Utilizing specific quotes from the text, write a character sketch of either John before and after their education.
What are the changes in how they are described? What accounted for those changes?
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After John Jones had gotten suspended from school from lacking in doing his work, not knowing how to study, always singing & being loud it changed the way he lived & worked. Because once he had gotten suspended, he went off into the city & didn’t want to look back. He constantly had sleepless nights, was always in the park & catching terrible colds while being in there. Since he was always trying to look for work to do.
Before John Jones leaves town, he is described as a “good boy” and a hard worker, specifically by the white folk, as it says in the text. It also says he “seemed to be just bubbling with good nature and genuine satisfaction with the world.” However, once he returns from this education and work experience and is discussed in town, he is viewed in a more negative light, even though the black school appears to be enjoyed by everyone in town at first. Someone says to the judge, “Oh, nothin’ in particular—just his almighty air and uppish ways. I think I heard something about his great’ talks on the French Revolution, equality, and such. He’s what I call a dangerous N——.” This enrages the Judge, who goes over to the school and shuts it down himself.
Before John Jones’ education, he was said to have a “broad, good–natured smile”. At the institute, he was “always laughing and singing, and never able to work consecutively at anything.” After hearing that he had to leave the institution, his face got serious. It was said that the sober eyes and seripus face that he had when he left the institution never left him and has overwritten his old joyful face. This change was due to him suddenly facing a serious situation that he couldn’t see before.
John Jones
After his education, he seemed more mature than before. He seemed like he was willing to fool around less. “The people were distinctly bewildered. This silent, cold man,—was this John? Where was his smile and hearty hand–grasp?” He also had a moral compass after his education because of how he wanted to make a school for the colored people. “The Judge sat in the dining–room amid his morning’s mail, and he did not ask John to sit down. He plunged squarely into the business. ‘You’ve come for the school, I suppose'”. Jones wanted to make a change for his people back home and he felt that having a school for them was the way he should do it.
The changes were that he wasn’t fooling around anymore, wasn’t smiling, he seemed cold when hugging whoever he had to hug. His change was primarily caused by the reality check he received when faced with expulsion from the school.
In the beginning it says, Black John a tall guy and he has clothes that he’s outgrown. The author also said he had a good smile and he could take the awkwardness out of a situation by smiling. he had a kind of innocence because he didn’t really know what was going on and know the oppression that was going on. His education changed him because he realized that what was going on wasn’t right and he was enlightened by knowledge like Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglass and John decided to make a change
In Chapter 13 “The Coming of John”, we are introduced to one of the Johns that are within this story. John is consider by the community of Jamestown to be a person that is hardworking; described as “good boy,—fine plough–hand, good in the rice–fields, handy everywhere, and always good–natured and respectful.” John was unfortunately viewed as of a tool rather than a human so when his mother brought up the proposition of sending him off to college in seek of an education, the community viewed it as something that would spoil his brain and distract him from the good work that he has served in the past. John has been sent off to Princeton and gets his education there, while also coming back to town during holidays. When John came back to his hometown, he ended up being unhappy with himself because he started to blame himself for putting himself in these struggles. He was also suspended from school wondering why he had to go due to his tardiness and all the things that he has caused.
“The white folk of Altamaha voted John a good boy,—fine plough–hand, good in the rice–fields, handy everywhere, and always good–natured and respectful.”
John started off with being a good person since the white people described him in a positive way. This was a big win since society at the time relied on white people since around those times they had more power. This had an impact on him because once he got an education he learned all of the positive- that he saw in his eyes were actually negative. Therefore his eyes were opened up when it came to his attention that the world is actually very negative.
John Jones from Jamestown was described as a “hardworking; a good boy, fine plough hands, good in the rice fields, handy everywhere and always good natured and respectful.” Unfortunately, he was only seen as a tool when his mother wanted to send him to school where the white folks shooked their heads claiming it would “spoil him, ruin him”, but regardless, he was sent off to Princeton where he meets the white John and gets his education while also coming home for the holidays. When he returns back home, he was displeased and unhappy telling himself “perhaps I am to blame myself in struggling against my manifest destiny simply because it looks hard and unpleasant. Here is my duty to Altamaha plain before me; perhaps they’ll let me help settle the Negro problems there,—perhaps they won’t. ‘I will go in to the King, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.'”
“I’ll go away,” he said slowly; “I’ll go away and find work, and send for them. I cannot live here longer.”
At The begging on the story it talks about John being a hardworking young men not aware of racial oppression. As he leaves his town for a better education, he faces the struggles in his learning skills. But he learns the hard truth about racism. He realized that white people had more power over the black people back in his town. As he came across the real truth he was angry, upset, because his people deserved better, he deserved better. He expresses himself wanting to run away from a place they don’t have equal rights with color people.
Quotes of how was John before their education paragraph 2 Line 2-6 “A long, straggling fellow he is, brown and hard–haired, who seems to be growing straight out of his clothes, and walks with a half–apologetic roll. He used perpetually to set the quiet dining–room into waves of merriment, as he stole to his place after the bell had tapped for prayers; he seemed so perfectly awkward. And yet one glance at his face made one forgive him much,—that broad, good–natured smile in which lay no bit of art or artifice, but seemed just bubbling good–nature and genuine satisfaction with the world.
This quote tells us that he was a very nice, very big boy, who had a good relationship with everyone, in addition to seeming to be a kind person and with a shy step that made people forgive him just by looking at his face. Like him, he seemed like a very playful person with a very relaxed mind.
Quote from John after his return from his education. Paragraph 18 lines 11-14 “he looked in vain for his mother, kissed coldly the tall, strange girl who called him brother, spoke a short, dry word here and there; then, lingering neither for handshaking nor gossip, started silently up the street, raising his hat merely to the last eager old aunty, to her open–mouthed astonishment. The people were distinctly bewildered. This silent, cold man,—was this John? Where was his smile and hearty hand–grasp? “
This quote tells us that John returned as a cold and sharp person to his people, a personality completely parallel to the one he had when he was a child, so even his family is surprised by this.
In “Of the Coming of John”, John changed after being suspended from the institution. For example, he had become more strict and mature. The article states, “The people were distinctly bewildered. This silent, cold man,—was this John?”. In the quote, it is explained how John was very different from his old loud goofy self. John was viewed differently now by his peers and neighbors as more quiet and focused.
In “Of The Coming of John.” After John gets suspended from the institution for not following the rules, he becomes determined to prove himself, so he goes to the city to get a job, and when he returns to school, he comes back with a more serious work ethic. He eventually graduated from the institution and started to attend college. This shows that even though John faced many challenges to get through the institution, his determination to prove himself helped him get through the challenges and succeed.
Prior to John Jones’ education, he was described as having a “broad, good-natured smile.” However, upon entering the institute, it was observed that he exhibited a tendency to engage in laughter and singing, often struggling to maintain focus on tasks for extended periods of time.
Upon receiving news of his departure from the institution, a noticeable change occurred in John’s demeanor. His once joyful countenance transformed into a more serious expression. It was noted that this change persisted beyond his time at the institute, with his eyes reflecting a sense of sobriety and his face assuming a more serious demeanor.
This transformation can be attributed to the sudden exposure to a serious situation that John had not previously encountered. The gravity of this situation, which he had not been able to perceive before, had a lasting impact on his outlook and demeanor.