Transcript Jeff

Rifles for Watie
Final Review
Some (but not all) Points to
Ponder…
Who is the author of Rifles for Watie?
• Harold Keith
What is the genre of this novel?
• Historical fiction
What years does the Civil War span?
• 1861-1865
Wilson’s Creek
Why is Jeff’s first battle experience NOT at Wilson’s
Creek?
• Because he is sized-up as small and perhaps
expendable, an officer calls Jeff off the line to find a
missing quartermaster.
What is Ford Ivey’s purpose in the
novel?
• Ford is used to show how the limitations of
Civil War-era medical practices meant the
amputation was the primary way doctors in
the field treated serious wounds to arms and
legs
• Ford, though a flat character, is one the
reader cares about; he is young and friendly,
someone Jeff likes. His emotional scene with
Jeff outside the surgeon’s tent breaks our
hearts
The Battle of Prairie Grove
• Jeff experiences his first battle at
Prairie Grove. The reality of war
becomes clear to him, and he learns
how wrong he had been to think war
was a “lark.” Noah stays by Jeff’s side
and actually saves the boy’s life by
killing a rebel who was about to
overcome Jeff in hand-to-hand combat.
Jake Lonegan/Jimmy Lear
Jake looks like Jeff’s idea of a real soldier, but…
• he is a bully who picks on Zed Tinney
• he drops his rifle and runs away from the battle
Jimmy Lear is an under-aged boy who should have
stayed behind the lines, but
• he picks up Jake’s cast-off rifle and fights bravely
Did anyone notice that the two have the same
initials? Is that just a coincidence, or is everything
an author does truly deliberate? What could it
mean?
Which Union soldier character is
most protective of Jeff?
• Noah Babbitt
What is Noah’s nickname for Jeff?
• “Youngster”
Why is ironic that Noah ends up
buying his horse, Old Cold Jaw?
• He once hated horses. He was the
worst rider in the cavalry! Think of
Chapter 17: “The Ride of Noah
Babbitt.”
Which Rebel soldier is most protective
of Jeff?
• Heifer Hobbs
Explain why is this sentence NOT an example of simile,
despite the presence of the word like: Heifer’s feeling
for [Jeff] was like that of a doting father.
• In order for the example to be a simile, Heifer’s feelings
and those of a doting father would have to be essentially
different. Since Heifer is a father, he knows what it is to
be a “doting father.”
The name Heifer Hobbs (as well as Neeley North and all
the first names of the Washbourne children) is an
example of what poetic device?
• alliteration
What is Belle’s purpose in the novel?
• She is a source of information for Jeff
• She returns Lee Washbourne’s body to
his family.
Name the river that separates Union
territory from Confederate territory.
• The Arkansas River
Why does Jeff’s leaving Dixie behind with Lucy
symbolize more than his need for a dogsitter?
• In leaving his beloved dog with Lucy, Jeff is
leaving a part of himself behind. He
promises to return for the dog, but the reader
understands that he is implying that will be
returning for Lucy, as well.
How many months is Jeff away from
Fort Gibson “on scout?”
• Fourteen
Why is Jeff reluctant to become one of General
Blunt’s scout?
• He knows it is dangerous work. Noah once told him
that captured spies (scouts) are killed if they are
exposed
• He honestly doesn’t feel he has any skills for the job
• The memory of Lee Washbourne’s execution is still
fresh in his mind. Lee was a rebel scout caught in
Union territory
How does Jeff’s youthful appearance
ultimately work to his advantage?
• Major Adair of the Cherokee Mounted Rifles approves
of Jeff because of the boy’s youthful looks - that and
his Southern name. He looks young and harmless, so
despite Fields’s suspicions, Jeff is sworn in with
Bostwick to Watie’s regiment.
Why is coffee mentioned so often
in the story?
• Coffee is dear in the South. Rebels are
willing to trade tobacco for it
• Rebels taken prisoner by the Union ask
to be shown the way to the “Lincoln
coffee”
• Ultimately it is his beloved Union coffee
betrays Jim Bostwick as a “Blue Belly”.
Which character delivers Jeff’s
message to Blunt at Fort Gibson?
• Leemon Jones
Leemon says two oddly curious things to Jeff
related to slavery. What are they?
• Leemon says proudly when asked by Jeff why
slaves don’t fight in the war for their Confederate
masters: “The South don’ want slaves in theah
armies. We’s too valuable. We’s property.”
• With regard to the slaves’ hope for freedom,
Leemon tells Jeff that some feel conflicted because
of their feelings for their masters: “We love ouah
mastahs but we all want to be free some day.”
Why is the Spencer rifle such a
desirable weapon?
• It is capable of firing seven shots before it needs to be
reloaded.
• It makes the Springfield musket that most of the men
carry seem antiquated (like an antique – hopelessly
out of date)
What was the significance of Clardy’s
asking Bill Earle to sing?
• It was a signal that Clardy had rifles in his
possession ready to sell. Bill’s voice carried
across the river to where the rebels were
camped, so the rebel commander
understood the “message.” When the rebel
on the other side of river sang in return, it
was a signal to Clardy that the rebels had
the required gold to pay for them.
Why does Clardy demand payment for
the Spencer rifles in gold?
• Clardy, who only cares about his own
profit and not the outcome of the war,
wants to be paid in a form that will
have value after the war regardless of
who wins. Gold – all precious metal,
really - will retain its value.
So much about Stand Watie
doesn’t make sense to Jeff…
On one hand, his men…
• tormented Stuart Mitchell
when he was their prisoner
• burn the homes of fellow
Cherokees who
sympathized with the Union
• kill Pete Millholland for food
they didn’t need
• kill Frank Brandt in front of
his family, looted their
home, and killed their
livestock
On the other hand…
• he is admired by the
Washbourne and Jackman
families
• he personally arranges for
Jeff to be cared for by his
aunt’s family
• distributes food to needy
Southern families
• and worst of all, he looks
like a kindly and harmless
old farmer!
She said Jeff had the “shiveryshakes” and the “wee-wahs.”
• Hannah declared that Jeff had suffered
from these strange maladies.
• Hannah’s character is heavy with the
stereotype of the Southern mammy.
There is more than one climax in
this story...
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In a novel, the protagonist could have more than one conflict with which he/she struggles.
Each conflict requires its own resolution.
Jeff is in firm possession of the mistaken idea that war is a glorious adventure and that
soldiers (in the right army, of course) are the finest of men. By the time he experiences
battle first-hand, helps Jimmy Lear face death, watches helplessly while Ford Ivey is taken
into the amputation tent, and hears Noah admit he might have killed a man for a ham, Jeff
understands that “war changes a man.”
Jeff struggles mightily with his feelings for the Washbournes, the Jackmans, Heifer, Hooley,
and the other Watie men. Over time, his dilemma changes from “when” to “if” he will return
to the fort. Upon learning that Clardy is the traitor selling the Spencer rifles, his conflict
seems over: he plans to affirm his allegiance and commitment to the Union; he will return to
the fort…
...until he encounters Lucy outside
a dance hall in Boggy Depot.
•
•
Jeff is forced to wrestle with this conflict all over
again. If he stays with the South, he will have Lucy.
If he returns to the fort, he will lose her forever. The
tension builds as he is forced to make his decision
all over again.
The moment of climax comes with Jeff’s decisive
statement: “Lucy, I am going back to the fort.”
Lucy and Jeff share a kiss under a redbud
tree. What is symbolic about the tree?
• The redbud tree has heart-shaped leaves, vibrant and
tender as their love for one another
Why does the author include numerous
scenes in which Jeff is shown to be good
with animals?
• Jeff’s ability to make friends easily with animals
makes it possible for him to win over Sully, the
bloodhound tracking him. It is his gentle nature with
animals that ultimately saves his life.
• Jeff eventually owns three dogs. What are their
names?
• Ring
• Dixie
• Sully
How is the manner in which Clardy
is killed ironic?
• Clardy is found stabbed multiple times. No
one know who stabbed him, but it could
have been his own comrades who felt
cheated by Clardy, or it could have been a
rebel out for revenge
• Clardy stabbed Sparrow in the back…
• Clardy is a “back stabber” – a traitor, a man
with no allegiance to anyone except himself
Why should we have seen
Clardy’s treachery coming?
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According to Sparrow, Clardy was a thief and a murderer. Sparrow’s
murder, undoubtedly committed by Clardy to send a message to Jeff,
seems to confirm Sparrow’s story
Emory Bussey remembers Clardy as a “vindictive fellow” who easily
abandoned his allegiance to his Federal Southern regiment when he
was denied a promotion he desired.
Even the tasting of the soup before it could be served to the men
shows he feels his own wants are primary.
The cruelty shown by Clardy in Chapter 13, first to Bill Earle when
crossing the river and then to the moaning, wounded rebel he stomps
to death in Van Buren, seems to symbolize his lack of compassion for
those on either side of the war.
The scene where Clardy asks Bill Earle to sing foreshadowed that
Clardy was definitely up to something, and nothing about his
personality and actions up to that point should have made the reader
think that something was something good.
How does Lucy’s life change with the
South’s loss in the war?
• Lucy’s family was well-to-do in Tahlequah; they lived in a fine
house with slaves to wait upon them. After the war, the family
is living as refugees in Boggy Depot
• She once wore fine dresses; she now only has one patched-up
calico (a common fabric) to wear
• Her parents will now have to work for a living, her father as a
teamster and mother running a boarding house catering to
Union officers; as rebels, their money was likely all
Confederate dollars, now worthless
• Lucy’s skills prior to the war would have made her a poor
farmer’s wife; she now proudly tells Jeff that she can cook and
do all sorts of household chores
What rank does Jeff attain before leaving the
army?
• Sergeant
What earned him his promotion?
• General Blunt promoted Jeff for getting a message to
the fort through Leemon Jones about Confederate
troop movements.
How does the resolution of Chapter 25
mirror the events of Chapter 1 and the early
events of Chapter 3?
• David Gardner, John Chadwick, and Jeff
return home as they left; references are
made to David’s bones “bleachin’ on no
prairie,” and John approaches his front door
with an armload of blackjack logs.
• After reading a letter from Lucy, Jeff falls
asleep with his beloved Ring at his side.