Brooke Thompson

10/05/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 2

Emotions Connect Readers To Books

Every novel has high points and low points, parts of the book the reader can empathize
with. This experience can only come from reading because the reader knows how the
characters behave and think. Cast Two Shadows by Ann Rinaldi takes the reader on all kinds of
emotional rollercoasters. The war torn South Carolina pits neighbor against neighbor, brother vs
brother. The main character, Caroline, is caught in the middle of this when British soldiers
exercise the remnants of the Quartering Act among loyalists, or in this case, Carolines family.
Her family life is rocky: her father is in prison, her brother is a loyalist, and her remaining family
is incarcerated in one room. Knowing Carolines background allows the reader to internalize
what is truly happening to her. Throughout the novel the reader experiences Carolines own
sadness, anger, and fear.
Carolines sadness stems from an event at the very beginning of the book; her childhood
playmate is hanged for shooting at Cornwallis (4-5). Seeing this approves to her that Caroline is
not the little girl she was before the war began, and starts her on a more mature outlook on life.
The next sadness Caroline feels is for the loss of her mother, sold to the West Indies where the
slaves are worked to death. She is horrified as well as the reader is to discover that her father
and almost-mother told Caroline her mother died. We feel the loss almost as acutely as Caroline
and Miz Melindy, Carolines grandmother, combined (123-124).
The next feeling that the reader experiences is the anger towards the British. How dare
they take what they want without rationalizing the consequences? These emotions strike a
chord in the reader when Caroline cries out to Colonel Rawdon, You have our house, . . . You
have kept us prisoner. Your men have taken our livestock, raided out larder, ruined our kitchen
garden! Youve sent my daddy off on a prison ship. My brother is on a spying mission for you!
Youve even taken my sister. What more do you want of us? (239). Johnny, Carolines half

Brooke Thompson
10/05/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 2
brother, is completely outraged because of how superior British believe they are in comparison
to colonial Loyalists. We see this show of arrogance from the the British when Johnny, Miz
Melindy, Cephas, and Caroline are stopped by an officer and he asks, I know how inept the
Loyalist militia are, but are you that lost? (167). These sentiments and disrespectful jabs make
a continuous appearance throughout the novel. The reader begins to despise the British almost
as if we were the Patriots.
Finally, the last emotion the reader feels, one that always accompanies war, fear. In
everywhere there is war, fear is not far behind. The British instill fear in the Loyalists and
Patriots alike by their harsh punishments and superior command. Carolines life is fear-filled,
never knowing what is going to happen next. When secret traitor to the British, Private Brandon
tells Caroline of her father being shipped to Bermuda for being a rebel, the book mentions the
fear Caroline feels reflected in his own blue eyes (56). The last time Carolines true fears are
actually felt is when, her travel worn companions almost stumble into a British cavalry marching
by (184-185). The reader can vicariously feel what it was like to be there standing upon the
bluffs that day not knowing what would happen should they be discovered.
The feelings of fear, anger, and sadness are ever present throughout the entire novel.
These emotions are apart of everyday human existence, thus making the reader more
empathetic to their highs and lows. When the reader places themselves in the position of the
main characters it is easy to understand where the feelings are coming from. Each of these
feelings plays an important part in the novel and leaves an imprint on the reader; next time they
feel one of these emotions, their mind might just wander to Camden, South Carolina during the
Revolutionary War.

Rinaldi, Ann. Cast Two Shadows. 1998. New York: Gulliver Books, 1998. Print

Brooke Thompson
10/05/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 2