Girl in a Cage
Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris
Jane Yolen, Author
Yolen has written over 200 books over her career time. She sold her first book on her 21st birthday. Yolen writes Girl in a Cage from the time era of 1306.
Important quotes
"I knew the truth even as I tried to deny it." This is an important quote to the text because as she was sitting in the cage being tortured by the townspeople she continues to talk of how her father will come to save her, when deep down she knows that her father is too busy to come to save her.
"But I bring news that is not so happy. I have fallen afoul of the English King again, and this time the danger we have all feared upon us is last." This is said by Marjorie's father, Robert, as he returns from a journey. He speaks to his wife and this is a flashback as Marjorie thinks of the day this happens but it's also a foreshadowing of what awful things were to happen ahead.
"Now I could forget all the fears- and the blood. Now I could forget my torn skirt." She says this after she is rescued by Isabel of Buchan from her cage. It's a very important quote because it speaks of the pain and hardship being of the past.
Story line
The main conflict of the novel is as, Robert, Marjorie's father gets on King Edward's bad side. Marjorie is taken from her home as hostage to the pronounced "King" Edward, as revenge. She goes into capture and deals with torture and the pain of starvation for a whole eight years until she is finally rescued to return to her father at last.
Interesting details of the text
Yolen uses a lot of diction that makes the novel interesting and hard to put down. As she puts the story through eleven year old Marjorie's eyes she includes details that aren't always examined by adults. She uses flashbacks to the happier times of Marjorie's life and also to the times when things began to fall apart. Yolen then will jump right back into the incaged reality of the girl.
A Historical Attribute
The text is outlined in historical truths. The story itself is put down in history, just Yolen gives it a fictional twist. The King spoken about to be Marjorie's father's enemy is King Edward the 1st of England. His last name in the book is actually his nickname because of his height and stature. He is known to be one of the most successful medieval monarchs, but in the book he is almost looked down upon because we see only Marjorie's family's side of the story.
Why to read this book
A Girl in a Cage over all is a great historical fiction. The author tells the story through an eleven year old girl's eyes. It shows the feelings toward her father and her stepmother, and her reaction to the things that happen along her journey. The details described of the time frame and people of the story are what make it so historically correct. Description that is so interesting as so it what makes the Girl in a Cage such a thrilling and interesting novel .