Search of the Moon King’s Daughter: Emmaline’s path to heroism
Not all heroes have to be an icon of society, or look a certain way; in fact, a hero can be found within the most typical of crowds. During the year of 1836, in Linda Holeman’s Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, Emmaline at the age of 15, and her family work in the factories of Tibbing. When tragedy strikes as Emmaline’s brother Tommy is sold to the master sweeps, she sets a goal to bring him back home. Her ability to fight her way through difficult obstacles and decipher clues leads her to the saving of her brother, making her a hero. Despite being portrayed as somewhat ordinary, her determination, intelligence and bravery during the hard fought quest is what makes her …show more content…
Having only a waiver to help clue in the possible whereabouts of her brother, Emmaline is able to read the contract which indicates he is working for a master sweep found in London. In addition, she uses a sooty fingerprint left on the letter by the contractor to draw the conclusion “...Tommy would be a climbing boy…” (page 114). This act hints at her intellect considering it is highly unusual for one to acquire the skill to read, let alone a girl in the time period. Emmaline is also able to infer by using the soot found on the page to pinpoint the dangers of Tommy’s new reality, a climbing boy. Not only does Emmaline possess the rare ability to read, she is also able to use her reasoning to form a theory using several disconnected clues. With the information given from a variety of other climbing boys, she is capable of determining the region in which the master sweep currently containing Tommy can be found. While roaming the streets, Emmaline comes across a boy who knows of a deaf sweep who fits the description of her brother, however, has a different name; Moony. Named for the way he watches the moon and the fact he is only able to communicate the letter “M”, she then works with this knowledge to conclude “The deaf climbing boy wasn’t saying the letter M. He was saying her name - Em…” (page 248). This inference is made possible by Emmaline using her intuition to analyse the …show more content…
After Sukey leaves, Emmaline decides to use this time to explore the streets in hope to find Tommy. She then finds herself lost in Seven Dials where a prostitute informs Emmaline while mistaking her as one of the stranger’s own kind “anything a lass needs can be found right here...anything and more.” (page 201), causing Emmaline to run out in fear. Despite her unease, she keeps searching ultimately leading her to a Sunday School, where she collects more information on sweeps. This act of bravery leads to more potential whereabouts of Tommy. Rather than leaving with Sukey, Emmaline takes her chances on the dangerous streets of London, where she risks being raped during the quest to save Tommy. However this is a gamble worth taking for she then receives the information required and is able to find Tommy. Even after accomplishing one act of bravery, Emmaline then executes another as she decides to take her brother home despite the angry protests of Brandy Jack, the owner of this master sweep. The violent Brandy Jack having already struck Emmaline once “..yanked Tommy’s arm so hard that the boy’s head jerked on his neck.” (page 285) leaving a feeling of both urgency and fear while giving the man a sense of authority. Despite the panic in Tommy and his sister, they run off, leaving with a threat from Brandy Jack. Using her dauntlessness, Emmaline is able to
Not all heroes have to be an icon of society, or look a certain way; in fact, a hero can be found within the most typical of crowds. During the year of 1836, in Linda Holeman’s Search of the Moon King’s Daughter, Emmaline at the age of 15, and her family work in the factories of Tibbing. When tragedy strikes as Emmaline’s brother Tommy is sold to the master sweeps, she sets a goal to bring him back home. Her ability to fight her way through difficult obstacles and decipher clues leads her to the saving of her brother, making her a hero. Despite being portrayed as somewhat ordinary, her determination, intelligence and bravery during the hard fought quest is what makes her …show more content…
Having only a waiver to help clue in the possible whereabouts of her brother, Emmaline is able to read the contract which indicates he is working for a master sweep found in London. In addition, she uses a sooty fingerprint left on the letter by the contractor to draw the conclusion “...Tommy would be a climbing boy…” (page 114). This act hints at her intellect considering it is highly unusual for one to acquire the skill to read, let alone a girl in the time period. Emmaline is also able to infer by using the soot found on the page to pinpoint the dangers of Tommy’s new reality, a climbing boy. Not only does Emmaline possess the rare ability to read, she is also able to use her reasoning to form a theory using several disconnected clues. With the information given from a variety of other climbing boys, she is capable of determining the region in which the master sweep currently containing Tommy can be found. While roaming the streets, Emmaline comes across a boy who knows of a deaf sweep who fits the description of her brother, however, has a different name; Moony. Named for the way he watches the moon and the fact he is only able to communicate the letter “M”, she then works with this knowledge to conclude “The deaf climbing boy wasn’t saying the letter M. He was saying her name - Em…” (page 248). This inference is made possible by Emmaline using her intuition to analyse the …show more content…
After Sukey leaves, Emmaline decides to use this time to explore the streets in hope to find Tommy. She then finds herself lost in Seven Dials where a prostitute informs Emmaline while mistaking her as one of the stranger’s own kind “anything a lass needs can be found right here...anything and more.” (page 201), causing Emmaline to run out in fear. Despite her unease, she keeps searching ultimately leading her to a Sunday School, where she collects more information on sweeps. This act of bravery leads to more potential whereabouts of Tommy. Rather than leaving with Sukey, Emmaline takes her chances on the dangerous streets of London, where she risks being raped during the quest to save Tommy. However this is a gamble worth taking for she then receives the information required and is able to find Tommy. Even after accomplishing one act of bravery, Emmaline then executes another as she decides to take her brother home despite the angry protests of Brandy Jack, the owner of this master sweep. The violent Brandy Jack having already struck Emmaline once “..yanked Tommy’s arm so hard that the boy’s head jerked on his neck.” (page 285) leaving a feeling of both urgency and fear while giving the man a sense of authority. Despite the panic in Tommy and his sister, they run off, leaving with a threat from Brandy Jack. Using her dauntlessness, Emmaline is able to