The Well

The Well is another short-form book about the Logans, like The Friendship or The Song of the Trees, but unlike those, The Well jumps back a generation to when Papa and Uncle Hammer were boys. If you wanted to dismantle this story into a discussion of all the subtle societal interlayering of

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different power structures and emotional bonds, or use this as a launching point to talk about the difference between portrayals of oppression and portrayals of resistance, you absolutely could. Taylor's books are deep, subtle, and intricate, and The Well is no exception.

But you know what? Let's just forget all that for now. Because it's also a very fine story.

It's drought-time, and all the wells have run dry except for the Logans'. Black folk and white folk alike are coming to Ma (Big Ma of the previous books) for water. Not to put too fine a point on it, whites having to come hat-in-hand to blacks for water in the Jim Crow south isn't exactly an easy and low-potential-for-trouble situation. And if you thought Uncle Hammer was a hothead in the Cassie books, you should see him at thirteen. You also get the backstory about Charlie Simms' antipathy for the Logans: if ever Jeremy wanted to injure and rebell against his father, befriending the Logan kids was the exact way to do it.

As with all her books, Taylor pulls no punches, neither prettifying the social dynamics of Jim Crow, nor creating deus ex machina victories for her characters. Instead, she shows smart, determined people in near-impossible situations, acting to preserve their dignity and natural--if not societal--rights.

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The Well was very well written, and at some points I was surprised it was written for middle school students. Themes in this book are racism, respecting your elders, and working as a community to get through the bad times. Sometimes it was heavy, but a read that touched me and I don't think I will

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ever forget.

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RGG: Set in the 1910's, David and Hammer Logan suffer from the racism of the time at the hands of the Simms, and when Hammer "steps out of line," his parents make him serve an unwarranted punishment rather than risk his life.

I think this book would be great for a boy ELL to read, because it is interesting and it talks about a boys life story instead of a girls life story. I would categorize this book as an independent reading book.

In my opinion, this was a great book. The language used was very authentic. The author used language that was true to the time period and location in which the book was set. She included racist terms (the "n" word), and a southern dialect (y'all) to make the story even more realistic. Also, the

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author developed the characters very well. She was able to effectively develop several different characters in a short amount of time so that the reader could feel a connection with each one. The main idea of this book is that good overcomes evil.

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I did not like this book at all. The first reason I disliked this book is for the grammar in which the book was written in. Because the book was told from the main character, David’s, point of view, the book read like David’s inner dialogue which was with a southern accent. For example, on the

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second page of the book David said “What with the Simmses living less than a mile or so from us on that forty-acre spot of land they tenant-farmed, and we sitting on our own two hundred acres, there was always likely to be trouble, and there we.” For me, this made reading the book difficult because I had to reread sentences to make sure I understood the dialect correctly and that got to be a bit bothersome quickly. Had the book been written with no dialect present, I believe it would have been easier for me to read. I also did not like this book because of the time period it was written in. During the time in which the story took place, the majority of the issues revolved around ignorant racism which the book did a good job in portraying. For example, the main conflict of the story involved a black boy hitting a white boy after the white character had smacked the black child’s younger brother and the result of this encounter was the two black children had to get hit by their Mom and work for the white boy’s father for months. This event that was a result of the time period made reading the rest of the book angering for me because I do not handle unjust treatment well at all, so reading about the two boys working for the white boy’s father simply put me in a bad mood. Overall, the big idea of this book was to show how life was back in the times just after the abolition of slavery and provide the reader with a specific example of events that truly occurred in those unfortunately ignorant times.

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I thought this was a great, thought provoking book. I liked this book because of the language and the characterization of Mama. The language of the story was a large contributor to the overall tone and emotions that were established. The author writes, " Y'all know my daddy was a white man. My

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sister and me, we were born slaves to him." You read the writing of the story in your head and you can almost hear the characters saying it. The language helped the reader connect to the time period and the context with which this book is written. I also loved the characterization of Mama. Mama was written as an extremely accepting and gracious woman. She wanted to share the water on her well because "the lord done blessed us with it." She didn't care if the people that came to get their water would not return the favor. Mama only cared about doing what she thought was right, and I think that is a great lesson to teach to the reader. The messages I took from this book are to be accepting of one another and to never allow someone to treat you as though you are less than them.

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I loved this story. I really liked how the author chose the narrator of the book to be from David’s point of view. David Logan’s perspective on other families, especially of white color, is very strong even though he tends to keep his thoughts to himself and does not have outbursts like his

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older brother, Hammer. For instance, Hammer blames Charlie Simms for throwing a dead animal down the Logan’s well. He shouts, “Ask your boys” … “They the ones done put the stink there.” to a white man. I also liked the way the author chose to right the dialogue between the characters because it made it very realistic. I was able to hear and understand the way black and white people talked back during this time period. The big idea of this book is to always listen to your elders when it comes to dealing with others because they have experience.

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I thought this book was a really good read. One of my favorite things about this book was the way the author wrote accurately. The language that was used is historically accurate to the time period she is writing about. For example on many of the pages "sir" is written as "suh", and "to" is written

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as " 't."

Another reason I really liked this book is because it didn't end the way I thought it would. I never saw it coming. I did not think the Simms would actually poison the only source of water for an entire town as a form of revenge.

The main idea in this story is about being kind but also standing up for yourself. Hammer stood up for himself and in the end the Simms boys were punished.

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I liked this book for a couple of reasons. First, I liked characters and felt that they were well developed. The first sentence of the book was Charlie Simms was always mean, and that’s the truth of it. Throughout the story, there were constant acts by Charlie Simms that showed just how mean he

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was. He lied on Hammer and David and caused them to get whipped and they had to work on their land for the summer. He cut up and put dead animals in the only well that everyone in the area was using causing everyone to suffer, whites and blacks. He also constantly taunted Hammer without let up. I also liked the book because it pushed it readers to think about tough issues and broadens perspectives. The book dealt with many issues such as prejudice, pride, and human dignity. Hammer’s pride wouldn't just let him let things go. After he got in trouble for beating up Charlie Simms who was a white boy, he just couldn't take the punishment and let it be. He had to do something to make him pay and Charlie’s pride wouldn't allow him to let things go either. After Hammer pushed him down, one would think that it was over and done but no he had to poison the only water well that actually had water in it. Had either one of these boys had just let it be the whole town would not have had to suffer. The big idea of this story to me is sometimes it’s just best to let things go.

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I thought this was a good book for a quick read. I like that the book used real language for the time period. I liked that the book used what could be a real situation. It allowed the reader to be there in the book and visualize what that time was like. I was not very found of the book, however.

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The book did not draw me in enough to actually want to finish reading it and enjoying it.

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This historical fiction chapter book is an interesting and exciting read. Throughout the novel, the development of characters and exciting story line make this chapter book extremely enjoyable. The main idea of this story is to treat everyone the way you want to be treated.

The Well: David’s Story
By Mildred D. Taylor (1998)

I liked The Well: David’s Story by Mildred D. Taylor for two reasons. First, I liked the symbolism in the book. Specifically, the well is a reoccurring symbol in the book, and Taylor does an excellent job of emphasizing the importance of it.

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Basically, the well is what erupted the tension between the Logan’s and the Simms’s. Second, I liked how Taylor created an accurate picture of the racism that occurred in the early 1900’s. For example, Charlie, white, torments Hammer because he is black; thus, Taylor does not dismiss the racial tension. Overall, the “big idea” of The Well: David’s Story is to exemplify the racism that occurred in the early 1900’s, and the cruelties that existed because of it.

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RGG: Set in the 1910's, David and Hammer Logan suffer from the racism of the time at the hands of the Simms, and when Hammer "steps out of line," his parents make him serve an unwarranted punishment rather than risk his life.

David Logan tells the story of when his family's well was the only one in their area of Mississippi that hadn't dried up during a drought in the early days of the 20th century. David's family is black, and they freely give water from their well to blacks and whites as well - whoever needs it. But

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one white family, the Simms, are racist to the core, and their two sons stir up trouble with David and his hot-headed older brother, Hammer. When there was trouble between blacks and whites in those days, (especially in the deep South), the blacks would always come out on the losing side, no matter who was in the right or wrong. But in the last few pages of the book, a surprise comes along that changes the way the community sees the Logans and the Simms.
This short novella shoots like an arrow through the tale, with no wandering or side stories at all.

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