Across Five Aprils
Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Literary Text: Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Berkley JAM edition, 2002)
Plot Summary
From the perspective of 10‐year‐old Jethro, living in southern Illinois during the
heart of the U.S. Civil War, this novel gives a broad overview of the war’s events,
political dilemmas, and social strains as heard and experienced by the Creighton
family. Jeth’s two older brothers, cousin, and idolized school teacher leave to fight
for the Union—against slavery, while Jeth’s favorite brother Bill leaves to fight for
the South—against the “slavery” of industrialism. With his brothers gone and his
father suffering effects of a heart attack, young Jeth is prematurely handed the
responsibilities of manhood. In addition to handling the farm and trying to educate
himself about good grammar and politics, we see this
young boy grappling with many of the war’s effects:
mob violence against his family, constant community
tension over political views, a brother killed in the
war, and his conflict over whether or not to help his
army deserter cousin Eb. In between these events the
story is scattered with somewhat biased and unclear
accounts of the war’s battles and generals as told through the newspapers. The
novel ends with the hope granted by the war ending and Jeth’s future education
secured, tempered by the tragedy of President Lincoln’s murder and the reality that
the Creighton family will never be the same as they were prior to the war.
Organizational Patterns
This 209‐page book is divided into 12 unnamed chapters. While the chapters do not
seem to be divided into any particular patterns, it is significant that two narratives
are followed within the chapters: the war itself and the story of how the war affects
the Creighton family. The war events heavily scattered throughout this book are
told to the Creightons through newspaper accounts, letters, or word of mouth and
smoothly woven into the text.
Central Question/Enduring Issue
What does it mean to use reason and why is it important in society?
Towards the beginning of the novel Ellen tells her son Jeth that the men he heard
boasting about the North quickly beating the South are “talkin’ without a spark of
reason to guide their words” (13). The book shows how society often tends to
judge/label/polarize events and people to one extreme or the other as they act off of
raw emotion or limited knowledge. Without a larger context to frame their
experience or observations, they don’t often notice the complexity of issues and
Anderson, BYU, 2010
reason out their judgments. For example, the newspaper accounts of the war often
contradict the accounts of the Creighton brothers who experience the battles; the
newspaper accounts are often inaccurately reported with constantly shifting and
unfounded praise or criticism of the Northern generals, while the soldiers
themselves blindly praise their general without a wider context for how their
general’s decisions are affecting the war. As Jeth is caught between several different
opinions about the war—some reasoned, some not—he is at first easily swayed one
way or the other. He originally appropriates his older brothers’ romanticized view
of warfare and the newspaper’s constantly changing praise and criticism of various
generals and President Lincoln.
However, as Jeth is forced into manhood and faces the realities of warfare (mob
violence, his brother dying, etc.), he begins to use more reason as he see things from
multiple angles and realizes that the lines of “right” and “wrong” are often blurred.
Instead of acting off of emotion or his first thought, he begins to carefully consider
different angles of each issue. While the newspapers bash the President, Jeth
realizes how steady he is in the midst of all the changing opinions and looks to him
in admiration despite popular opinion. Most prominently, his conflict over whether
or not to help his deserter cousin Eb shows a deepening awareness of his ability to
reason through multiple angles and the lasting consequences of his actions.
Hunt also seems to push this issue of reasoned
perspective through her unbiased and well‐rounded
depiction of the Burdow family, women of the time, and
the cause of the North and South—leaving the reader
with enough information to come to his/her own
reasoned opinions. The book seems to suggest that
while there may not always be a clear right or wrong, it is important to look at
multiple sides of an issue, reason out what one believes, and then firmly stand up for
it. In this way society is more balanced in their judgments and not quite to
unproductive.
Issues Related to this Study of Literature
Themes:
Idealism vs. reality—When the novel starts at the brink of the Civil War, the
Creighton boys (Tom, Ed, and Jeth) are caught up in the excitement of their
simplistic and romanticized vision of warfare. However, as the boys broaden their
experience and perspectives through experiencing the realities of war first hand,
both the boys and the readers come to revise their views of warfare. This is a
significant theme as it reflects a major historical change that happened in America at
the time of the Civil War—as evidenced in much of Walt Whitman’s poetry; what
once seemed like a daring and exciting adventure for many young boys dissolved
into the realities of death and pain and sorrow on both sides of the fighting. This
theme is complicated by the portrayal of the important and earnest ideals for which
Anderson, BYU, 2010
each side fights; it seems that the only way to reach these ideals is through the
realities of war. Even when the North’s ideals are partially met by winning the war,
the victory is greatly tempered by war’s lasting consequences. As Ross Milton
warns Jeth, he (and America as a whole) can’t expect “peace to be a perfect pearl”
(198). We see this as Jeth realizes that the war years have changed his family
forever: Tom is dead, Bill may never return, and Jeth has grown into a man.
Unreliability of Public Opinion—Through the many different and often opposing
accounts given of the Civil War battles, President Lincoln, and the war generals, the
reader gets a sense for the unreliability of public opinion. Whenever a battle is won,
the newspapers profusely praise the general in charge, and likewise bitterly criticize
him if he loses the next battle. The public opinion is often solely based on surface
events or observations without a deeper look at motives or reasons behind the
actions. This same theme carries over into the town’s opinion of the Burdows: the
Creightons and most of the town judge the Burdows as violent and mean‐spirited
because the Burdow’s grandfather had a bad reputation and the Burdow boy
accidentally murdered the Creighton daughter. However, it is only after Mr. Burdow
helps save Jeth’s life by defending him from an attacker, that the town is willing to
change their perceptions of him.
Cycles and Coming of Age—The novel seems to emphasize a theme of cycles and
forward progression. As we see the similar cycling of the seasons year after year as
described by Jeth, we simultaneously see how that recurring pattern pushes
forward the passage of time, as the seasons return similarly, but the members of the
family, community, and nation have changed from the previous year. Throughout
the novel readers see Jethro move from a young innocent boy to a young man with
weighty responsibilities. As he is thrown into similar situations or experiences he
starts to react differently as he matures and with each passing year. While he
continues reading the newspaper all during the war, he moves from blindly
following its opinions to forming his own opinions. With the passage of time he
moves from taking orders from his parents and having his mother button up his coat
to filtering what he should or should not tell his parents about the threatening mobs
and the weighty decision of what to do with his deserter cousin Eb.
Family and Community Loyalty—There are many instances in the novel where
family members must navigate family loyalty and community loyalty. While these
two loyalties often coincide, as is the case with the town rallying around the
Creightons when they are threatened by mobs, there are many times
where the loyalties conflict. Jethro, for instance, goes against loyalty
to the community’s negative opinion of “copperheads” (or
proponents of the south) when he defends his brother Bill’s decision
to fight for the south against criticism from the town men. However,
this theme is complicated as the novel raises the questions of
whether one can be loyal to his community and his family
simultaneously when the loyalties conflict. For example, Bill feels
that to be loyal to his nation and community, he should fight for the south against
Anderson, BYU, 2010
the “slavery of industrialism” seen in the North; his family, however, give their
loyalties to the North and two of his brothers fight in the opposing army. However,
with the exception of one small fight between John and Bill, it seems that family
loyalty remains strong, especially when John finds Bill as a prisoner of war and they
reunite as brothers, not enemies.
Blurred lines of “Right” and “Wrong”—Because Hunt so clearly depicts several
perspectives throughout the novel on politics, characters’ motivations, and potential
consequences of decisions, readers begin to see that the lines between “right” and
“wrong” are often blurry. For example, both Bill and John have valid and thoughtful
reasons for which side of the war they fight on; on the one hand we can sympathize
with John’s determination to fight against slavery, but we can also see Bill’s desire to
fight against the materialism and evils of industrialism. What once seemed to be a
clear‐cut decision is now complicated. Similarly, Jeth struggles with his decision of
whether or not to help his deserter cousin Eb; if he doesn’t help him survive he
knows he will feel guilty and like he has violated family ties, however he wonders if
helping him show dishonor to the sacrifices of the soldiers who do stay to fight.
Other Themes: Hope vs. Fear, Morality of War, Education
Setting:
Across Five Aprils is primarily set in rural Jasper County, southern Illinois, starting in
1861 and ending right after the Civil War ends, literally spanning across five Aprils.
Jasper County includes a small prairie town where most people seem to know each
other, surrounded by several acres of rural farmland. While much of the story is
centered on the Creighton farm and surrounding community, the
book details the events of the Civil War across the U.S., closely
following the battles, where the different troops are located, and
where the Creighton brothers are based. It would be important
for students to see a map of the U.S. and visualize where the
battles take place. The changing seasons as experienced in the
prairie seem to be particularly highlighted throughout the story,
showing the passage of time and the renewed cycles of hope and despair.
Point of View/Narrative Voice:
The story is told from third person, however it is mostly from the perspective of 10‐
year old Jeth. Jeth is the youngest of 12 children and the secret favorite of his
parents. He has grown up learning to work hard on the farm and admires his older
brothers and sister Jennie tremendously. He loves to learn and think. As the
narrator tells much of the story through Jeth’s perspective, readers are able to see
the spectrum of Jeth’s maturity in how his thoughts and ability to stand up for his
beliefs strengthen. Instead of being told from an objective point of view, the events
of the war are mostly told through the perspective of 10‐year‐old Jeth, the letters
from his brothers, or the newspapers the family gets from town. These somewhat
Anderson, BYU, 2010
unclear and sometimes contradicting views of the war’s events present a great
opportunity to discuss the subjectivity of history and the importance of
understanding how biases and personal opinions color the telling of any event.
Dialogue:
This novel provides a wonderful opportunity to teach dialogue. A close analysis of
Jethro’s dialogue with his own family and members of the community parallels his
maturing process as he steps into the role of a man. At the beginning of the novel he
responds to his mother’s suggestion that he visit Shad with an eager “Could I, Ma?”
However, as he matures he no longer talks like a little boy, but rather talks politics
with the men in the community as though he were a peer.
In addition, this novel grants a wonderful opportunity to teach about different
dialects. Jeth begins to realize that more educated people speak English differently,
and he begins to teach himself. This would be a great opportunity to talk to students
about the different uses for dialects. While Jeth’s “less‐educated” talk is not
necessarily wrong, it will probably not help him progress in a career or influence
people of high standing. The novel frames this idea of dialect use in certain contexts
as Jeth carefully writes a letter to Abraham Lincoln using the rules in the grammar
book.
Affective Issues:
Middle school students will be able to relate to Jeth’s coming of age journey. While
most students probably didn’t grow up on a farm or have brothers go off to war,
most teens have at least one instance in their young life that requires them to step
up and take greater responsibility—whether that be in family, personal, academic,
or social affairs. Many will be able to relate to Jeth’s fears and hopes as he steps up
to meet the high expectations of his family.
Some students will also relate to the strains on family relationships and loyalties
and the decision that Jeth has to make of how to navigate his loyalty. Just as many of
the townspeople mock and attack Jeth and his family because Bill chooses to fight
for the south, some students may have had times where others mocked them for
their economic status, their clothes, their culture, or their family.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, students in today’s culture
experience the media’s strong and constantly shifting opinions daily.
They will be able to relate to Jeth’s experience of hearing several
different accounts or opinions about national events, values, and
politics. This provides a wonderful opportunity to have a class
discussion about the power of media and how it influences them.
Anderson, BYU, 2010
Vocabulary Issues:
Across Five Aprils is written in fairly basic language, easily decipherable for most
students in middle school and beyond. However, some vocabulary specific to the
Civil War or farm life is necessary to understand the book; such words might include
Mason‐Dixon line, cracker‐barrel, copperhead, barnlot, fencerow, plow, and furrow.
As discussed earlier, this novel also provides several examples of different dialects
of English for students to analyze and point out differences.
Background Knowledge:
This book requires some background knowledge of the U.S. Civil War. While the war
is somewhat documented throughout the novel, it is mostly through the newspaper
and word of mouth and therefore somewhat unclear and incomplete. Some teachers
may decide that minimum background knowledge actually enhances the effect of
the unclear documentary of the war (highlighting the unreliability of public opinion)
for students. However, students would probably feel less frustrated and confused if
they had a basic overall context of the historical background proceeding, during, and
after the Civil War. It is essential to help students visualize the events of the war
geographically, since the descriptions are a little confusing. A map
of the U.S. with each of the battles pinpointed and which states
comprised the North and South would be really helpful for students.
Although not essential, it might be helpful to have students research
some of the battles and Generals of the Civil War and give a little
report to the class as their topic comes up in the book.
Implications for Students of Diversity:
As mentioned in the section about dialogue, this book provides a wonderful
opportunity to discuss different dialects and which dialects are appropriate for
certain contexts (home, school, work force, etc.) For ELL students or students who
speak a different English dialect (i.e. ebonics) this might help them to understand
that one dialect is not necessarily “right” or “wrong,” but rather certain dialects hold
more power in certain contexts, and therefore it is important to be familiar with the
academic dialect used in schools and the American work force. For students with
disabilities, most of the war events that may be a little more difficult for them to
comprehend can be explained visually with a map. As a teacher, it would be most
helpful to describe and visually represent these battles. Aside from some of the
explanations of the battles, the language of the book is fairly simple and would be a
great book for struggling readers if they have some teacher support.
Gender Issues:
Towards the beginning of the novel, the narrator points out the marginalized views
of prairie women in the war era. The narrator suggests that Shad’s kindness to Ellen
is unusual since prairie women didn’t normally get much thoughtful courtesy from
Anderson, BYU, 2010
their sons, and later points out that farm women “didn’t usually enter into man‐talk
of politics or national affairs” (25). Furthermore, Jeth originally views the dread of
war as a “womanly weakness” since he had always seen the men act brave about
war, while the women cried. However, in keeping with her main theme of reason,
Hunt generally portrays women in the novel as going against that marginalized
role—perhaps showing a more realistic view of the important role that women did
play in the lives of the men of the times, even if unrecognized at the time. Jeth relies
heavily on his sister Jennie’s friendship and support, even more than from his father
or brothers. Ellen and later Jennie go work in the fields with Jeth, showing that
women are just as capable of work as men. And, Ellen and Matt rebel from this
stereotype as Matt insists on Ellen staying through the details of their son’s death in
war and the talk of war politics, suggesting that she is equal. Interestingly, Hunt
depicts Ellen, the mother, as always cautioning her boys to use reason, which is a
main theme of the book.
Class Discussion: It would be interesting to discuss with students how Hunt uses this
more balanced portrayal of women (in direct contrast with gender roles of the time)
to contribute to the main issue of reason and balanced perspectives in her novel.
Research Issues/Project Ideas:
Newspaper Project: Have students bring in 2‐3 examples of media (newspaper,
magazine articles, etc.) and analyze the language for biases or unfounded claims
about politics, world events, famous people, etc. and then write their own
newspaper article describing a current event with a subjective bias. Students share
in small groups and analyze each other’s articles.
Daily Newscast: Before reading the book have each student do research on one
general or battle from the novel. Instead of writing a research report, having
students put their research into the form of a 2‐3 minute newscast that they give to
the class on the day that that battle or general is mentioned in the book.
Perspective Debate: Pick a political topic or current event and have students divide
themselves into two groups based on which side of the issue they support. Then,
have students do some background research into the opposite point of view on the
topic, and come to class with notes and arguments supporting that opposite point of
view. Have students engage in a class debate,
defending the opposite viewpoint that they hold. This
will help them to internalize and apply Hunt’s
message in the novel of the importance of looking at
an issue from all sides. Afterwards, have students
write up a small reflection on how researching and
arguing against their personal beliefs changed their
perspective on the issue, even if they still retain their
original views.
Anderson, BYU, 2010
Wall Map: As a class, create a Civil War map along one whole wall of the classroom,
and as the class reads the book, follow where each army is located, the generals in
charge, and where the major battles occur. This will help students to visualize as
they read.
Enrichment Resources:
•Walt Whitman poetry about Civil War (Idealism vs. Reality):
*”Beat! Beat! Drums!
*”A March in the Hard‐Prest, and the Road Unknown”
•Walt Whitman poetry about Abraham Lincoln
*”Oh Captain! My Captain!”
*”When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”
•Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
•Red Badge of Courage by Steven Crane (Engages with similar issues of idealism vs.
reality, fear vs. hope, and coming of age)
Anderson, BYU, 2010