Brooke Thompson

10/04/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 1

Teachings of Good and Bad Characters

Cast Two Shadows by Ann Rinaldi has characters that, when juxtaposed, become
favored above some of the others. The book is told from the perspective of a fourteen year old
girl named Caroline who has two problems: her complicated mess of a family, and her sprawling
plantation home has been invaded by the British in Revolutionary America. Carolines problems
escalate when her brother, whipped with the lashings that turn him to the Patriot side, needs
retrieving. After getting permission to leave her own home, Caroline leaves her mother and her
self-centered half sister to be accompanied by her grandmother and slave, Miz Melindy. The
journey Caroline makes helps the reader to identify who the favorites and the loathed of the
story are, and what can be learned from them.
My absolute favorite character from the novel is Jonny, Carolines older brother. He is
everything an older brother is supposed to be, caring, gentle, smart and playful. Johnny shows
wisdom beyond his years when he teaches four year old Caroline to embrace the fact that she
has two shadows, good qualities from both races that course through her blood (37-38). He
doesnt ever belittle Caroline for her heritage. When faced with the responsibility to spy for the
terrible British who betray their own, Johnny faces this problem calmly, without ever relenting to
where his loyalties truly lie. Johnny is quite obviously Carolines rock, he taught her near
everything she knows; the war took its toll on even him. Even though he was playful some of the
time, during the novel his anger sparked a new light in his eyes and became evident on his
features (149-150). After the war, Johnny knew where his duties belonged even though his heart
longed to be in the mountains with the Catawba Indians (262). Throughout the novel he made
sure his family came first before his own interests in both reputation and tangible action.
After all things good there must be bad to compare it to. One of the most interesting
occurrences is that my favorite character and least favorite character belong to the same family.
Georgia Ann, Carolines aforementioned egocentric, half sister, is a special breed of evil. From

Brooke Thompson
10/04/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 1
the beginning she is portrayed as a whining brat who cares more about her complexion than the
war. During the British stay in their house Georgia develops feelings for Colonel Rawdon, while
he uses her for information about the rebels (11, 224). Towards the end, her feelings of jealousy
towards Johnny come out, her family is worth leaving, and her loyalties never waver from the
main prize of Francis Rawdon (231-233). Georgia Ann is a lying snake whose motives are
unsurprisingly for personal gain. She claims to be a loyalist, but she is unloyal to the very thing
that matters most during the war, her family.
Somewhere in the middle of my favorites, between the two opposite siblings, is
headstrong Caroline. Caroline is still trying to figure out her place in the world. She is haunted
by many faces of lost people in her past (129). Caroline has grown up lavish household, but
only by the kind hand of fate was it granted to her. Caroline matures so much from when she, at
the beginning of the novel, had not a care in the world. She begins to see the devastation of
war, and how it affects individuals and families alike. She is torn throughout the novel between
her two shadows especially when it came to her to make the choice of Fearnaught, her
brothers prized horse, or Isom, her enslaved uncle. When she chooses Isoms life she
unknowingly becomes the person to stand up for what is right, and the patriots in her house put
their trust in her (242). She stands strong even in the face of adversity and learns to put away
her personal problems for the present greater good (159).
All of the characters Ann Rinaldi created in Cast Two Shadows bring a sense of intrigue.
The characters all faced similar situations, but reacted to them completely different to each
other. The way that the better characters like Johnny and Caroline reacted teaches us as the
readers what we can do when life throws us difficulties. I hope that when it comes my way I will
be calm like Johnny, and rational like Caroline. I hope I never turn my back on what is really
important like Georgia Ann did. I hope I am the favorable character in my own story and not a
backstabber like Georgia Ann.

Brooke Thompson
10/04/2015
Honors Language Arts 11 8B
Analysis Essay 1

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