Trouble Don't Last is a thrilling escape story about an eleven-year old black slave boy, named Samuel, who is taken to escape wit ha fellow slave, Harrison, an old, very experienced slave who has gone though much in his life and is ready to leave once and for all. The day starts with Samuel dropping a plate of food for his master, and so his dinner is taken away, along with his blankets for sleeping, leaving him to sleep on the kitchen floor. That night, as Samuel slumbers on that cold, hard floor, Harrison wakes him up, and that's when their journey begins.
For the first couple of nights, Samuel and Harrison only get as far as a small fiver a couple of miles from their farm. They are headed north to Canada, where they will be free men, and possibly meet Samuel's mother, who was freed years ago and now resides there. They were already stalked by the first night they left by their masters and hunting dog and slave patrollers. But this is not the first time Harrison has ever run away, and this was the route he took his first time, so he careful of the small steps needing to be taken to get to where they wanted. The two have to hide in trees in a forest that they run through before reaching a river that they will cross to get to a refuge.
Samuel and Harrison are transported from refuge to refuge, each time almost blowing their cover or getting caught by patrollers. They are taught how to walk and act like free men, as to not attract attention to themselves. People know a slave when they see one. The people helping them are all white, except for the man who took them across the river, and a free black couple who live in a house and shelter slaves until they have to transport the to the next refuge. But of the white people, they are the only white people that Samuel and Harrison have ever trusted, as the people had been sheltering and helping transport runaway slaves for years and know exactly how to avoid going back to that dreaded life of a slave.
In the end, Samuel and Harrison finally reach a train that takes them to a boat that will then transport them to Canada. During the trip, their cover is almost blown by another runaway slave that happened to be on the train with them. But Samuel's wit, developed from weeks of running, saved them. And now they are on their way to Canada, finally free, and finally ready to live like a free man.

Free Choice Book Reflection

In Trouble Don't Last, the main character is an eleven-year-old black slave boy named Samuel. His masters go by Master Hackler and Miz Catherine, and their two sons, Cassius and Seth. He works along side two elder slaves, Harrison and Lilly, who have been working on the farm for years. Then, in the middle of the night, Harrison wakes Samuel from his sleep and makes him come with him as he escapes from the farm. Harrison tells the boy that they are going to Canada to be free. It's been about a week since the two escaped, and already they have gone through a lot. Barely escaping the first night and sleeping in a tree, crossing a wide river and almost being caught because of a fellow runaway lady who held them up, being taken to multiple refuges and a white man's church, there is nowhere in the United States that it is safe for a runaway slave, and Samuel and Harrison are in for a long trip.
So far, I am enjoying this book. It gives me insight into how the time of the slaves might have went and the different opinions between the slaves and slave owners on different issues. Slaves were strong-hearted and strong-willed, having to deal with the pressures of pleasing their masters every moment of the day, while the masters still thought of their slaves as nothing more than their hunting dogs. This book is exhilarating and surprising and I am excited to read more into it. Some themes for this book are A New Beginning, Perseverance, and Trust.

Chapter 15-16 Reflection

I noticed that Holden observes people very closely and has his different views on certain people. For example, he thinks that actors are phony and don't act like normal people, just because of the fact that they are actors. He also like to bring people up people from his past just because. He tends to reconnect with many past friends on accident.

Character Look-A-Likes

Stradlater:

Spencer:

Ackley:

Language

To an adult: So I went to Texas to visit my grandma this past spring.  It was really awkward though because everyone kept staring at us wherever we went.  That was something that really bothered me.

To my friend: Dude I went to Texas this past spring to visit my grandma.  Pisses me off cuz everyone kept staring at us cuz we're Asian.  Frickin haoles...

As Holden: Those goddam haoles up there in Texas ruined the hell out of my vacation.  They kept staring at us.  I wanted to tell those people the hell off, I really did.

Quotations

P. 2: “They don’t do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school. And I didn’t know anybody there that was splendid and clear-thinking and all. Maybe two guys. If that many. And hey probably came to Pencey that way.”

Pg. 9: "Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it. People never notice anything."

Pg. 16: “I’d never yell ‘Good luck!’ at anybody. It sounds terrible, when you think about it.”