The Fifth Of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre

“So many books! All Mr. Adams had to do was look inside them and he could come up with an answer to anybody’s problems.

It followed, then, that if a person read books, one didn’t have to attend meetings where mobs screamed foul words. Neither did one have to threaten others. Or choose sides.”

Rachel decides to better herself by reading and engaging in discourse with other educated people. These early lines show her excitement at the power of the written word to allow a more peaceful exchange of ideas than that found in the streets of Boston. Rachel’s mindset here shows that she is early in her character arc and does not yet recognize the potential use for the mob—namely getting attention in situations where attention is needed. Rather, she stands by her assertion that education and conversation are the way toward improvement.

“After father died, Mama and I were under Uncle Eb’s thumb. He was as sharp as a crab apple to Mama. The first thing he did was make her change our name, from Marceau to Marsh.

He never could pronounce our name, he said. Mama let him have his way with that, of course, like she suffered every other thing he did to her. All so we could have a home. And I was too young to protest. So I became Rachel Marsh, not Rachel Marceau.”

This dive into Rachel’s backstory offers additional context for the American Colonial period, particularly the tensions between England and France. Her description of Uncle Eb’s actions reveals him as a bigoted and self-interested person who uses the force of his will to shape the world around him to his liking. Throughout the novel, Uncle Eb serves as a benchmark against which Rachel can measure her growth. As seen here, Rachel begins her arc fearful of the effect Uncle Eb can have on her life. By the end of the book, she realizes that Uncle Eb is not worth her time or effort, and she leaves him behind because she refuses to suffer the injustices her mother did.

“We are all born to education. I like to think it is a right. The question is, however, can our society tolerate a woman becoming educated? This is supposed to be the age of enlightenment. But ofttimes I think that only men are to be enlightened. And we women will be regarded, forever, as domestic beings.”

Abigail Adams speaks these lines while discussing books and education with Rachel, and they show the gender disparities that were not addressed by the revolution. Abigail has been afforded the privilege of an educated husband who has not protested her own learning, but not all women were so fortunate, as Abigail knows. Her concerns and frustrations about a woman’s role in the home and society show that, while she is aware of the problems, she cannot or will not take the steps to address them on a large scale. She does, however, pass along resources to Rachel, giving Rachel opportunity to grow and shape her world.

“‘I’m not like my ancestor, John Knox the Reformer. He took it upon himself, personally, to destroy Mary Queen of Scots.’

I looked at him, wide-eyed. ‘Your family goes that far back?’

He laughed. ‘Everyone’s does. I simply know who my rogue ancestors were. I take nothing from them, however. I prefer to make my way in my own sphere, head of my own house.’”

This exchange between Henry Knox and Rachel is the first time Rachel truly understands the knowledge reading can offer her. Henry’s words also foreshadow what Rachel will learn about herself—namely that she does not have to follow in the footsteps of her mother or ancestors just because she is related to them. Henry later defines this attitude of self-determination as “American.” From her relationship with him, Rachel comes to understand The Responsibility that Comes with Choice: To be American, she must make her own choices and accept the consequences.

“When you’re young, the world can still look good to you, in spite of the turmoil all around, my mother had once told me. You can lie to yourself and believe your own lies. Plenty of time to grow up, you think, I’m still young. Just let me stay like this a little longer.

What a terrible blow it is to find out, at sixteen, or eighteen, or twenty, that you are still doing it. And that it wasn’t something you just got away with in childhood, but something you did in childhood that you could never get away from, she’d said sadly.”

Here, Rachel remembers wise words her mother once told her and realizes she must change if she wishes to grow. The overall message of these lines represents the difficulty of change and the work required to truly understand the world. Part of growing up is admitting that deeply held beliefs may not always be correct. The latter half of this quotation symbolizes the danger of dragging childhood innocence into adulthood. People like Uncle Eb, who continue to lie to themselves, get left behind as others around them move forward and seek out truth.

“The next few years are going to be difficult. Many old ties are going to be severed. Friends are going to replace family, on many levels. New ties will be formed. But they will be stronger and more free of corruption than ever before.”

John Adams says this to Rachel when she tells him that Uncle Eb wanted her to spy on him and report his decision about the government position he would be offered. In the wake of the admission, Rachel feels torn because Uncle Eb, terrible as he can be, is family, and John reassures her that loyalties and ties naturally change, particularly at times of strife. More broadly, these words speak to any time of upheaval and the natural process of things breaking apart so they can come back together more strongly.

“It was said with sneers when the soldiers referred to the people of Boston. Oh, it wasn’t as if the people hadn’t heard the word before. But they had always referred to themselves as British Americans.

Now they were Americans. But the soldiers said it as if the citizens were something lowly. They said it with contempt, as if Americans were a plague to be wiped out. And the soldiers said it with laughter, as if the people were dunces performing for their amusement.

But they said it. And before long, the people in the streets were starting to say it about themselves. But with a measure of pride. And to mark the differences between themselves and the soldiers.”

This excerpt describes the development of a new identity. Dropping the “British” from “British American” allows the colonists to think of themselves as a separate people. The evolution of British American to just American symbolizes the power of making labels one’s own. Though the British soldiers use “American” as an insult, the colonists adopt the identity as their own, using it as a badge of pride that stands for the freedom they fight for.

“‘Dear Rachel, there is no such thing as a man friend.’ She pronounced this with the same smug knowledge she displayed when telling me about secret meetings of the Sons of Liberty.

‘There isn’t?’

‘No. A man can’t be a friend to a woman.’

‘Why?’

‘It just can’t be.’”

This conversation between Jane and Rachel is one of the places where Jane tries to undermine Rachel’s growing trust in Matthew. Jane’s staunch assertion that men and women cannot be friends appeals to Rachel’s fear of becoming beholden to a man, as her mother was when she got pregnant. Rachel’s acceptance of the argument shows she is still finding her confidence and is not yet ready to find her own beliefs. These lines also reveal that being forward-thinking in one way does not translate to being open-minded in general. Jane backs the Patriot view of a free country where people have the liberty to choose for themselves, yet she holds on to the false notion that men and women cannot be friends.

“Everyone in Boston had a terror of fire. On the night of January thirtieth, Matthew had been one of many British soldiers to help townsfolk fight the fire in the Queen Street jail. I had been one of the citizens to bring out hot coffee and food to the fire fighters.

Patriots, Tories, and soldiers had fought side by side.”

These lines get at one of the lesser explored ideas in the novel—how opposing sides can come together when the need is great enough. Despite all having different beliefs, the Patriots, Tories (merchants in support of the Crown), and soldiers worked together to put out a fire and save lives. This event supports Rachel’s growing belief in The Necessity of Seeing Both Sides, as she sees that people on opposing sides are capable of working together for the common good.

“Everyone in Boston knew of the lists. In August Mein had started running Custom House records showing the names of merchants importing from England.

Many were Patriot merchants, breaking their own boycott.

Uncle Eb grinned. With the bruises on his face, it was a leer. ‘He proved that certain merchants in the Sons of Liberty are using the nonimportation agreement to destroy their competitors, didn’t he? The self-righteous Sons of Perdition are importing! And attacking people like me!’

‘Mein printed the lists to turn people against each other,’ I replied.”

This exchange between Rachel and Uncle Eb comes the day after Eb and his business are attacked by the Patriot mob. Uncle Eb is sure he was targeted because he still imports goods from England, and the Mein list mentioned here is one example of how information is weaponized for a cause. As Rachel points out, the lists do nothing but turn people against each other, giving them a way to firmly sequester themselves behind what they believe—the antithesis of the necessity of seeing both sides.

“I need to do something so people will respect me. Would it matter to you if I was in a fight, Rachel? No, don’t answer that. Answer this. Don’t you think I’m weary of being called a damned rascally scoundrel lobster, and I want to stand up for what I really am?”

Matthew says this to Rachel during a discussion of how the soldiers have been ordered to stand down and not engage the Patriot mob, even if it puts them in physical danger. These lines highlight the effect of psychological warfare and how the taunts and inaction are getting to Matthew. He paraphrases the insults that the Patriots use against him to convey to Rachel the emotional burden he is dealing with.

“‘That’s business. How do you know what I really like? Do any of us really know the other? We don’t know ourselves.’

‘I think we know ourselves,’ I allowed. ‘I just don’t think we’re honest about what we know.’”

Jane’s preference for tea over coffee surprises Rachel, and this trivial surprise serves as a metaphor for the larger mysteries of character. Jane suggests that no one truly knows anyone, not even themselves, while Rachel argues that people know themselves better than they are willing to admit.

“It was not until I was outside in the February cold that another thought came to me. Becoming a true American was something anybody could do. You needed no family pretensions, no monied background. But more than that, I had been accepted. Without question. Just because I wanted to be.”

Here, Rachel believes she has become a true American, claiming the right to direct her own life without anyone else telling her what to do. She has also realized that, though she wasn’t aware of it, this is what she has always wanted, which foreshadows her later realization that these thoughts are not specific to America. Here, Rachel also finds solace in the idea of being an American because it offers her a sense of belonging she’s never felt before, and this builds upon her earlier stated desire to find her place in the world.

“‘It doesn’t seem right to me somehow. Does it to you?’

‘And why is that?’

‘To use the death of Chris this way. What would he think? He was ragged and poor. Where were all these people when he was running the streets, doing his chores for a pittance, and always looking so hungry and cold?’

‘He is of more value to them shot dead by that Tory, Richardson, than he was working for the Sons for that pittance,’ she said. ‘He is more help to the Cause now.’”

This exchange between Rachel and Jane again shows the very different ways the two women view the Patriot cause. Rachel is sad that a funeral is being used as a political statement because she doesn’t believe in capitalizing on someone’s suffering or death to make a point. By contrast, Jane supports this action because it allows her to turn her sorrow over the death of a friend into fuel for the work still to be done. Rachel recognizes The Importance of Independent Moral Judgment, as she refuses to abandon her own judgment simply because her friend disagrees.

“‘Matthew is my friend,’ I told him.

‘Yes, I know.’

‘What will happen now? How can we be friends anymore?’

‘Dear child,’ Henry said, ‘how can any of us be friends anymore with them?’”

This exchange between Rachel and Henry shows the emotional aftermath of a disruptive event like the Boston Massacre. While the city is in disarray and angry at the soldiers, Rachel struggles with her feelings about the soldiers, Matthew in particular. Having been there, she refuses to believe the Patriot accounts that paint the soldiers as heartless murderers when she knows the negative effect the Patriot taunts have had on Matthew. This exchange illustrates the necessity of seeing both sides.

“I shuddered at the name Gray. And the mention of the soldier. It was Matthew. My friend. But now, after this, he was ‘the soldier who fought with Gray at the ropeworks on Friday.’ He was tagged and known by all.

And would he soon be known by all as ‘the soldier who stabbed the dead body of Gray with his bayonet’? Was that my friend, Matthew, too?”

Here, Rachel is faced with another result of the Boston Massacre—how labels are changed and assigned. To Her, Matthew has been a friend and someone she’s learned has a troubled past, and she’s sad to realize that none of this will matter because he will only be known as the man who shot and stabbed a Patriot. This realization is one of the key factors in her decision to help him. Rachel’s ability to see past the labels and remember that people, even those who sometimes do bad things, are people exemplifies the responsibility that comes with choice.

“His duty. I looked at him. Yes, that is what he would say. The soldier in him was speaking. So sure of himself. So proud.

But you stabbed Gray after he was dead, I wanted to say. Was that your duty, too? Only I didn’t say it. Because I did not know what orders soldiers were given and what they were trained to do. And I had learned one thing about Matthew: he was a soldier before anything else, much as he never wanted to be one.”

Matthew uses his soldierly duty as a shield against moral criticism. Rachel asks a rhetorical question to point out that no soldier has a duty to stab someone who is already dead. At this point, Matthew was acting not out of duty but out of personal anger and desire for vengeance. Rachel recognizes, though, that Matthew is more than his worst actions, showing that people still have freedom of choice even after they have made grave mistakes.

“I had always admired Mr. Adams so, and the work he did in his office. And the way he could look inside his books and come up with an answer for a person’s problems.

But he could not do it for me now. And if he could not, then what good were the books? What good was my learning? One might as well run with the mob. They got their way. Look at Sam Adams. He never read books. And there was talk that before the end of the month he would have the troops removed from Boston.”

This line is part of Rachel’s dark moment when she believes all is lost and that all the learning she has done is for naught. Here, she questions the impact books and education can have because they have failed her for the first time. Though the complete reversal of everything Rachel has held dear here seems bleak, it is a natural part both of her character arc and of coming to terms with how the world works. From here, Rachel will again realize that books have their place but also that acting out can be effective, which in turn helps her realize there is no single solution to all problems.

“‘They’re a different kind of people, Matthew. They have burning wants.’

‘So do we all.’

‘No, Matthew. That’s something else you don’t understand. I didn’t, when I first got here. They want what no people have ever wanted before. They want liberty.’

He shrugged. ‘To do what?’

‘I don’t know. Since no people have ever had it, who knows what they could do with it?’”

Bostonians are not the only people who experience the “burning wants” Rachel describes here. They are simply the only people Rachel has met who are so conscious of their desire for liberty. Her rhetorical question, “who knows what they could do with it,” points toward the responsibility that comes with choice. Once the Patriots obtain their liberty, they will have the responsibility to do something productive with it.

“‘But even if we someday achieve this liberty we must still adhere to the rules of proper behavior and the law. Or we will run amok.’

‘Whose rules? The high-placed make them and can do whatever they please. Because they have money.’ I stood up and pushed back my chair. ‘Is that the way this liberty thing will work, then?’”

Henry and Rachel argue about the definition and limits of liberty. Henry argues that it is fine for people to have liberty but that liberty without rules opens the path for people to harm others without consequences. By contrast, Rachel wonders if there can be both liberty and consequences because the people with the power to make those consequences also have the power to impose a lack of liberty on others. Though Rachel isn’t aware of it, this is the moment she realizes she must make her own way in the world if she wants to be as free of others’ power as she can be.

“It was about people. And it had to do with understanding that they could be miserly of spirit and heart. And want to spite you just for the sport of it. And that people could be blessed with every great gift the Lord had to give, or plagued with every misery, like Job. And they could never rise above what they were. But just go on, stuck like that, being people.”

Here, Rachel hits another important point in her character growth—the realization that changing herself does not change the world. Rachel has bettered herself, but the people around her have not changed. If they were closed-minded before, they still are, and Rachel does not possess the power to change them. Further, she realizes that some people want to be unkind to others because they feel it brings them some kind of purpose. Rachel cannot understand this type of thinking, but she acknowledges that it exists, which is her next step toward realizing she must do for herself if she wants her life to change.

“John Adams could come up with an answer for anybody’s problems when he looked in those books of his. And just because I hadn’t kept my part of the bargain with him, and he was not going to keep me on, well, it did not diminish what the man could do when he looked into those books. And I had no right to think it did.”

These lines harken back to Rachel’s ongoing debate about the power of books and learning. After going from one extreme—thinking books can solve all problems—to the other—believing books can’t do anything—she finally lands somewhere in the middle with the understanding that books can solve problems, just not always to her satisfaction. This realization reinforces what Rachel has been internalizing in the last few chapters—that she is the only person who can do better for herself. Others may help her along, but that help can be taken away at a moment’s notice, as happens with the Adamses dismissing her.

“Needless to say, I did not know if my God was Catholic or Congregationalist. But I knew one thing. The jurors were old-time Puritans. And that was not a good sign.”

Rachel has never thought much of religion, but at Matthew’s trial, she decides to pray. She acknowledges that she doesn’t know how to pray nor whom she is praying to, but she recognizes the importance of religion in Colonial Boston. As a town founded by the Puritans, such culture still dominated after several decades. Since the Puritans were not fond of the British, Rachel believes this can only lead to ruin for Matthew and the soldiers because she doubts people will give up their deeply held beliefs to see events from another perspective.