To the Discussion Leader
For her fourth book in the Dear America series, Kristiana Gregory focuses again on America's historic West with a Gold Rush story chock-full of tales describing courageous families pursuing dreams of new and better lives. In this novel, fourteen-year-old Susanna Fairchild and her family leave their home in "Missoura" and board a ship bound for Fort Vancouver and a new life with friends in Oregon. By the time they reach California the Gold Rush is on. To help recoup the loss of the family's savings, Dr. Fairchild postpones the trip to Oregon; puts his medical practice on hold; and joins the Forty-niners in their quest for gold. Susanna's diary entries regale readers with exciting adventure stories, tales of frontier justice, and examples of what greed can do to human beings. Susanna's words also create portraits that show the power and strength found in families, friendships, and true love.
On writing this novel about her native state, Ms. Gregory says, "I wanted to show the pandemonium and the hopes that people had. Most everyone wanted to become rich and believed that it was possible. I also wanted to show how sometimes the dreams we have are interrupted or changed because of circumstances beyond our control.
"The Fairchilds found themselves in the midst of one of the most exciting times in American history. Despite their personal tragedy and despite Papa's gold fever, the family managed to pull together. It was strength of character that saw them through, not the money they made."
Summary
"We are alone in our little cabin, missing Papa more than ever. This morning we realized this is the first time we've been without both our parents. No friends or family either. Sometimes I feel so lonesome my forehead aches from trying not to cry," writes fourteen-year-old Susanna in her diary. It is 1849. Susanna, her older sister Clara, and their doctor father have come all the way from "Missoura" to settle in Oregon. The four-month voyage around Cape Horn was long, rough, and heartbreaking, as their beloved mother was lost at sea. Now, instead of going to Oregon to join family members, the girls are living near a place called Miner's Creek in California Territory while their father and his new found friend Captain Clinkingbeard have gone off to find gold. Not only is it lonely for Susanna and Clara, they must face such dangers as grizzly bears, mountain lions, and thieves who break into their cabin and steal Papa's gold. The arrival of Jesse Blue, an old family friend, is a comfort to the girls, as is visiting Rosita and her family, young Peruvian immigrants they met on board the ship.
Papa is gone for more than a month. One day, Sam, a young miner who has been gravely injured in a mine explosion, is brought to the cabin in need of the doctor's care. Since his leg must be amputated, or he will die from the infection, Susanna and Clara go to find their father. On their way they are excited to find gold in a rocky shelter and can't wait to share the good news with Papa. After finding their father, they return to the site, only to see six men digging away at their gold. The girls had neglected to stake their claim. Once home, Susanna assists her father in the amputation of Sam's leg. As Sam recuperates, romance blooms between him and Susanna, and he asks Dr. Fairchild for permission to court her.
Life in the mining town is harsh. There are murders and hangings and the unhappy discovery that their friend, Jesse Blue, has been stealing Papa's gold. As the year passes, more and more people are moving into Miner's Creek and Papa fears the town is becoming too rough a place for the girls. He decides to travel to Oregon, as originally planned. Susanna writes, "I supposed I'm elated about finally settling in Oregon and once again being with family. I will miss California’s mountains and the wild beauty of its rivers. I will miss the excitement of gold, at the least the possibility that one of us might stumble upon the next big strike. I will miss Captain Clinkingbeard and his stories, as well as Rosita and her large family." When she finds out that Captain Clinkingbeard and Sam will travel with them, Susanna is overjoyed.
After traveling by wagon, ship, and longboat the travelers arrive at Fort Vancouver. From there they will go by wagon to Oregon Territory. Susanna writes, "I am at the end of Mother's diary. It seems she has been with me on this long journey after all, through these pages and my thoughts. I miss her, Clara and Papa miss her, but we will start our new life with her dream."
Thinking About the Book
1. One of the reasons Papa decides to mine for gold is that the family lost most of their life's savings on the trip to California. What happened to the money?
2. Why is the Fairchild's new friend, Captain Clinkingbeard, so interesting to Clara and Susanna? Where did he get his name?
3. Why do you think Susanna's diary is titled Seeds of Hope?
4. In the Gold Rush days, greedy Americans did not want any foreigners sharing their gold. What examples of prejudice against foreigners do you find in Seeds of Hope?
5. How are Jesse Blue, Papa's longtime friend, and Mr. Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol alike?
6. Animals of all kinds play important roles in Susanna's diary. Make a list of the animals mentioned in the book, and then discuss the importance of each animal in the novel.
7. Identify the following and discuss with your group why these people or terms are important in Seeds of Hope.
scurvy
Tar Heads
Forty-niners
President James Polk
xenophobia
placer
8. What does a "bear market" and a "bull market" mean when describing America's stock market? Where do these terms come from?
9. What do you think is the saddest part of the book? What do you think is the happiest part of the book? Give your reasons.
Student Activities
1. Susanna's mother packed many of her favorite books because she knew there would be no school on the ship. What are some of the books the sisters read? If you were going on a long trip, what would you take along to pass the time and keep your mind active? Share your choices and compare them with what others members of your group chose.
2. If you were a traveler in 1849, living in the east, and you were driven by "gold fever" to go to California, which route would you take (by ship around Cape Horn as Susanna and her family did, or the overland route across America by covered wagon)? Think of the problems you'd encounter with each route. Which would you take and why?
3. On page 157 of Susanna's diary her father says, "Susanna, it seems that true character often isn't revealed until a person is faced with temptation." In your discussion group consider what Papa means. What characters in the book are examples of this, both good and bad?
4. Captain Clinkingbeard is a scrimshaw artist. What is scrimshaw? Find some pictures of this art form and share the process and examples with your class.
5. The Forty-niners were also called Argonauts. Read the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts and their search for the Golden Fleece. Discuss the similarities between the Argonauts and the Forty-niners.
6. The Dear America series features female main characters like Susanna Fairchild. The My Name Is America books focus on male main characters. Compare and contrast Seeds of Hope with The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner written by Laurence Yep. Both are set during the time of the Gold Rush. What new things about the Gold Rush did you learn in Wong Ming-Chung's journal? Which book did you enjoy more? Explain.
7. For some interesting and unusual facts about the California Gold Rush visit http://www.pbs.org/goldrush/funfacts.html. Share several of these facts with your group.
8. Note to Discussion Group Leaders: A source for Gold Rush information may be found at http://www.pbs.org/goldrush/teacher.html
An Interview with Kristiana Gregory
Richard F. Abrahamson, Ph.D. & Eleanore S. Tyson, Ed.D .: Your biographical sketch in Seeds of Hope states that California is your native state and that you "grew up with the lore of the Forty-niners." How did this influence your writing of the story?
Kristiana Gregory: As a kid I so wanted a story to read about the gold rush, but at that time [the 1950s], there were no books written for our age level; the same was true for my sons studying California history in school thirty years later. So when my editor said the Dear America series needed a gold rush story I jumped at the chance. Researching and writing transported me back in time, to an adventure I had dreamed of as a child: being a " 49er." It was a blast...I hope kids have as much fun reading Seeds of Hope as I did writing it.
RFA & EST:Several of your Dear America books, including Seeds of Hope, tell the story of people moving away from homes, families, and friends they loved to settle in untamed, frontier parts of America and start anew. What is it that attracts you to this theme?
KG: It was a happy coincidence that Scholastic asked me to write about the Oregon Trail, the transcontinental railroad, and the gold rush. All three deal with themes familiar to me: being uprooted and leaving behind friends. When I was in the eighth grade my family moved from Manhattan Beach to Lancaster, California, which was a desert town near Edward's Air Force Base. Then when I was a junior in high school my dad was transferred to White Sands Missile Range in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Both places felt like the middle of nowhere and were definitely part of the western frontier. It was hard as a teenager to start over with friends. I was lonely and shy. Then as an adult my husband and I moved four times with our own family to different areas of the western United States, just as many of the pioneers had done. Sometimes it took these pioneers several journeys to find the place in which they wanted to settle and put down roots. On that note, my family and I are happy to call Boise, Idaho our final destination.
RFA & EST: Captain Clinkingbeard is a unique character remembered long after Susanna's diary is complete. Was he based on someone you discovered in your research? How did this colorful character come to be?
KG: I have an acquaintance with the last name of Clinkingbeard. The name inspired such pictures in my imagination! Having researched pirates for The Stowaway, I remembered stories about some of the really bad guys who put glass in their beards to scare people, even lighting little fuses so the smoke would make them appear more intimidating. I loved the idea of an honorable sailor being descended from pirates. The story of the loss of his family to smallpox in the Sandwich Islands fit in with the historical sweep of the gold rush.
RFA & EST: Seeds of Hope is the third Dear America book you've written about the westward migration. How are all three of these young women (Hattie Campbell, Libby West, and Susanna Fairchild) alike?
KG: Hattie, Libby, and Susanna are alike because they trusted their parents' dream. Despite feeling lonely at times and fearful of the future they drew strength from family and grew closer to their siblings. They each had romantic yearnings for a love relationship that would lead to marriage.
RFA & EST: Readers of Susanna's diary are exposed to the tragic death of a parent, broken friendships, greed, and murder as well as family unity, love, strong bonds of friendship, and self-sacrifice for others. Do you see The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild as a tragic tale or one of optimism?
KG: Optimism! All my stories have the theme, "there is always hope." Tragedies happen in real life along with all the wonderful stuff. Through my characters I try to show there is always a new friend to be made, a new person to love, a new hope for the future.
RFA & EST: If you could ask readers of Susanna's diary one question after they finish the book, what would that question be?
KG: If a trusted friend betrayed your family or hurt you in some way, would you be able to forgive that person, even if he or she never apologized?
RFA & EST: What is the one thing you hope young readers will take with them from The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild?
KG: Anyone who has lost a loved one through separation or death can still experience a full life from the affections of an extended family.
Discussion Guide written by Richard F. Abrahamson, Ph.D., Professor of Literature for Children and Young Adults, University of Houston and Eleanore S. Tyson, Ed.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Houston, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Houston, Texas.
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