Title: Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal
Author(s): Vaunda Micheaux
Illustrator/Photographer: R. Christie
Publisher and Year: Carolrhoda Books 2009
Number of pages: 40
Genre: Adventure, Non-Fiction
Analysis:
1) Summary:
The reading went over Bass Reeves, a U.S. marshal, life and how he became such a feared lawman. It discussed the ways and techniques he came up with to capture the outlaws. The text talked about how a former slave was turned into one of the best lawmen.
2) Theoretical Framework:
On the cover there is a huge image of an African American wearing only black and white clothing. The whole front page is black and white. The pages has an old western theme to them. Bass is on a horse chasing a man with a gun. It’s a hole in Bass’s hat that he is wearing and he is getting ready to shoot his gun. The background is a blue sky. It seems to be a big group of diverse men sitting around having a good time. They have cowboy hats. There’s a boy in the woods that looks like he’s running away from something. It seems to be a Native American teaching Bass something about corn. Bass look to be sleeping in the middle of a desert, while someone is cooking and preparing a camp site. It shows Bass capturing three Caucasian people. Then he caught two more prisoners while there’s an old lady behind looking upset. Bass looks to be in a sneaky farmer disguise while trying to capture a group of bandits. While resting there was a skunk by him and the others just watched. It shows a picture of a white woman behind bars but it almost looks like Bass was behind them. Bass is carrying a body while riding a horse that was attempted to be hung. There was nothing but white people in the crowd watching the hanging. It gave us a huge picture of Bass and his son. There are tons of people mourning the death of Bass.
It was ironic to see that a black guy being a lawman in the old west days. The book even discussed that a lot of white people didn’t like to see such a powerful African American. I believe this book because they wanted to inform others about Bass’s life and the things he had to overcome.
3) Illustrations:
The illustrations never show a negative aspect. Except when he was depicted as a slave. The background is a pretty blue sky for the most part. The background was a dark and in the woods type of surrounding.