In the world between the covers of Fire in the Streets written by Kekla Magoon and Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes, the books happens in differents eras and are magnificents historical fiction that tells about important events such as the World War II and the Civil War in America’s 60s. Readers may notice some differences and similarities regarding the character’s perspective, the power each has over the other, and the theme that is developed through the story. Hero on a Bicycle is a story of Paolo Criveli’s who lives with his mother and with his sister in Florence, Italy. He and his sister Constanza are confined to their home because German soldiers were out on the streets to round up the Jews and arrest them. They learned their way through a tough situation in 1944 during World War II. Fire in the Streets tells the story of Maxie, an African American girl who was in a racist society and wanted to fight for her civil rights as well as those of the black community. To deal with this reality, she wants to be part of the Black Panther Party because she thought that she could feel powerful and still fight for equality. Nevertheless, analyzing the context and the story of both books, readers can notice similarities and differences simultaneously, for instance, both main characters have a similar perspective of their difficulties. Constrastivily, the power dynamics present in their society and in their family and the theme of hope that the author develops in the story, are different from each other.
Readers of both books can notice that the perspective of the main characters, Paolo and Maxie, are very similar to one another regarding the tough situations that the books depict. They see the world as a blank page; full of possibilities and that they can be whoever they want if faith is present inside themselves. They wanted to be someone important and mark the historical period that they were facing. In addition, they learned to deal with consequences with maturity even though they are just children, for instance; Paolo wanted to save the Italians mainly to honor and prestige his father who had disappeared due to the war. Franco was constribed to patrol against the Nazi Forces and his son was worried about what would happens if he cannot even have the chance of look for him. Paolo, a kid of just thirteen, has to confront a difficult barrier and do the “man of the house role” as said in the book even though he is too young for that. As well as Paolo, Maxie had to make difficult choices as an adult actually makes every time because she had to decide things that might change her future in the role of a Panther. A point that is important is that because he is a girl, too young and black, she encounters the situation in a splendiferous way that anyone in the story could do. They fought in different modes and in different historical periods, but both did their best and avail all the courage they had to get out of circumstances alive as in Hero on a Bicycle, or to struggle for their civil rights as in Fire in the Streets. During the difficult times that they had faced in the story, the audience can notice that they act with a lot of hope, determination and maturity. Those are some of the aspects that connect both of them; “I’ll be part of them, I am sure” Maxie said many times throughout the book. In addition, Paolo had the same thought and the same idea as her “He wanted to fight, to be part of the action (…)”, “He was determined to play a part in it” wrote Shirley during the narrative.
In contrast with the similar perspectives, the books have different power dynamics over the main characters and the minor characters. Paolo, during the story, feels less powerful regarding “The Partisans” – a group of mens who serve the Italian population during World War II trying to make plans to help imprisoned Jews to escape – because he is too young to be part of them and according to the guys, “(…) just mens can be part of this.” The community and also the mens who were members of “The Partisan” always said to Paolo that he is incapable to help because he is just thirteen years old; “This isn’t a kids war” one of them said. On the other hand, Maxie feels powerful because she had faith that she could be a Panther and patrol the streets as her brother did. Although the others said that she was too young, she just ignored the comments and stood strong even though she was excluded from the community due to her skin color. The similar point between Paolo and Maxie is their almost identical purposes: both wanted to fight because of a family member who used to do this before them or who was part of the fight at the time. The main characters could see an inspiration in their familiars and also saw a lot of injustice between groups of people. Since both are brave and strong enough to deal with many things during the book, Paolo and Maxie couldn’t just sit back. Although some characters had more power over other characters during the narrative, at the end of the stories, Maxie and Paolo could fight for equality inside their community and managed to fulfill their goals and their purposes.
During the books, Shirley and Kekla could develop the theme in a way that readers can feel motivated and inspired by the story of both characters because they were very emphatic over the population that was around them. Paolo and Maxie went through difficult times during their lives and to deal with it, they wanted to show everyone that they were capable of changing the world – or at least part of it. In Fire in the Streets, Maxie fought for her civil rights but this just happened due to her persistence and was sure that one day, she would be part of the Black Panthers Party. However, some events that happened throughout the fiction made Maxie able to trust in herself. One evidence of that in the book is written between the firsts chapters; Maxie was given an assignment by Bobby – one of the party bosses and one of the creators of the Black Panther – and she was successful in what she was doing because she stuck with it until the end; without giving up even after many refusions of white people to her. Readers can learn that fighting for their rights and duties can be a difficult task, but not an impossible one for those who really want to. In Hero on a Bicycle, Paolo had the dream of becoming a Partisan to help his community and to honor his dad who was part of them. Furthermore, he is just thirteen years old and can’t play a part in it. One day, he did a task for them and finally could show that he is able to become a hero. His family was always by his side, helping in his dream and giving support all over the story. The task that Paolo was able to complete was to help the prisoners to escape from the concentration camps and shelter them in his own house. Therefore, his mother, Rosemary and his older sister Constanza, helped him to get away from home on the night that he went to the camps and that was a form of showing affection. Also, they helped Paolo emotionally because during the book, they encouraged him; “You can do this, honey”. Shirley Hughes wants to convey a message that familiar support is an important source of hope when one’s going through arduous situations. One point that the main characters are very similar is related to the fact that both had problems regarding their ages and wanted to prove to their nation that they were capable of making a difference. One aspect that may shock part of the audience is the fact that two children were able to do many things that had a positive effect while a disaster was happening in their community and were able to exploit advanced knowledge to realize their dreams; working with a lot of intelligence and different skills.
Some differences and similarities were portrayed in both books; the main characters have a similar perspective on their difficulties. On the other hand, the power dynamics present in each one’s society and the lesson of hope that the author promotes in the story are different from each other. They were persistent in completing their goals and had faith that they could do whatever they wanted. In addition, both had a lot of empathy because they didn’t just fight for themselves, they also fought for others. The power dynamics existing in the stories are portrayed differently because Maxie acts as if she has already achieved her goal of fighting for her civil rights; empowered; ignoring the racist comments she receives many times throughout the book. In Paolo’s case, he was trying to be a stronger, older person – like a real man instead of a child. However, he feels less powerful and needs to overcome the situation to fulfill his goal of saving the Italian population. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a hero means a person admired or idealized for his courage, outstanding accomplishments or noble qualities and this description fits very well with Paolo and Maxie. Readers can understand with these books that nothing is impossible for those who really want it and that children can do extraordinary things that can change their lives and also the lives of others.
