Prezi by Sidney
- Frannie, who is the main character in the book. Her real name is Abigail, but the nickname came from her brother. She believes in God, but does not go to church on Sunday because she thinks that they are all being fake there.
- Jesus Boy, the social outcast. His real name is never mentioned. Everybody just calls him that because he looks like Jesus. He is the only white kid in Frannie's class, so he gets bullied a lot. People say he belongs on the 'other side of the highway', where the rest of the Caucasians live. He is adopted and believes that he's black.
- Frannie's mother, the inspiration. She has an important role because she is going through a lot of trouble and helps Frannie grasp the idea to look beyond the surface.
- Sean, who is Frannie's brother. Sean is deaf, and is very attractive, as Frannie puts it.
- Samantha, Frannie's best friend. She is the daughter of a pastor and has a different perspective than Frannie on how to live your life as a Christian.
- Ray-Ray, who's real name is Raymond Rayson. This slightly crazy kid in Frannie's class takes a liking to Jesus Boy, but doesn't have the guts until the end of the book to stand up for him.
- Trevor, the class bully. He bullies Jesus Boy recklessly, but towards the end of the book, gets less powerful and ends up looking like a fool.
This book takes place in the early 1970s (1971 to be exact), in an urban town with mostly blacks next to a highway. "Feathers" is set right after segregation had been outlawed and focuses on the topics of hope, understanding, segregation, and learning more about God.
The book starts out with Frannie learning a poem that says, "Hope is the thing with feathers. This intrigues her to think deeper into the poem. The book also starts with The New Kid coming into the class. He's the only white boy and he won't share his name. He insists that everybody calls him Jesus Boy.
This "Jesus Boy" isn't appreciated in the school. Trevor, the class bully, does not treat him kindly. Frannie and Ray-Ray feel bad for Jesus Boy because he keeps getting abused by Trevor, but are too scared to stand up for him.
Frannie's mom is also having a lot of trouble, too. Ever since she had 2 miscarriages, she's been feeling down. Frannie notices that she's become more tired, and sure enough, her mom's pregnant. Concerned about her, this is another thing that Frannie has to deal with.
Frannie's brother is also having trouble. He's deaf, but very good-looking, according to the book. Girls come up to him all the time. However, when they see him doing sign language, they walk away, just as disappointed as Sean. This leads Sean to be depressed, because he can't make friends out of his 'own world'.
Here's a conversation Frannie has with her brother in sign language.
"Remember the bridge?" Sean signed.
I shook my head.
"You know. When we were sitting at the window that day and I said what if we could build some kind of bridge from every window."
I nodded, slowly remembering.
"It's like that, Frannie. The hearing girls are the bridges. They're the other worlds. They're the worlds I just can't walk across and into, you know."
"Kind of."
"I mean, the deaf girls, they're in my world- we don't even have to communicate and we know each other. But I don't just want my world. I want everybody else's world too. You already have both worlds, Frannie. You can walk wherever you want."
Frannie is facing spiritual problems, too. Her friend, Samantha, thinks that Jesus Boy is actually Jesus because he kind of looks like him and he's quite calm. She also thinks this because he's 'coming' in the middle of the Vietnam War. Samantha keeps asking Frannie to come to church with her, but Frannie does not like their church because there are too many people being fake there. She prefers to have a more personal relationship with God.
One day, Trevor comes to school... with a broken arm.Somehow thinking this was Jesus boy's fault when it wasn't, he gets extremely mad and tries to fight him. Jesus Boy is usually quite peaceful. However, just this one time, he's about to fight back, when Trevor falls in the snow, embarrassed. The kids who always thought Jesus Boy was actually Jesus Boy realize that he's not the real Messiah, since Jesus wouldn't actually fight anyone back. This disappoints Samantha, but Frannie comforts her by saying, "Maybe there's a little bit of Jesus inside all of us."
In the end of the book, Frannie's matured. She's began to realize the real point of things and life and has learn how to deal with trouble such as bullying, segregation, and losing hope. The book doesn't have a very final ending- it seems like there should be more. You ask yourself: Did Frannie's mom have a successful delivery? Was it a girl or a boy? Is Sean going to work out his difficulties? You're left to finish the story in your mind.
The last sentence in the book is, "Each moment, I am thinking, is a thing with feathers".
"Hope is the thing
with feathers..."
-Emily Dickinson
The End
- a because throughout this book, hope is mentioned several times. Also, because Frannie used hope to overcome the obstacles in her life.
I think the theme in this book is hope because Frannie so frequently uses hope to push through the obstacles in her life, I also think it is hope because the poem Frannie learns in her lessons is so very important to the book. Hope is a nice concept to have, and this book has definitely helped me have more hope and faith in God.
One day, Trevor comes to school... with a broken arm.Somehow thinking this was Jesus boy's fault when it wasn't, he gets extremely mad and tries to fight him. Jesus Boy is usually quite peaceful. However, just this one time, he's about to fight back, when Trevor falls in the snow, embarrassed. The kids who always thought Jesus Boy was actually Jesus Boy realize that he's not the real Messiah, since Jesus wouldn't actually fight anyone back. This disappoints Samantha, but Frannie comforts her by saying, "Maybe there's a little bit of Jesus inside all of us."
Sean, her brother, is another source of Frannie's difficulties. Because Sean is deaf,
Personally, I didn't think this book deserved a Newberry Honor Award. It was quite boring, and the ending was disappointing. Also, it was very hard to follow. Even though the back says this book is for ages 9-11, it seems like it should be for older children who look deep into the point of life. Sure, the plot was interesting, but the author didn't execute it very well. I would not recommend this book, but if you're interested in conflicts in the 1970s and looking deep into the book, I think you'd appreciate it more than me.