Recap of ELIJAH OF BUXTON by Christopher Paul Curtis

Discussion came from online discussion questions and general conversation.

We discussed how and when Elijah saw himself as growing out of his reputation for being "fra-gile"

For some of us it was when he had to read the letter to Mrs. Holton about her husband. Although Elijah got upset afterwards, he was strong and read the whole letter to Mrs. Holton.

We agreed that he really outgrew his reputation by the end of the book when he told Mr. Leroy to trust the Preacher, when he went with Mr. Leroy on the journey and especially when he encountered the slaves and brought the baby back home with him. What was good about his character was that he didn’t totally get over his inside feelings and still felt weak at times, but he managed to do what he had to do. This is a good message for kids and young adults, that being brave is more than not being afraid but , it's about doing what needs to be done despite feeling afraid.

We discussed how the accents and language used was sometimes hard to read and may be complicated for readers that aren't reading at the grade level the books is recommended. Book recommends Grades 4-6. It may be difficult for fourth grade in general.

We discussed the Preacher and how he seemed dishonest right from the beginning to us with the Hoop Snake story, but for younger readers they may not suspect it quite so early. There are several other moments early on that you start questioning the Preacher. One of these moments is when he comes upon Elijah fish and basically scams Elijah into giving him some of the fish with talk of “tithing” and some very interesting mathematics. Elijah also mentions that the Preacher always embellishing his stories, except the story about how he got his fancy pistol. He simply says he found it. Plus there are several references to the Preacher enjoying some gambling. Also curious is that he lives outside the settlement because he doesn't want to follow all the rules of the settlement.

One thing we enjoyed is that the end of the story isn't neatly wrapped up and everything answered. Such as what happened to the slaves? How did Chloe use the pistol Elijah gave her? The ending is bittersweet, which is interesting for a book aimed at young readers. We enjoy Curtis as an author for this reason - he doesn’t dumb down his stories.

Also, one of the most intriguing things was that Buxton was a real place in Canada and the craft that Curtis wove his story with that historical setting.

We felt that while many characters contributed to Elijah's growth as a person, Mr. Leroy was probably the most influential on him. Mr. Leroy is the first person to ask him a grown up question directly and he doesn't hold back in teaching Elijah a lesson when he uses a racial slur.

Mr. Leroy was a very complicated character. We know he worked hard but said little. However, you felt that he had a lot going on inside both mentally and physically.

Elijah’s smarter than he gives himself credit for and it is his “brains” that keep him going even after Mr. Leroy loses his senses. He also manages to use his stone throwing talent to protect himself.

Elijah is Buxton's symbol of hope because he was the first free-born child in the settlement and a child that will never know what it's like not to be free. He is a sign that life will be different for all others born in the settlement. He represents hope at the end of the novel even more when he brings the baby to freedom. He literally brings Freedom and Hope back into the settlement. Even though he is free he understands that he will need to help others and it shows as he is holding up the baby and showing her the sky and saying the same thing his Pa does.

One of the online discussion questions was:

Mr. Leroy is offended when Elijah uses a racial slur. Elijah explains, "Sir, I only said it ‘cause I hear lots of the children say it." (p.96-97) Why would Elijah think that hearing the word makes it okay to say it? How does Mr. Leroy help Elijah understand the "hatred" wrapped around the word? Discuss whether you feel that the word shows a lack of respect, both for those being spoken to, and for the speaker.

There are those that argue a group can take a slur and turn it around and use it and it becomes a power word, but it doesn't always mean that the strings attached with it aren't cruel. Our group talked about this for quite awhile and ultimately we felt that it was really significant that even Christopher Paul Curtis himself doesn’t use the full racial slur. He stops with the slur implied. To us that shows us how powerful the word is.

Christopher Paul Curtis also uses humor to help with his messages. The humor he uses in this story tends to be more episodic than character humor. Much of the story seemed like smaller vignettes carrying little lessons along the way and in the end the big lesson comes through.

Thoughts on Friendship: Why is Elijah a better friend than Cooter? Cooter laughs at Elijah and later lies to Mr. Travis about Elijah giving him the idea about family breeding. Cooter sells him out even when Elijah was the one trying to help him get out of trouble. Mr. Leroy doesn’t see Elijah as a peer because he’s too young and needs to learn respect for his elders. Mr. Leroy sees Elijah more as kin when he helps Mr. Leroy go to America. Especially, when Mr. Leroy is in trouble. You can tell Mr. Leroy loves Elihah like his own son and even begins to call him by his sons name when he is in pain.

Finally, we discussed to whom we would recommend this story. We felt that stronger readers would do better deciphering some of the dialogue/dialect. Kids should be reading at least at the grade level recommended. For us this was a younger read, but interesting to read because of the historical perspective and the author.

Last Thoughts. Good story, slow paced at the beginning, but strong through-out.

Next book: Bloody Jack: Being an account of the curious adventures of Mary "jacky" Faber, ship's boy by L.A. Meyer