Miranda portrays him. He comes across as one of the villains.
