preview

Virginia Hamilton Research Paper

Decent Essays

Virginia Hamilton “I never thought seriously of any other career”1, Virginia Hamilton said, speaking of being an author. Virginia Hamilton is a very talented African American Children’s author. She was born on March 12, 1936 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her Mother had lived in Yellow Springs since the late 1850’s. Virginia Hamilton said that she loves Yellow Springs. “I live on land that has been in my family for generations”2 “I love my hometown”3. She says, as a child, both of her parents were enthusiastic readers and gifted storytellers. Hamilton recalls that her mother could “take a slice of fiction and polish it into a saga.”4 Virginia Hamilton is known for her wonderful ability to …show more content…

The Small family finds out that the house had a century-old legend, where two fugitive slaves, trying to escape, had been killed by bounty hunters. Also killed, was Dies Drear, the abolitionist who had made the house into a station of the Underground Railroad. The ghosts are still said to walk the rooms of Drear House. When they get to their house, they meet new people like the Darrow’s and the scary land lord, Mr. Pluto, who Thomas thinks is the devil. While they were living in Drear House, it was obvious some one did not want them to be there. They got many threats and damage to their house. In the end, Thomas and his Father stumble into Mr. Pluto’s underground lair. Mr. Pluto’s son is there, and they explain how the Darrow’s are trying to take over the treasure Mr. Pluto had. So, Thomas, his Father, Mr. Pluto, Mr. Pluto’s son, and some of their friends scared the Darrow’s away by dressing up as ghost slaves. This story teaches the reader a lot about slavery and the Underground Railroad, while also having an entertaining fictional plot. Virginia Hamilton says, of her book, “I needed to know how men, women and children could travel hundreds of miles on foot through enemy land. I found out that they were brave beyond belief. Perhaps with this book I have at last touched them the way they first touched me so long ago.”5 One of the reasons she

Get Access