60 pages • 2 hours read
Pam Muñoz RyanRiding Freedom
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
“In the Beginning”-Chapter 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
“In the Beginning” Summary
This story begins on the East Coast of the United States in the mid 1800s. Protagonist Charlotte Parkhurst is described as an unusually strong and vital baby: “Folks said that any other baby would have died, but Charlotte was already strong. She walked before most babies crawled. She talked before most babies babbled, and she never cried” (2). Charlotte and her parents are driving in their horse-drawn wagon one stormy evening when she is two years old. A crack of lightning strikes and scares the horses, which causes them to go over a ledge, killing both of Charlotte’s parents instantly. Charlotte survives unharmed, kept warm by the horse’s breath. She is discovered the next morning by neighbors, who call the town doctor. He has known her since she was born and knows how strong she is; he saw her survive multiple fevers as an infant. He cuts the horse rein that she is tightly clutching and allows her to keep it as a memento of her parents. Charlotte wears this around her wrist as a bracelet for the rest of her life. He says she has no other family and so will be on her own in the world. He expresses remorse that she will be sent to an orphanage, but he says that “if anybody can make it alone in this world, it’s you” (4).
Chapter 1 Summary
Charlotte has been at the orphanage for 10 years. She is the only girl at the orphanage, and growing up “like a follow-along puppy in a pack of ruffian boys” has shaped her into someone who “wasn’t like most girls her age” (5). The orphanage’s cook, Mrs. Boyle, is assigned to watch over Charlotte. Charlotte does not like working in the kitchen and prefers to be in the stables with the horses and Vern, the stable master. Vern is an older African American who escaped slavery by fleeing a plantation in Virginia and running north. Vern takes pride in naming the horses and believes each one should have a fine name that tells a story. Charlotte loves to hear the story of her favorite horse, Freedom, which encompasses “how Vern ran away and hid in a root cellar with nothing but an old shirt to keep him warm. Ran all the way north so he could be free. And named a horse Freedom for something he won” (8).
Charlotte and Vern discuss another boy at the orphanage named William. He has a reputation for being cruel to the horses, so Vern is hoping that Charlotte will beat him in the race that day. Charlotte takes Freedom with her to the race, where she sees Mr. Millshark waiting for the riders. She describes him as “the shortest, fattest, most mean-spirited man that Charlotte had ever known” (9). Mr. Millshark uses the races to show off his orphanage and give the impression that the children are treated well, when in fact it is “nothing more than a work farm” (9). After the race begins, Charlotte lets William think he stands a chance at winning. At the last moment, however, she and Freedom finish first with a “blinding gallop” (11). Charlotte notices that Freedom seems warmer than usual and is concerned that she is sick. After the race William approaches her and says, “I hope you like winning ’cause that’s the last race you’ll ever run” (12). William is upset that he lost to a girl, and he complains about it to Mr. Millshark.
Vern is also worried about Freedom’s health, and as they brush and care for her she falls to her knees in her stall. Charlotte kneels next to Freedom. Her best friend Hayward, or Hay, comes to comfort her. Hay is two years younger and very close to Charlotte. She describes him as having hair “the color of turnips and ears as big as saucers” (13). Charlotte once came to his aid when he was being bullied by William and some of the other boys, and they have been inseparable ever since. Charlotte tells Hay that Freedom is very sick. They quietly lay in the grass and daydream about the future. They plan to have their own ranch with horses that they train for riding. Hay says they will “put a sign out front that says PRIVATE PROPERTY so no one as mean as William can ever set foot” (15). Hay asks Charlotte if she remembers her parents. He remembers his well because he was seven when they died. Charlotte cannot remember anything about her parents. Hay is about to describe his parents when the porch bell rings three times, which is “the signal for all the boys to line up by the front steps” (17) because one of them is about to be adopted.
Chapter 2 Summary
Charlotte watches the boys line up from the window. She never bothers participating because people don’t want to adopt a girl. They want a boy to help with their farm. When she was younger and cuter a couple had wanted to adopt her, but Mrs. Boyle lied and said Charlotte was her niece just there for a visit. From then on “Mrs. Boyle hid her in the potato bin each time people came through, for fear of losing her kitchen maid” (19). Rather than watch the boys, Charlotte returns to the stables to check on Freedom. She seems worse, and Vern is concerned. Charlotte is distracted with worry all through dinner.
The next morning Hayward tries to tell Charlotte who was adopted, but she is too concerned about Freedom to stop and listen. They rush to the stables together to check on Freedom. When they arrive the look on Vern’s face tells Charlotte that Freedom has died. Vern says that Freedom died from an infection and has already been buried. Charlotte is distraught but manages not to cry. She cleans the stables to distract herself from grief. As she does, Mr. Millshark enters and tells her that “the townspeople don’t think it’s quite lady-like for you to be racing the boys” (26). From now on, she will not be allowed in the stable, and she will work full time in the kitchen. Vern tries to help her by arguing with Mr. Millshark that “she’s a help in the stable. She does the work of three of them boys and she knows the horses as good as me” (26). Mr. Millshark then implies that it is Charlotte’s fault that Freedom died, because she raced her when she was sick. After this Charlotte runs into the pasture with Hayward following close behind. She tells him that whoever got adopted is lucky to be leaving this place that she hates. Hay is finally able to tell her that the adopted boy is him. A family from Nashua who lost their son has chosen to adopt Hayward. He will be leaving the next morning. They agree to stay in touch by writing letters. Charlotte decides that if Hay is leaving the next day, so will she: “I ain’t workin’ in that kitchen for the rest of my days! You and me got plans!” (30). Hay tries to convince her not to run away, especially because girls are not allowed to travel without a chaperone. She feels jealous that a boy like Hay could travel without being questioned, and “as she considered this, a tendril of an idea began to weave itself around in her mind. And a plan began to take shape” (31).
Chapter 3 Summary
The next morning Hayward gives Charlotte a bundle of clothes that she requested from him before his departure. It includes overalls, a hat, and boys’ boots. Charlotte promises to find Hayward in the future. She gives him half of her leather horse rein bracelet. Hayward cries as he hugs Charlotte goodbye. She reminds him that they will find each other again, and they will have their ranch together. She cries as she waves goodbye. Charlotte hides her bundle in the wood box and is startled out of her sadness by Mrs. Boyle yelling at her. As she gets to work she realizes “that as nervous as she was about running away, she was more afraid to stay” (35). She still needs help with her plan, so she approaches Vern after dinner, explaining why she has to leave. She asks if he can help her get some money for a stagecoach ride. Vern tells her that what she is trying to do is different than when he ran away from slavery because he had many people who helped him along his journey. In contrast, she will be a young girl completely alone with no help. She tells him she will do it no matter what. He replies, “Well, maybe you’re right. If anybody would wither and die in a kitchen, it’s you” (37). Vern advises Charlotte that if she does this, she must ensure no one knows her intentions. She also needs to make it look like many things may have occurred, so people don’t immediately suspect she ran away. Charlotte asks Vern to get her some money and a pair of scissors. He agrees and asks her to pile up rocks at the base of the town sign as a message to him, so that he will know she made it that far safely. Vern tells Charlotte that when one of their favorite horses, Charity, births her foal, she will be named “Charlotte’s Pride” (39).
After midnight, Charlotte arranges her pillows and blankets to look like she’s in bed sleeping, then sneaks out the window. She gathers the clothes that Hay gave her, and the scissors, money, and a sandwich from Vern. She takes these items into the woods and finds a clear stream. She unbraids her long hair and proceeds to cut it off. She watches the locks fall into the water and float away. She changes into Hay’s clothes and puts on his cap. She then takes “one last look in the pool. The water reflected the image of a young boy” (41). Charlotte hides her clothes and wraps her apron strings in the brush to make it appear as if she drowned. Charlotte then runs as fast as she can toward Concord, so as not to miss the early morning stagecoach. She thinks about Mrs. Boyle getting upset when Charlotte doesn’t show up for her morning chores, and then Mr. Millshark finding out she is missing. This helps her run faster through the wooded night.
“In the Beginning”-Chapter 3 Analysis
The prologue depicts Charlotte as a mythical, larger-than-life character. She defies death as an infant, is the sole survivor of the wagon crash, and lives through a cold northeastern night alone. In this fictionalized biography the author uses this tall-tale narrative style to illuminate Charlotte Parkhurst’s extraordinary qualities. The historical context of the real Charlotte Parkhurst helps us understand why the author might view her life as mythical. In the early 1800s slavery was still rampant in the American South, women did not have the right to vote, and orphans were treated cruelly. White men held all the power, and disenfranchised groups in America were essentially voiceless. For a girl to fight back against these unfair conditions required an enormous summoning of strength and bravery. To prove herself equal to her male peers and then surpass their skill level is indeed legendary.
Chapter 1 further emphasizes Charlotte’s unique talents and strengths. She “wasn’t like most girls her age” (5). She can work hard in the kitchen, but she prefers being outside with the boys and the horses: “being in the kitchen was a thorn in Charlotte’s side, and she hated it worse than falling in a real briar patch” (6). The only adult in Charlotte’s life who seems to care about her is Vern, the stable master. He is a former slave who escaped the South and found freedom in the North. Charlotte is greatly influenced by the stories he tells her, particularly that of his own running away. It is no surprise that she later runs away herself, having been shaped by Vern’s stories: “He didn’t talk much to anyone else, but he loved to tell Charlotte stories, most of them true, that left her in a spell with her mouth wide open” (7). Vern becomes an especially significant person in Charlotte’s development in the absence of her mother and father.
Chapter 2 provides a contrast between Mrs. Boyle and Charlotte. Charlotte recalls how Mrs. Boyle would lie and hide Charlotte in the kitchen so that she would not be adopted when she was younger. Then Mr. Millshark berates Charlotte for not being lady-like. The author uses irony in that Charlotte handles herself, including her resentment and frustration, with much more grace than Mrs. Boyle. As the only other female character in the novel so far, it is important to compare and contrast the two. Mrs. Boyle, while performing the duties of a woman, is not very lady-like either. She is cruel, lazy, and shows no signs of nurturing.
Chapter 3 brings about Charlotte’s plan to run away. Vern brings up the idea of gender and how that might affect her: “I never knew my momma or poppa, just like you. I ran from the South to the North and all I left behind was bein’ somebody’s slave. But when I ran, I had folks that helped me. And hid me. You’re a girl. That’s different” (36). Vern feels that he was safer as a refugee slave (arguably the most dangerous position in American history) than she will be as a girl traveling alone. His words illuminate women’s subjugated and difficult position during this time period. This danger motivates Charlotte’s ensuing transformation. Although she is merely donning a disguise to safely travel, she experiences an identity transformation when she sees her reflection: “‘Goodbye, Charlotte.’ She whispered” (41). She feels an immediate sense of freedom from running away and from shedding her feminine identity. She recognizes that she was being held down by her gender when she notices “she was surprised at how light-headed she felt, as if those braids had been holding her fast to the ground” (41). Indeed, being a girl had tethered her to the kitchen at the orphanage and stopped her from racing horses. Being a girl literally tied her down.
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