Sons from Afar
Encyclopedia
Sons From Afar is the sixth book in Cynthia Voigt
's Tillerman Cycle
, the series of novels dealing with Dicey Tillerman's family which also includes Homecoming
, Dicey's Song
(winner of the 1983 Newbery Medal
), The Runner, A Solitary Blue
, Come A Stranger, and Seventeen Against the Dealer
.
, the first book in the cycle. She is 64 years old and lives on her family farm with her grandchildren. She is an older version of Dicey, her eldest grandchild and sees the good in all the Tillermans.
James Tillerman: Now almost 16 years old, James has grown into a quiet, insecure teenager who is described as having dark hair, a thin, narrow face, and hazel eyes who looks younger than his age. He is embarrassed by himself, afraid of being labeled a "dork" or "brain". He does not share these feelings with his grandmother because he is afraid of worrying her, although Sammy and Maybeth see through James's facade but do not tell him.
He has a hard time asking for things from his grandmother or others (for fear that they will say no) and gives up easily. He is highly intelligent, taking all A-track - advanced - courses at the local high school; however, he lacks athletic ability and physical confidence. He fears the pain of injury. Despite this, he has joined the baseball team because he wants to look well-rounded on his college applications. Even though he hates it and wants to quit, he does not because he does not want people to think he is a quitter.
During the story James changes his post-high school goal from becoming a lawyer and building up a business to becoming a medical doctor. His part-time job at a doctor's office and his helping diagnose a patient with a bladder problem is a main factor in his change of heart.
Throughout most of the book, he is frustrated with Sammy because of his brother's lack of intellectual curiosity and ambition and his stubborn attitude. At the same time, he is envious of his brother's natural athletic ability and self-confidence and self-acceptance. James's respect for Sammy grows when James sees Sammy's bravery and courage when he stands up to a violent grown man at a bar on their search for their father.
Even though he never finds his father, James's experiences teach him that he needs to accept himself for who he is so that he does not "get lost from himself", the way he believes his father had done. It also teaches him to accept his brother.
Sammy Tillerman: Now 12 years old, Sammy is described as blond, hazel-eyed, and tall for his age with a stocky athletic build. He looks older than he is. Sammy is his own person and says and does whatever he wants regardless of what others will think of him. Other children at school look up to and admire him, including girls who Sammy ignores as he thinks they are a pain.
He likes playing sports and being outside. He prefers physical labor rather than intellectual work. Sammy respects James's "book smarts" but is often frustrated with James's lack of confidence and constant questioning and thinking. Sammy believes James is not smart about life or people or even himself, and Sammy thinks these are more important. This attitude changes when Sammy sees James remain calm throughout the bar fight, talking the men down until the boys are able to leave. Sammy proposes at the very end, that they team up their strengths to protect Maybeth from men who might ruin her life, the way their father did to their mother.
Maybeth Tillerman: Now 14 years old, Maybeth resembles the Tillerman's mother, Liza, in looks and personality. She is described by James as pretty, strong looking, with a good figure. She has a great talent for music and singing; even her voice sounds like her mother's.
While having this talent and skills in cooking and sewing, Maybeth struggles to maintain decent grades in all school courses other than home economics. James helps her with homework and studying and he is awed that she does not mind having to work so hard to earn only Cs and Ds. Maybeth is gentle and kind so is popular despite being slow at school.
Dicey Tillerman: The oldest of the Tillerman children, Dicey only appears briefly when she comes home from college for spring break. Although she is clever and finds college easy, she thinks it is not worthwhile when she is needed at home and really wants to learn boat building. However, Gram is insistent that Dicey finish college.
Dicey is a lot like Sammy: direct and stubborn and impatient with James. She has a take-charge attitude and feels she should be at home to take care of her family.
James takes a part-time job in a medical office and answers the distressed call of a man with urinary retention and thinks of an episode in a book he read. Though he realises later he should not have given medical advice, the incident starts him to think he should be a doctor.
Cynthia Voigt
Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse. Her first book in the Tillerman family series, Homecoming, was nominated for several international prizes and made into a 1996 film...
's Tillerman Cycle
Tillerman Cycle
The Tillerman Cycle is a series of children's novels by the author Cynthia Voigt. Currently there are seven titles in the series.-Note on reading order:...
, the series of novels dealing with Dicey Tillerman's family which also includes Homecoming
Homecoming (novel)
Homecoming is a young adult novel by American children's author Cynthia Voigt. It is the first of seven novels in the Tillerman Cycle. It was adapted into a for-TV film.-Plot introduction:...
, Dicey's Song
Dicey's Song
Dicey's Song is a novel by Cynthia Voigt. It won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1983.-Plot:Picking up where Homecoming left off, Dicey Tillerman and her three siblings, James, Maybeth, and Sammy, are now living with their widowed grandmother Abigail Tillerman,...
(winner of the 1983 Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
), The Runner, A Solitary Blue
A Solitary Blue
A Solitary Blue is a novel by Cynthia Voigt. It was a Newbery Honor book in 1984. It takes place before, during and after the events described in Dicey's Song, Voigt's 1983 Newbery Medal winner and Come a Stranger...
, Come A Stranger, and Seventeen Against the Dealer
Seventeen Against the Dealer
Seventeen Against the Dealer is a young adult novel by American children's author Cynthia Voigt. It is the last of seven novels in the Tillerman Cycle.-Plot summary:Seventeen Against the Dealer is the final novel in the seven-part Tillerman Cycle...
.
Plot summary
With Dicey and her friends Mina and Jeff away at college, Sons From Afar turns its attention to younger brothers James and Sammy. James is now 15 and wondering about his missing father. He and Sammy begin an investigation across Maryland leading to adventures in Easton, Annapolis, and Baltimore to find clues about the life and character of their father. Sammy at first is uninterested in the man who abandoned their mother and his four children, thinking it has no real bearing on him, but he goes along with James for brotherly support. Their roles eventually become reversed after James has an epiphany about accepting himself for what he is and Sammy realises he needs to start asking questions about himself and where he is heading. Along the way, they find "missing men" affecting the lives of more and more people, and renew their understanding of their place in their family.Characters
Abigail "Gram" Tillerman: The Tillerman children's grandmother, Gram took them in at the end of HomecomingHomecoming (novel)
Homecoming is a young adult novel by American children's author Cynthia Voigt. It is the first of seven novels in the Tillerman Cycle. It was adapted into a for-TV film.-Plot introduction:...
, the first book in the cycle. She is 64 years old and lives on her family farm with her grandchildren. She is an older version of Dicey, her eldest grandchild and sees the good in all the Tillermans.
James Tillerman: Now almost 16 years old, James has grown into a quiet, insecure teenager who is described as having dark hair, a thin, narrow face, and hazel eyes who looks younger than his age. He is embarrassed by himself, afraid of being labeled a "dork" or "brain". He does not share these feelings with his grandmother because he is afraid of worrying her, although Sammy and Maybeth see through James's facade but do not tell him.
He has a hard time asking for things from his grandmother or others (for fear that they will say no) and gives up easily. He is highly intelligent, taking all A-track - advanced - courses at the local high school; however, he lacks athletic ability and physical confidence. He fears the pain of injury. Despite this, he has joined the baseball team because he wants to look well-rounded on his college applications. Even though he hates it and wants to quit, he does not because he does not want people to think he is a quitter.
During the story James changes his post-high school goal from becoming a lawyer and building up a business to becoming a medical doctor. His part-time job at a doctor's office and his helping diagnose a patient with a bladder problem is a main factor in his change of heart.
Throughout most of the book, he is frustrated with Sammy because of his brother's lack of intellectual curiosity and ambition and his stubborn attitude. At the same time, he is envious of his brother's natural athletic ability and self-confidence and self-acceptance. James's respect for Sammy grows when James sees Sammy's bravery and courage when he stands up to a violent grown man at a bar on their search for their father.
Even though he never finds his father, James's experiences teach him that he needs to accept himself for who he is so that he does not "get lost from himself", the way he believes his father had done. It also teaches him to accept his brother.
Sammy Tillerman: Now 12 years old, Sammy is described as blond, hazel-eyed, and tall for his age with a stocky athletic build. He looks older than he is. Sammy is his own person and says and does whatever he wants regardless of what others will think of him. Other children at school look up to and admire him, including girls who Sammy ignores as he thinks they are a pain.
He likes playing sports and being outside. He prefers physical labor rather than intellectual work. Sammy respects James's "book smarts" but is often frustrated with James's lack of confidence and constant questioning and thinking. Sammy believes James is not smart about life or people or even himself, and Sammy thinks these are more important. This attitude changes when Sammy sees James remain calm throughout the bar fight, talking the men down until the boys are able to leave. Sammy proposes at the very end, that they team up their strengths to protect Maybeth from men who might ruin her life, the way their father did to their mother.
Maybeth Tillerman: Now 14 years old, Maybeth resembles the Tillerman's mother, Liza, in looks and personality. She is described by James as pretty, strong looking, with a good figure. She has a great talent for music and singing; even her voice sounds like her mother's.
While having this talent and skills in cooking and sewing, Maybeth struggles to maintain decent grades in all school courses other than home economics. James helps her with homework and studying and he is awed that she does not mind having to work so hard to earn only Cs and Ds. Maybeth is gentle and kind so is popular despite being slow at school.
Dicey Tillerman: The oldest of the Tillerman children, Dicey only appears briefly when she comes home from college for spring break. Although she is clever and finds college easy, she thinks it is not worthwhile when she is needed at home and really wants to learn boat building. However, Gram is insistent that Dicey finish college.
Dicey is a lot like Sammy: direct and stubborn and impatient with James. She has a take-charge attitude and feels she should be at home to take care of her family.
Literary references
James has to do a report in his French class, and ends up doing a second for another student, leading to guilt about cheating.- Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:... - Albert CamusAlbert CamusAlbert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, "The Myth of SisyphusThe Myth of SisyphusThe Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It comprises about 120 pages and was published originally in 1942 in French as Le Mythe de Sisyphe; the English translation by Justin O'Brien followed in 1955....
" (essay}
James takes a part-time job in a medical office and answers the distressed call of a man with urinary retention and thinks of an episode in a book he read. Though he realises later he should not have given medical advice, the incident starts him to think he should be a doctor.
- John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, Travels With Charley