In the Parallel Lives of Wilhelmina Freeman and Veronica Miller

I am comparing and contrasting the books War Comes to Willy Freeman and The Last Song. They both are about girls and their struggles. I love these books a lot!

                First of all there are not too many similarities but one that was that really stuck out to me was the loss of innocence. When Ronnie Miller was a younger girl her parents got divorced and her Dad moved down South to North Carolina. Ever since she has hated him but she doesn’t yet know the tragic fate that lies ahead for him (The Last Song).  In the book War Comes to Willy Freeman Willy thinks she is just helping her father bring her horse to the Battle of Fort Griswold and then come home. But no that’s when her life drastically changes and there is no looking back now.

                Innocence was lost early for both ladies. For Wilhelmina it was lost at age 12 and around age 14 for Ronnie. They were in my opinion to young for these atrocious things to happen too. From when Ronnie’s Dad moved to from when Willy’s Dad got murdered right before her eyes in the battle. Then there lives drastically changed. Ronnie never wanted to talk to her dad, and didn’t till she was forced to go down from New York to stay with him for the summer. While the battle was going on Willy’s mother got captured by the British and was taken hostage. Neither of the girls conversed to that certain one of their parents for over two years. Then they were gone write before their eyes.

                That’s right; Ronnie’s dad dies. Once she finally realizes how dumb she’s been acting these past couple of years and regrets it all. Some of her father’s last words to her were, “Life, we realize, was much like a song. In the beginning there is a mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it’s the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile.” Pg.445.  The day Willy Freeman finally gets to see her mother again she is on her death bead seconds away from dying. Sadly to say there were no miracles and she does.

                Yes the main characters in each story are girls with loss but, there were many more difference.  It’s completely different time periods the one comes from War Comes to Willy Freeman is set in the Revolutionary War; The Last Song is set in the 2000’s. So much in time has evolved since then. The Revolutionary War has long ended and a whole new war has started. Even though war has nothing to do with The Last Song. One stories main theme is freedom and the other one is loss.

                In conclusion the stories are different but there are also some small similarities. There will always be a couple things that can relate to each situation. Both situations mad the girls grow up as people into women. A quote spoken from Willy Freeman, “A whole part of my life was over now. I was grown up; and it was all going to be new.”

The Journey

Author’s note: This book is about a girl finding her mother because that’s the best thing she has left. I love my mom too even though we fight she’s my best friend.

                In the novel War Comes to Willy Freeman by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier; the climax comes pretty early. The rising main action is when Willy ends up being a young man in the war. Then came the point of no return the climax: Willy’s mom gets captured by the British. Ever since that moment the story has revolved around that conflict.  All she has done has been on the search to find her mama.  On her journey she has been captured by the British, almost slaughtered twice, and had to deceive a bunch of people by pretending to be a boy.

                In the book I still have about 100 pages so I have no idea how it ends if she actually finds what she is looking for. I have a feeling though that something awful has happened to Wilhelmina’s mother because it has almost been two years since she has seen her.  I don’t think I would be able to live without my mom. She helps me with everything n my life; I don’t get how Willy can live without her. But Willy Freeman and I have one thing in common we both would do anything to get her back. 

In the Eyes of Wilhelmina Freeman

In the Eyes of Wilhelmina Freeman

I am reading a book about a young girl trying to find her mother in the Revolutionary War. The story is told from her pint of view .I’m only on chapter 11 of the book,  so I cannot tell you what happens if she actually finds what she is searching for!

What if you were a teen girl in the Revolutionary War? Pretending to be a boy to find the only thing she has left; her mom. The book is told through Willy’s eyes as she goes through many events and struggles to find her mother. She won’t let anything stand in her way so she must deceive everyone to get what she wants most. 

Through situations she was in (such as the first battle when she witnessed her father die) being a girl was illegal to even be there. Willy Freeman almost got killed that night too.  “Please don’t kill me. I’m not a boy, I’m a girl.” To be in those situations scarred her for life. I know I would be too if my Dad got slaughtered right in front of me. Or to have almost lost my life so young. It would have been a completely different story if Wilhelmina was actually a boy; she would be dead this very day.

One of my personal favorite all time movies are She’s the Man. I believe these circumstances are similar because the both are told from the position of a girl trying to make her way through tough situations to get what they want. For Viola Hastings from She’s the Man she wants to things to make the boys soccer team and to get the guy she wants but she has to trick the ones that are close to her. Same as Willy who tricks the guy she is close to though; Horace. They both kind of wing it throughout their journeys never really knowing what is coming their ways.

            Both predicaments would seem different from another main characters point of view. Little things in life can change the whole outcome. Everyone has their own ways of looking at things that's why Wilhelmina's point of view was way different then how I would have looked and worked my way through situations. In the end it boils down to the same thing getting what I want and helping the ones I love the most. 

The Life of Dally Winston

The reason I chose to write about Dally is because I could make real life connections to him very easily. Plus I found good quotes from The Outsiders about Mr. Winston being a static character.

            Dallas Winston has had a very toil life. Pretty much everything has been an up-field battle since he was a young boy going to penitentiary house. Here’s a quote that stuck out to me that made me believe that made Dally who he is. “Johnny, you don't know what a few months in jail can do to you, man. You get mean in jail; I just don't wanna see that happen to you like it happened to me, man. Understand?” Since then though, he has been tough as nails and bull headed as ever. And as far as we know, he is never going to change. He doesn’t care about many people, he really has no cares or worries at all and his only family was the gang. That’s just how his life is.

            Ever since he went to jail he never let anything or anyone get close to him till the day he died. Except one boy, Johnny. That’s the one person he truly cherished and carried about. But not even Johnny could change his ways of who he is. Just because he is a rebel that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s mean all the time he just acts in the moment and does what he likes. Once he lost Johnny he lost himself there was nothing worth living for so he didn’t live.

            Dally Winston reminds me of Sulley from the movie “Monsters Inc”. They both seem mean and hardcore at first but once you really get to know them they are nice and caring.  They both had that one special person they were close to and would do anything to save them. Even though Sulley is dynamic because at the beginning he only cared about himself and by the end he loves Boo and wanted to help her get home safely.  Dally is dynamic because he learned to love Johnny but he didn’t change his ways in everyday life.

            Quoted from “Monsters Inc:” “Sulley you’re not supposed to name it. Once you name it, you start getting attached to it. Now put that thing back where it same from or so help me.”   And from The Outsiders: “We gotta win that fight tonight. We gotta get even with those Socs! Let's do it for Johnny, man. We'll do it for Johnny!” This quote suck out to me because it shows that he cares whether the like it or not. Everyone always has something they will fight for and once it is gone, it’s a big hole right smack in your heart. You’ll always have the memories that will last a lifetime.