Jip: His Story

A. Bibliographic Data:

Jip: His Story, by Katherine Paterson, published by Puffin Books in 1998; ISBN: 0140386742

B. Plot Summary:

Jip is a young man living on a 'poor farm' in Vermont in the mid-1800s. He supposedly fell of the back of a wagon as a toddler, and was called Jip on suspicion that it may have been a gypsy wagon that dropped him. Since he ended up on the poor farm, Jip has discovered his natural talent for working with animals. He connects with creatures and simple-minded people easily, and he is content with his life as it is - simple and full of hard work - until a 'lunatic' moves to the farm almost eight years after Jip arrives. Putnam, called Put, begins a friendship with Jip that helps both of them learn and grow. Jip cares for Put when he has his fits, and Put helps Jip learn when he is well. As Jip learns the truth about his origins, though, both of their lives are put in danger by his past. Slavers are hunting Jip to take him back where he's from, but Put shows his true friendship by laying down his life for Jip. With some guidance from a caring teacher and her Quaker friend - whose home is part of the Underground Railroad - Jip escapes to Canada, where he can live as a free man.

C. Critical Analysis:

Although I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book and following their stories, I would have liked to see some things included that were not. In a short prologue of sorts, the year 1847 is mentioned as nearly eight years before the story starts. That is the last mention of a date for the book. While I read, I was trying to figure out exactly when it was taking place, because that one mention of the date had slipped my mind. Also, the characters are interesting, but not well-developed. We are given virtually no information about Put, the only actual character from history. Also, a brief page of acknowledgements provides the only support for Paterson's research. No bibliography, resource list, or suggested reading list is provided, casting doubt on the authenticity of the book. A short epilogue does give readers a bit more information about what happened to Jip after the book ends, but that end - as mentioned in a review below - is fairly abrupt. Jip's life is thrown into turmoil, he loses his best friend, and he escapes being dragged into slavery. Readers get almost no understanding of his reactions to this, though. At first, Jip resigns himself to becoming a slave when Put is killed. Then, Teacher and her friend convince him that slavery does not have to be his fate. Rather than going with their plan, though, he simply runs off and finds his own way to another friend of Teacher's in Canada, a freed slave who is a preacher. Nothing of this journey is shared either. On the whole, the book was a good start but lacking in the development it deserved. It did win a Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, though, so it obviously has some merits.

D. Review Excerpts:

~ "Paterson's story resonates with respect for the Vermont landscape and its mid-19th-century residents, with the drama of life during a dark period in our nation's history, and with the human quest for freedom. . . .Readers will be talking and thinking about this book long after they finish the last chapter." - Ellen Fader, School Library Journal

~ "What a story. It's not often that the revelations of the plot are so astonishing--and yet so inevitable--that they make you shout and think and shiver and cry. Paterson has taken the old orphan foundling tale, set it in Vermont in the 1850s, and made it new. . . . There are some problems with this book. Jip is idealized, too saintly to be true; in fact, as in Dickens, most of the characters are either totally good or totally bad. But the time and the place are drawn with powerful realism. Paterson's simple sentences lay bare the dark historical truth and the transforming light of love." - Hazel Rochman, Booklist

~ "As usual for Paterson, all the characterizations are penetrating--even the villains are interesting. An epilogue lets readers in on Jip's success in reaching Canada and his decisions as the Civil War begins. Unfortunately, the ending is abrupt: Put is sacrificed, and it is not clear what lesson Jip derives from putting his friend in harm's way. Regardless, this is fine historical fiction." - Kirkus Reviews

E. Connections:

~ Talk about historical attitudes toward different groups: poor, mentally ill, disabled, and different ethnicities.

~ Discuss what Jip's feelings and motives might have been at various points in the novel.

~ Use as an introduction to the Underground Railroad.