''Jacob Have I Loved'' is a coming of age novel for teenagers and young adults by
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Womelsdorf Paterson (born October 31, 1932) is an American writer best known for children's novels, including '' Bridge to Terabithia''. For four different books published 1975-1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Aw ...
. It was published by Crowell in 1980 and it won the annual
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
the following year. The title alludes to the sibling rivalry between
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
and
Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, and comes from (quoting ).
The novel follows the story of the Bradshaws, a family who depends on the father, Truitt Bradshaw, and his crabbing/fishing business on his boat, the ''Portia Sue''. Truitt's two daughters, Sara Louise and Caroline, are twins, and Caroline has always been the favorite. She is prettier and more talented, and receives more attention not only from their parents but also from others in the community.
The book traces Louise's attempts to free herself from Caroline's shadow, even as she grows into adulthood.
Setting
This story takes place during the early 1940s on the small, fictional island of Rass in the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
.
Plot summary
Imaginative, emotionally sensitive, and hard working, Sara Louise Bradshaw, a young girl growing up on an isolated fishing island off the coast of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
during
WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, is made to feel second-best from the moment of her birth. Her impoverished family consists of her rough but gentle father, always absent due to his working-class job on his
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
boat; her ladylike and intelligent mother, who had arrived on the island as a school teacher and stayed after falling in love; her grandmother, a bitter and nasty woman with a religious bent; and Caroline, Sara Louise's younger twin sister who is the main impediment of Sara Louise's struggle to distinguish herself and obtain the affection she craves. Caroline is fragile, beautiful, and admired—everything Sara Louise is not.
Caroline is offered a scholarship to a mainland school for voice lessons, due to her rare singing skills, and the rest of the family, mainly Sara Louise, must sacrifice to make this happen. To raise money, Sara Louise catches crabs with her only friend, McCall "Call" Purnell, a dumpy, short-sighted boy.
One day, Hiram Wallace, the only islander to leave to go to college in fifty years, returns to the island. Hiram, whom they call "the Captain", bonds with Call over their shared sense of humor, becoming a father figure.
After Sara Louise finds a local spinster from Hiram's generation (Trudy) suffering from a stroke that necessitates sending her to the inland hospital, Call, Sara Louise, and Hiram work to clear Trudy's house for her return. Hiram tells the children how Trudy may have a fortune hidden in the building, which is filthy and overrun by a starving feral cat colony. Unable to keep the cats, Hiram determines the most humane thing would be to drown them. This horrifies Sara Louise, who protests vigorously, but her friends overrule her. Unable to go through with it, Sara Louise jumps from the rowboat on the way to perform the deed and swims to shore. Call and Hiram reveal they could not bring themselves to kill the cats after Sara Louise's display, and Caroline steps in to introduce herself. Going door to door and charming the locals into taking in the mangy cats, Caroline is lauded by Call and Hiram as the cats' savior, forgetting Sara Louise's role.
The island is struck by a ravaging
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
. Sara Louise's father sends her into the storm to fetch the Captain and bring him to their home. This act saves Hiram's life; his entire home is demolished. Meanwhile, Caroline is allowed to sleep through the storm.
Hiram, now homeless, moves into Sara Louise's home. A 14-year-old Sara Louise realizes she is in love with Hiram, despite his being older than her grandmother and oblivious to her feelings. Caroline mocks Sara Louise for her crush, and her grandmother begins accusing her of being a harlot and quoting scriptures at her. Caroline suggests the homeless Hiram enter into a marriage of convenience with Trudy, exchanging a place to live with living assistance, and Hiram lauds Caroline for saving the day.
Eventually, the economic hardships after the hurricane result in Caroline being pulled from her voice lessons inland. As a thank you for the pleasure Trudy received from Caroline's singing, Hiram offers to pay for Caroline to attend a prestigious boarding school in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and have a private voice tutor. Sara Louise has always wanted to attend a better school, but Hiram does not offer, and there is no money to send her anywhere equivalent. She struggles with feeling of resentment and jealousy.
Call enlists in the navy and leaves to join the war. Sara Louise drops out of school and takes over Call's duties, finally allowed on her father's oyster boat.
Sara Louise is largely content. The hard work leaves no time for thought and, absent Caroline's shadow, Sara Louise enjoys the attention she finally receives from her family, earning her high school diploma with her mother's help.
Released from needing to provide for Caroline ever again after Caroline graduates and is awarded a full-ride scholarship to
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
, Sara Louise awaits the return of Call to take her place on her father's boat and finally free her from her obligations to her family.
Call's return at the end of the war is not what Sara Louise was expecting. Much-changed, Call announces he is not returning permanently but will attend university and marry Caroline.
Staying behind to watch her grandmother while her parents travel to Caroline and Call's wedding, Sara Louise gets a wake up call from the Captain when he is the first person to ask her what she'd like to do with her life. Sara Louise confesses she would like to see the mountains and become a doctor but can't leave her family.
Sara Louise eventually explodes and demands to be let go, finally expressing some of her resentment at Caroline's privilege. Her mother replies that Sara Louise was always free to go but never said she wanted to. Receiving assurance that she will be missed, Sara Louise applies to college as a pre-med student and leaves the island. She is also made to realize that her parents have always paid more attention to Caroline in part because they believed Caroline to be the weaker, not the better, of the two girls.
Denied entry to medical school due to her gender and the influx of
GI Bill students, Sara Louise graduates as a nurse. She then goes to work in a small
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
town as a nurse and midwife. She thrives and marries a widowed father. Sara Louise has a baby boy, Caroline is debuting as an opera singer in
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, their father and grandmother die, and their mother leaves the island permanently.
On a snowy winter night, Sara Louise assists in delivering twins. The mother has the first one, a boy, safely. When the second one comes out, it is a small and cold girl. Since she doesn't have an incubator, Sara Louise rushes the baby to the fireside and much effort is made to revive her. She then realizes the boy has been forgotten and tells the mother to breastfeed him. Lactating from her own child, Sara Louise breastfeeds the younger twin.
Characters
*Sara Louise Bradshaw: Sara Louise helps her father through the crabbing season. She is a few minutes older than her twin sister, Caroline. As she grows older, she becomes frustrated with the unceasing attention Caroline receives and attempts to become more feminine — to no avail. After growing up in the oppressive situation of playing second-fiddle to Caroline, she eventually leaves the island to move to a small town in the mountains that she has always wanted to see.
*Caroline Bradshaw: Caroline is perfect. While she and Sara Louise are twins, she is considered the "miracle child" because she was near death during birth. She is an amazing singer and pianist, and she is considered more intelligent and feminine than Sara Louise. Caroline tends to tease her sister, making up the nickname "Wheeze", which Sara Louise despises. She went to a music school after she graduated from high school on her home island, then goes to
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
in New York. She marries McCall Purnell, Sara Louise's longtime friend.
*McCall Purnell: McCall, also known as Call, is a boy who works on the waters with Sara Louise because his father died. He works with the Captain after he arrives. He ends up going to war, and when he comes back to Rass, he marries Caroline.
*Hiram Wallace: Also known as "The Captain", Hiram is an old man that used to live on the island as a boy but moved away. He comes back and befriends Call and Sara Louise. She falls in love with him.
*Susan Bradshaw: Susan is Sara Louise and Caroline's mother and Truitt's wife. She is an educated woman who used to be a teacher.
*Grandma Bradshaw: A very religious woman, Grandma can be strict and hard to get along with. She loves the Lord, but hates the water. She believes the Captain is a heathen.
*Truitt Bradshaw: Truitt is Sara Louise and Caroline's father and Susan's husband. He is a waterman and war veteran.
*Auntie (Trudy) Braxton: Auntie is an elderly, eccentric neighbor of the Bradshaws. She lives with a feral cat colony. After she suffers a stroke, The Captain moves in with her, and eventually marries her.
Reception
''Jacob Have I Loved'' received favorable reviews. ''
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'' called it "an intense, moving portrayal"
and Carol Katz concluded for ''
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
'' (copyright 2010), "All libraries will benefit from owning this outstanding telling of a remarkable tale."
[Summary Reviews. ] Patricia Liddie wrote for ''
The ALAN Review ALAN, The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents is a teachers organization in the United States, an independent assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Founded in November 1973, ALAN is made up of teachers, authors, libraria ...
'', "This novel is indeed a classic, and the beauty of it is that it's so readable for and appropriate to the older junior-high student."
According to ''
Kirkus Reviews'', "Paterson has to get into
ouise'slater years to make the point, and to avoid the instant realizations that substitute in too many juvenile novels. However, this tends to flatten the tone and blur the shape of the novel. Louise's earlier, intense feelings evoke recognition and sympathy, but this hasn't the resonant clarity of ''
Bridge to Terabithia'' or ''
The Great Gilly Hopkins
''The Great Gilly Hopkins'' is a realistic children's novel by Katherine Paterson. It was published by Crowell in 1978 and it won the U.S. National Book Award next year.[Zena Sutherland
Zena Sutherland (1915 – June 12, 2002) was an American reviewer of children's literature. She is best known for her contributions to the '' Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'' and as the author of the library science textbook ''Child ...]
wrote, "The story has a logical, but rather speeded, happy ending, but this minor flaw does not keep ''Jacob Have I Loved'' from being an unforgettable book."
In 2012 ''Jacob Have I Loved'' was ranked number 43 among all-time best children's novels in a survey published by ''School Library Journal'' – the second of three Paterson novels in the top 100.
Adaptation
The novel was adapted into a 1989 television film starring
Bridget Fonda, Jenny Robertson, and
John Kellogg broadcast as an episode of the anthology series ''
WonderWorks
''WonderWorks'' is an anthology series which ran from 1984 to 1992. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, the Walt Disney Company purchased the home video rights to the series in 1987 and was responsible for making the series available t ...
''.
External links
*
References
{{Newbery Medal
1980 American novels
American young adult novels
Chesapeake Bay
Children's historical novels
Newbery Medal–winning works
Novels set in Maryland
Novels set on islands
Fiction set in the 1940s
Thomas Y. Crowell Co. books