''The Bronze Bow'' is a book by
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare (November 21, 1908 – November 15, 1994) was an American writer of children's books, best known for historical novels including two Newbery Medal winners. She has been called one of America's 100 most popular writers ...
that won the
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 contr ...
for excellence in American
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
in
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
.
Plot
This book is set in first century
Galilee, Israel. The main character is a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin who lives at the same time as
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.
Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an example, by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
occupiers. His uncle did not have money to pay the tax, so he was thrown in jail; when his father tried to break Daniel's uncle out of jail, they were both crucified. Even at eight, he hates and distrusts the Romans and vows that he will avenge his father's death. His mother dies of grief after her husband's death, and Daniel's younger sister, Leah, is traumatized by these events, possessed by demons but that is just a phrase, and never leaves the house. His parents' death is because of the purchase of a shawl. The children are both taken in by their grandmother, but as she becomes ill and poor over the years, she sells Daniel to Amalek the blacksmith. Daniel escapes his cruel master, running away to the mountains where he is found close to death and rescued by Rosh, the leader of an outlaw band of rebels, who plan to someday overthrow the Romans. They adopt Daniel into their crew, and Daniel begins a new life in the mountains, trying to forget about his grandmother and sister he had left behind in the village.
Several years after these events, Daniel meets people he used to know when he lived in Ketzah, Joel bar Hezron and his twin sister Malthace, who climbed the mountain for the holidays. Joel wants to join Rosh's band, so he promises Rosh that he will be a spy in Capernaum, the city to which he is moving.
Rosh sends Daniel out on a mission to capture a slave. The crew names him
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
(a character in the Biblical
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...
with immense strength) for his brute strength. Samson doesn't speak their language, but he sees Daniel as his master/friend and follows him. One day,
Simon the Zealot
Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...
(Daniel's friend from the village), comes to tell Daniel his grandmother is dying. He returns to his village of Ketzah and sees his grandmother. She passes away and Daniel is left in charge of Leah. Later, Simon tells Daniel he is going to follow Jesus and leaves Daniel in charge of his shop; Daniel and Leah move to Simon's shop and home.
Now that Daniel remains in the blacksmith shop rather than the mountains with Rosh's crew, Daniel begins recruiting young men who are around his age to rebel against the Romans. They decide on a password, which is from the song of David: 'He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.' They meet in an abandoned watchtower outside of the village and slowly begin rebelling small bits at a time. One day, Rosh gives Joel a mission: he is to find out who is coming to a special banquet thrown for a special legation from Rome. Joel finds out the names by chatting to the servants and slaves of the house, and even after the banquet he continues to do so, passing on any information he can find to Rosh. But soon, Joel is captured. Rosh refuses to help free him, so Daniel and his small band devise a plan to free him themselves. From the top of a cliff, they attack the group of Romans that are escorting the prisoners, but the attack goes wrong. They only succeed because Samson, out of sacrificial love for Daniel, shows up and rolls a boulder down on the attacking Romans and then joins the fight. The boys end up freeing Joel, but one of them dies and many of them are injured. After the fight, Samson is dragged away by the Romans and is never to be seen again. Daniel realizes that in rebelling, they had been doing the wrong thing. Instead of weakening Rome, they had weakened themselves. Together, Joel and Daniel realize that Jesus is, perhaps, the leader they had been waiting for.
A young
Roman soldier
This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats.
*'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army.
*''Actuarius'' – A military who served food.
*''Adiutor'' – A camp or ...
named Marcus, who Daniel hated, (despite being a conquered
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
), befriends Daniel's sister. Daniel eventually finds out and goes into a fit of rage. Leah, who had seemed to be in the process of being cured, falls back into fully being possessed by her
demons
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
.
The story ends with Jesus healing Leah from her demons, and Daniel realizes that "to know and follow Jesus would be enough". He shows Jesus' love to the Roman soldier. Daniel invites the Roman into his home to see Leah.
Educational uses
Junior high school teachers may find ''The Bronze Bow'' helpful in supplementing social studies and language arts lessons. The attention to period and geographical detail can increase student understanding of both historical and current conditions in Israel. The variety of story telling conventions, including romance, battles, espionage, and friendship, might interest young adults as a lit set or young and emergent readers as a read aloud story. One additional use in the classroom, particularly in parochial or church school settings, is as an ethics, morals, and religious discussion starter — including its critical view of Judaism as practiced at that time.
Critical views
At the time of the book's publication, ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' said: "The author succeeds admirably in re-entering the era and filling it with entirely human characters... Alive and colorful biblical fare in the well modulated manner of Elizabeth Speare." In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1956 to 1965, librarian Carolyn Horovitz wrote of ''The Bronze Bow'', ''
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
''Carry On, Mr. Bowditch'' is a novel by Jean Lee Latham that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1956.
The book is a children's biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a sailor and mathematician who published the mammoth and comprehensive reference work ...
'', ''
Rifles for Watie
''Rifles for Watie'' is a children's novel by American writer Harold Keith. It was first published in 1957, and received the Newbery Medal the following year.
Set during the American Civil War, the plot revolves around the fictional sixteen-yea ...
'' and ''
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
''The Witch of Blackbird Pond'' is a children's novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England. It won the Newbery Medal in 1958.
Plot summary
In April 1687, 16-year-o ...
'': "All have value, all are told skilfully. If they lack the qualities of greatness, it is largely because their style has a commercial sameness."
The book has been criticized by some
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
groups and scholars for a "hostile" depiction of Judaism as practised at that time, an idealized version of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, and for what some believe to be historical inaccuracies. Written by a
Sunday School
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
teacher, it arguably represents
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
literature and its use in classroom instruction remains controversial. For more details see:
The Bronze Bow: A Critical Websiteand
The Bronze Bow in public schools: issues and insights
After critics alleged the book "glorified Jesus and vilified Jews", ''The Bronze Bow'' was removed from the social studies reading list of San Rafael City Schools in 2006. The removal prompted protests from some of the district's high school English teachers over "the specter of censorship of the curriculum."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronze Bow, The
1961 American novels
American children's novels
American Christian novels
Censored books
Children's historical novels
Houghton Mifflin books
Newbery Medal–winning works
Novelistic portrayals of Jesus
Novels based on the Bible
Novels set in the 1st century
1961 children's books