THE FIGHTING GROUND by Avi

1. Bibliographic data

Avi. 1987. The Fighting Ground. New York: HarperCollins. 0-3973-2073-6.

2. Plot summary

Avi's The Fighting Ground is centered on the world of Jonathan, who lives in a small New England country town. When a band of Hessians is sighted nearby, Jonathan joins forces with the local men and marches to fight. During the conflict, Jonathan runs and is captured by three Hessian soldier, who keep him captive for a few days. When the three men fall asleep in a small cabin, Jonathan escapes with an orphaned boy and meets up again with his comrades. Called to do his duty and reveal the Hessian men's location, Jonathan brings his fellow soldiers back to the cabin. Jonathan attempts to save the Hessians but fails, and all three are killed. Free from his duty, Jonathan returns home.

3. Critical Analysis

Sometimes events like the Revolutionary War can seem very big and impossible to fully grasp and understand - especially for a young child. While simple and void of landmark Revolutionary battles, The Fighting Ground provides readers with a much different experience: a small battle through the eyes of a young boy. This story shows that there is a lot to be learned from even the smallest and seemingly most insignificant events.

While Avi doesn't really describe the countryside in depth, the setting of the story is made apparent in other ways. Through the makeup of the town - the farms, the tavern, and the bell - the reader feels the past. Through the clothing of the soldiers - "fancy blue jacket[s] with red facing, [and] white leggings" - we feel as if the Revolutionary War is taking place. What really stood out to me as being an element of the past were the guns the soldiers used. Long, heavy bits of metal and wood, these weapons are far from what soldiers use today. Although the setting was not described in detail, I feel that Avi gave enough information and description to make one feel as if they were in a New England town in the eighteenth century.

Avi's depiction of Jonathan made it easy to identify with him. As he experiences the horror of battle, we feel his despair as he attempts to escape his enemies: "He ran in terror, straining every muscle, pumping his legs, his arms, not daring to look back. His only salvation was the protection of the woods--he plunged among the trees. Several times the heavy gun almost slipped from his hands. He clutched at it frantically, grabbing it back when it started to fall as if it were the linchpin that held what was left of him together." Jonathan's emotions are made known to us, and his actions are ones that we may have made ourselves - had we been in his situation. Avi makes Jonathan very real for the reader, and we feel as if he really could exist.

Avi makes the story even more real by including the German language. I enjoyed this aspect of the book, although I am not sure that all of the words were used correctly. For example, Avi used the word "fertig" to mean "ready," when it actually means "finished." Other than that, I really liked reading the German and it made me feel like Jonathan was really dealing with a whole different sort of people -- his enemy.

I feel as if the plot was very simple in this book. A lot of the "action" occurs within Jonathan's own head as he seeks to make the correct decisions. Avi doesn't make the story about what happens, but instead focuses on Jonathan's response to what happens. In this way, we live the story along with Jonathan and feel many of the same things he feels. This is a great element to have in a story, especially younger children who need this first-hand experience to really understand.

The main theme in this book is human survival. Through his experiences, Jonathan discovers that it doesn't matter what achievements one might rack up; instead, it's being alive that is the most important: "And suddenly, Jonathan understood more. Understood the most important thing--that he had indeed been spared. Oh, how glad he was to be there. And alive. Oh, alive."

Avi's smooth and descriptive style aided me tremendously when reading this book. I never felt bogged down by historical dates and I found his words easy to read. I especially enjoyed how he divided the chapters into times, and shows the reader how different our two worlds are. While it took Jonathan an hour to walk from the tavern to his home, it takes us an hour to drive seventy miles.

The Fighting Ground is a great story for many reasons. It provides new insight of the Revolutionary War, gives readers a sense of what a young boy would feel like, and plays upon the notion of human survival and compassion. While this theme is relevant in the world today, Avi also shows us how different Jonathan's world is from ours. From the Hessian foreigners, to the young French boy, to the difference in time, to the loading of a gun, our difference are made apparent.

The Fighting Ground is a great little book that can be used to show students a different aspect of the Revolutionary War as well as give them a taste of how a young soldier might have felt. This is a great supplementary book for the classroom and a wonderful quick read for any age.

4. Review Excerpts

"Avi has accomplished his intent: to have readers experience, minute by minute, what it's like to be involved in war." - School Library Journal

"A small stunner." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

5. Connections

Related Books:

Collier, James Lincoln. (2005). My Brother Sam is Dead. New York: Scholastic. 0439783607.

Forbes, Esther . (1998). Johnny Tremain. Ill. by Lynd Ward. New York: Dell. 0440442508.

McGovern, Ann and Thompson, Katherine. (1990). The Secret Soldier: The Story Of Deborah Sampson. Ill. by Harold Goodwin. New York: Scholastic. 0590430521.