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The Struggle In Jesse Stuart's Split Cherry Tree

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The Struggle In Jesse Stuart's Split Cherry Tree
Countryman, poor farmer, and hard worker. These were the humble beginnings of the American author Jesse Stuart. Born on August 8th 1906 in a small place known as Greenup County in Kentucky. To the uneducated eye, Jesse Stuart may seem like any ordinary farmer at the time. Stuart and his family had struggled to survive for the majority of their days. Working many hours a day in both school and on his father’s farm, Jesse had a ton of work on his plate. Stuart however, had an insatiable work ethic and an unmatched passion for writing, traveling, and education. With these tools he went from a poor farmer who had to work just to survive, to one of the most iconic American writers in all of history. Jesse Stuart’s experiences and passion for nature …show more content…
In this story, the main character Dave Sexton lives on a small farm with his mother and his father Luster Sexton. His family is relatively poor and as a result Dave has to balance both school and working on his father’s farm everyday. The story begins when Dave is on a field trip with his classmates. He and his friends end up accidentally destroying someone's property and as a result they have to pay for the damage. All of the students had enough money to pay the debt off except for Dave. Because of this, his teacher, Professor Herbert made him stay after school to work in order to pay the debt off in a different way. When Dave gets home and explains what happened to his father, Luster becomes very anger. Luster had never gone to school, but he did not want Dave to live as difficult of a life as he did. Luster believes that it is unfair for Dave to suffer an extra punishment just because he comes from a poor family. Luster then decides to go to school with Dave the next day to confront his teacher. Once he arrives, he angrily explains to Professor Herbert his opinion on the matter. Professor Herbert acknowledges his concerns and then begins to explain to him how school works and why it was helpful for the students to go on a field trip. By the end of the school day Luster and Professor Herbert become friends and Luster decides to stay with Dave after school to finish paying off the

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