Lit-circle blog

The Year of the Hangman is a “What if?” Book. It shows what could've happened if America lost the revolutionary war and follows the life of Creighton Brow. Fifteen years old British boy named Creighton Brown who is very selfish and rude is sent to the colonies with his uncle as a disciplinary action. The plan backfires as Creighton gets separated from his uncle and Creighton ends up living in the house of Dr. Franklin and his housekeeper Sophie. His uncle is a British officer and decides to use Creighton as a spy to find the author of The. Liberty Tree, a rebel newspaper. Creighton must choose which side he lays his loyalty on. America or England. Whichever he chooses will decide who wins the revolutionary war. 

Interpret (Which characters would you interpret to be ‘good’? Which would you interpret to be ‘bad’? What has the author written that leads you to those interpretations?)

Since this story takes place during the time when the British had rule over the colonies, the antagonists are obviously the British. However, an entire country is hard to pin as an antagonist. So to narrow it down, there is one officer that deserves the role of antagonist. Hugh Gower (Creighton's uncle) is a terrible man who is persistent on making sure that Britain wins the war, even if it meant hurting his nephew. He claims to other people of authority that everything must be done with honor, even though he will play dirty and has almost no respect for other people's lives. His partner in crime and friend of Creighton is Hervey Hale a lieutenant for the British Army.  

The protagonist of the story is Creighton Brown. In the beginning of the story Creighton is shown as a boy who loves his homeland and is fascinated with hangings. When he arrives at the colonies he lies about himself and ends up making friends in the rebellion such as Pete a giant man, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict  Arnold, and Sophie. Though he is used as a spy and currently despises the rebels, he is starting to grow a liking to them. Other protagonists are of course, the other rebels.