Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, By Virginia Hamilton Essays

Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, By Virginia Hamilton Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, by Virginia Hamilton, was first published in 1982. The estimated reading level for this book is twelve years old and up. Some of the issues examined in the book, such as child abuse, disease, and drug use, will be better understood by junior high age students. This novel would probably attract more female readers than male. The protagonist is a teenage girl named Tree who lives with her mentally challenged brother, Dab. She is responsible for taking care of herself and Dab. Tree begins to see a ghost who reveals her early childhood to her. Throughout the novel we see Trees struggle with what the revelations signify about her life as well as her daily struggle to keep her tiny familynamely herself and her brotherafloat. SETTING: The story takes place in the late seventies. Tree and Dab live in Detroit. The story takes place mostly in the home, as well as in the places Tree is transported to by Brother Rush. Their home is not described in great detail, with the exception of the little room where Tree sits to draw and where Brother Rush appears. Tree loves the tiny room and while in it she draws pictures of families, of space. The fact that she so treasures this small place of her own is revealing of just how cramped the living space is. CHARACTERIZATION: The characters are well developed and behave realistically. Rather than tell us what each character is like, Hamilton lets each character reveal itself through his or her actions. For instance, we learn that Tree is protective of her older brother by how carefully she takes care of himas with helping him with his bathas well as by the concern she has in cooking their meals. These descriptions also serve to reveal Trees taking on of adult roles. Trees character is round. She changes as a result of what Brother Rush reveals to her about her past. Her perspective about herself as an African American is also altered through her conversation with Silversmith. Dab is a flat character; he stays the same from beginning to end. MVy changes in that she is humanized, particularly in the eyes of Tree. In the beginning of the novel MVy is described as an almost mythical, larger than life figure who appears bringing gifts and food, then leaves but whose presence permeates the dwe lling despite the brevity of the visits. Other characters include Silversmith and Old Miss Pricherd. Silversmith is a flat character. Old Miss Pricherd changes as a result of being asked to move in with Tree. This change is important as it relates to a major theme in Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush. THEME: The major theme in SWBR concerns love and acceptance. No one is infallible and in order to love we must accept each others deficiencies. MVy was unable to accept Dab and this led to the abuse she inflicted on him as a small child. Tree learns the truth about the abuse and must learn to forgive MVy in order to continue loving her. Acceptance is also echoed in the conversation she has with Silversmith; Tree must accept and appreciate her skin color in order that she not be self-conscious or ashamed. Old Miss Pricherd is a sneaky, mean-spirited woman at the beginning of the novel, but changes once she is allowed into the familyif only because it means no longer living alone. At the very end of the novel, Tree demonstrates her growth and acceptance of her new life by affectionately approaching the old woman (Granny Pricherd). STYLE: Hamiltons style is very direct, straightforward. This lends some credibility to the more fantastical aspects of the novel, namely the appearance of Brother Rush. She has her characters speak in colloquial grammar and at times carries that grammar to the narrative. This has the effect of not only drawing the reader in but of immersing the reader in a world that may be very different from her or his own. POINT OF VIEW: The story is told from Trees point of view. This is very effective, as it allows us to see how she feels about her family and her life. One