Four Freedoms (novel) facts for kids
First Edition Cover by William Morrow Books
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| Author | John Crowley |
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| Cover artist | Mary Schuck |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | World War II |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
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Publication date
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26 May 2009 (1st edition) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 400 (Hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-123150-6 |
Four Freedoms is an exciting historical novel written by John Crowley in 2009. It tells the story of different people working at a make-believe airplane factory near Ponca City, Oklahoma. The story happens during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. This factory builds a fictional bomber plane called the B-30 Pax. This book is special because it focuses on real historical events.
The book explores how people worked in factories during World War II. Instead of focusing only on soldiers, it highlights the important roles played by people from minority groups, those with disabilities, and others who were still fighting for equal rights in America. The author, John Crowley, suggests that this time period helped start important civil rights movements later on.
For most of them, and for many of the African American men and women, Hispanics, Native Americans, and people with disabilities who also served, the end of the war meant returning to the way things were before. But things could never be exactly the same. The war years planted the seeds of change that would eventually grow.
What Inspired Four Freedoms?
The title of the novel, Four Freedoms, comes from a famous speech. This speech was given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. Critics have noticed that even though the partially paralyzed President doesn't appear in the book, his spirit is very much present.
Crowley mentions that the fictional B-30 Pax bomber in his book is very similar to a real plane. This real plane was the Convair B-36 "Peacemaker". He didn't even know about the real plane until after he had already created his fictional bomber!
The way the story is told in Four Freedoms is a bit like Crowley's earlier novel, Little, Big. The main story is loosely narrated. It often includes side stories about the backgrounds of the characters. These characters are introduced while working at the airplane plant.
Story of the Novel
The story begins with two brothers, Henry and Jules Van Damme. They are planning to build an airplane factory. They realize they can't take workers away from farms or other war factories. A company vice president jokes that they should "make do" with women, people of color, older people, and those with disabilities. Henry enthusiastically agrees. He tells his recruitment team to "bring in the lame, the halt, and the blind."
The brothers realize the planes might be finished after the war ends. So, instead of paying small salaries, they decide to build a whole city. This city, called Henryville, would provide everything the factory workers needed.
Later, two characters named Prosper and Pancho meet. Pancho is trying to avoid being drafted into the war. Prosper has left his aunts' home to become independent. He wants to avoid people looking down on him because of his disability. Prosper then meets Vi, but he later accidentally hurts her feelings by getting involved with Connie.
The factory temporarily closes to honor the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Soon after his death, the Vice President of Labor announces layoffs. As the country switches from war industries, the first people to be laid off will be the old, women, and the disabled. Henryville begins to fall apart. It is eventually destroyed by a tornado, but thankfully, no one is hurt. The novel ends with a thriving Ponca City. Nearby are the bulldozed remains of Henryville and a few rusty B-30 Pax Bombers.
Main Characters
- Prosper Olander - He is the main character of the novel. Prosper was born with lordosis, a spinal condition, which was made worse by surgery. Despite this, he is very smart. He learns to forge documents by copying them. He finds that employers who hire disabled people can sometimes be condescending. Throughout the book, he shows a great ability to understand how women feel. Vi jokingly says this is because he loved the magazine True Story as a child. His full name is a play on the Shakespearean character Prospero.
- Pancho Notzing - Prosper's friend and later coworker. Pancho loves the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. He carries a copy of Prometheus Unbound with him, calling it his "scripture." Other characters describe him as someone who dreams of a perfect world. He tries to create an ideal "Harmonious City," but his plans don't work out. His name is a reference to the character Sancho Panza from Don Quixote.
- Violet "Vi" Harbison - She is Prosper's main love interest in the story. Vi comes to the Henryville plant after her family's cattle are taken away by the government. She is a pitcher for the company's baseball team.
- Al and Sal Mass - A married couple who both have dwarfism. They work at the plant putting together parts of the planes. Other workers call them The Teenie Weenies after a newspaper cartoon.
- Connie Wrobleski - A married woman who comes to Henryville looking for her husband, Bunce. Prosper's kind attention to her accidentally upsets Vi and makes Bunce angry. Connie's son is named Adolph after his grandfather. Because of his name, Connie often faces unfair treatment.
- Diane - A floor manager who becomes Connie's friend. Prosper later has a child with her, even though she is married to a soldier fighting in the war.
- Henry and Jules Van Damme - These two brothers are the sons of a successful and clever businessman named Eudoxe Van Damme. When they were boys, they were inspired by their father's excitement about the first airplane flights. They are among the first to...
Images for kids
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First Edition Cover by William Morrow Books
