Since Johnny Tremain concerns the Revolutionary War, it necessarily deals with death. The story focuses on events leading up to the war, but conflicts between the Tories and the rebels sometimes turn violent. One Tory falls victim to the revolutionaries and is tarred and feathered. Later, rumors circulate that the Lyte family will be run out of Boston on rails. But through most of the book, Johnny never witnesses any violence; he just hears stories about it.

By the end of the story, the violence is no longer detached and distant.

Pumpkin, a pleasant young British recruit whose only desire is to have his own farm, falls victim to the firing squad. Johnny, intruding on this scene, is profoundly affected by the death and begins to doubt his own courage. Then, Rab is seriously wounded. Although he does not die in the story, the wound is...