April Morning by Howard Fast Essay

â€Å"April Morning† by Howard Fast is a novel that takes place during the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. The entire book takes place during a 24 hour time period. Adam Cooper is the antagonist in this novel. When Adam goes to bed on the eve of April 18, 1775 he is a boy. When he awakens the next morning he is forced to become a man. In the early hours of the morning he, along with the rest of the town, is awakened by a lone rider racing to Lexington to warn them that a British army, of maybe a thousand men, is marching their way. Immediately the town is in a frenzy to prepare for the British arrival. The book is about Adam’s journey during the Battle of Lexington. Adam Cooper is just 15 years old when he chooses to fight alongside his father in the Battle of Lexington. He is a brave and courageous character. He admits, at least to himself, that he is scared to fight but it does not prevent him from fulfilling his duty to his people. During the battle Adam reveals that he does not enjoy killing and shooting people. His character is full of sarcasm and curiosity. He is constantly questioning everything including God which was practically unheard of in his time. Moses Cooper is Adam’s father. He is a strong man who loves to argue and debate with anyone. He is tough on Adam, so much so that Adam is convinced that his father hates him. There is only one point in this novel where Moses shows any kind of affection towards Adam, and it is right before the battle where Moses is killed. Solomon Chandler is an older man whom Adam runs into while running away from two redcoat soldiers. Solomon takes Adam under his wing so to say for the rest of the battle. He comforts Adam and provides Adam a shoulder to cry on after Adams father is shot and killed. Later we find out that Solomon has a darker side to him when he is shooting the Redcoat soldiers and laughing like it is a game. Granny also known as Goody Cooper is Adams grandmother. She and Adam seem very close. You can tell she is a tough woman but she is much more sensitive than her son Moses. Constantly you read about her reprimanding Moses even though he is full grown and has a family of his own. She is not afraid to voice her opinion to anyone. When the Redcoats are ransacking her home, she does not sit and cower, she follows them into every room and yells and screams at them calling them thieves and murderers. Ruth Simmons is Adams second cousin once removed. She is also his love interest in the story. Ruth has known Adam her whole life and decided when she was 13 years old that he was the man she wanted to marry. One of the many conflicts in this novel includes the physical size of the British Army verses the townspeople’s army. The British have an army of well over 1000 men, whereas Lexington was only able to acquire less than 100 men. When the British arrive at Lexington all of the men are faced with the option to both stand and fight, which was considered suicide, or they could run away. They had to make up their mind quick. Every single man ran and fled the town. Had they not there is no doubt that they would all have been slaughtered. Once the committees get together all the remaining men from nearby towns they plan to ambush the British. Adam describes how tiered and weak his body is. He is so tiered that he actually stops shooting and finds a spot under a tree where he falls asleep! He cannot physically stay awake any longer. At the end of the battle when Adam returns home he finds Ruth and they talk about the future. He confirms to Ruth that he does in fact love her, and to himself he confirms that he doesn’t want to marry any other girl but her. However, there is still the matter of Adam going to fight again and when Ruth asks Adam if he will sign the muster book he is torn between staying with his family and Ruth or going to war and fighting. As I read â€Å"April Morning† I found it very hard to stop reading. It is a fast moving book that goes through, in detail, each battle that Adam had to face in just 24 hours. I loved Adams character mostly because of his sarcasm in the beginning of the novel. I liked the fact that he did not really want to shoot and kill the Redcoats he just wanted them to leave. The book was cleverly written, and I admired Howard Fast for being able to write a book just about one day and still keeps it interesting the whole way through. I never found myself getting bored or tiered of reading it. I think it gives a great perspective on what the Battle of Lexington was like. It had everything a book, in my opinion, should have: love, hate, sorrow, terror, adventure, and action. A great read for anyone interested in learning more about our American history and how the American Revolution began.