29 pages • 58 minutes read
Gary PaulsenNightjohn
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Sarny
12-year-old Sarny is Nightjohn’s narrator, telling the story from her first-person perspective. The grammar with which the novel is written reinforces Sarny’s lack of education. Despite lacking access to education, she values learning, letters, and numbers. Even before Nightjohn becomes her teacher, she absorbs information through observation and reflects on daily lessons. Nightjohn’s arrival allows Sarny to pursue her natural hunger for knowledge.
Sarny’s character reveals that she and other slaves are enslaved both physically and mentally. Before Nightjohn mentions experiencing freedom in the north, Sarny has no concept of what freedom means. She doesn’t set foot outside of the plantation until Nightjohn shares his secret school at the novel’s end. Through her character, Gary Paulsen shows that slaves were brainwashed to believe their masters and unable to experience reality beyond plantations.
Sarny’s character undergoes a transformation throughout the novel. In the beginning, she lacks hope and means to pursue her desire to learn. By the novel’s end, she has learned to read and write—skills that give her the power to narrate-write her own story. Although her body is still Clel Waller’s to command, her mind is no longer enslaved.
Mammy (Delie)
Mammy acts as mother and caretaker to all of the slave children on Waller’s plantation. She is hardworking, cooking two meals a day for both the children and field workers. She also acts as a nurse to those who have been whipped or attacked by Waller’s dogs, showing grit by bandaging and stitching gruesome wounds. Mammy demonstrates calm and courage in the face of punishment from Waller, refusing to cast blame on either Sarny or Nightjohn. For the most part, she stays out of trouble and advises Sarny to do the same; however, she does break the rules by occasionally talking to God at night.
Mammy seems to share a special bond with Sarny. Since Sarny is one of the older children under her care, Mammy often looks to her as an assistant. She also looks out for what she believes are Sarny’s best interests, teaching her to hide a penny she found and reprimanding her for anything that could get her in trouble with Waller. Wanting to protect Sarny from punishment, Mammy initially discourages her from learning to read; reading could result in both physical punishment and emotional despair, as the latter often comes with learning about things out of one’s reach. However, Nightjohn compels Mammy to change her mind. Mammy recognizes that the system of slavery won’t change if slaves are unable to tell their own stories—and that education will serve Sarny well in the long run.
Nightjohn (John)
Nightjohn, also referred to as John, is characterized as brave—almost to the point of recklessness. The scars crisscrossing his back reveal that he has been through immeasurable cruelty, yet his spirit remains undaunted. He escaped slavery and made it to the north, only to return to teach reading and writing to fellow slaves. Nightjohn’s choice to return shows the value he sees in education. But rather than offer lessons in reading from the start, he lets things happen organically, trading letters of the alphabet for Sarny’s tobacco. Although teaching 12-year-old Sarny poses a risk because of her immaturity, he seems to recognize that the future of his people lies with the younger generation. Even after his middle toes are cut off as punishment, Nightjohn continues to teach Sarny and returns to create a school for the surrounding plantations. Nightjohn remains steadfast throughout the novel, determined to share his knowledge despite having won his freedom. His courage changes Sarny’s life and ultimately allows her to tell her story.
Clel Waller
Clel Waller is the novel’s antagonist. He is depicted as pure evil, with no redeeming qualities to garner sympathy from the reader. Based on Sarny’s descriptions, Waller’s wicked personality parallels his physicality. His body and breath smell, and Sarny often compares him to an animal. Waller’s character symbolizes real-life slave owners who treated their slaves as property, with cruelty and twisted pleasure.
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By Gary Paulsen
