The Surrender Tree

Engle, M. (2008). The surrender tree. NY: Holt. This story is written in poem versus describing the attempts the Cuban people struggling for Cuba’s independence. It was written from several characters perspectives from both sides of the revolution, which showed the rounded view of conflicts and struggle of war. The story line revolved around Rosa who was a nurse who used natural remedies to help cure the sick and injured. She didn’t discriminate when it came to helping people and never asked for payment. Rosa’s skills were needed in Cuba’s wars. Her husband, Jose, a free slave, helped Rosa and tried to avoid the concentration camps, the military leaders, and the former slave catchers. The poems also described Lieutenant Deaths role in hunting down slaves and bringing them dead or alive. He also described the payment for each and how the slaves were more valuable alive. The struggle among the people in Cuba was heard through all the voices in these characters. They were able to paint a picture of how the people wanted to be free and enjoy the land they once knew and how each country that tried to overpower Cuba would destroy a little bit of them and their land. Through the descriptive words of these characters, it gives a vivid image of the hardships they were enduring during this difficult time. Related books: The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman, Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson, The Great Fire by Jim Murphy.