sophie pederson

In this story, I, Juan de Pareja, the author, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino tells the life story of a slave who works for a famous painter named Don Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez during the 17th century, and what the his life was like from a young age to middle aged man. Trevino thoughtfully develops her characters and techniques while captivating her reader’s and creating a marvelous and exciting tale of historical fiction. The main character of this story is Juan, who is a loyal slave to a famous painter in Spain. The main complication of his life is that he wants to be a painter, but is unable to because it is illegal for slaves to practice the arts there, but Juan begins to paint in secret by watching his master and teaching himself. As the book nears the end Juan is so tormented by his secret that he reveals he's been painting to the King and his Master by showing them a painting he made, and so awaits his punishment. However, instead of receiving a punishment, his master gives him his freedom and the choice of then becoming his assistant. He serves his master for a while, but when he suddenly gets ill and dies he moves into an old friend’s house and becomes a painter. Trevino creates lovable and engaging characters and writes the story in a way that captivates your attention and causes you to wonder what will happen next. This book shows the treatment of slaves and how they were treated as equals by some people, while not so much by others, and even though it is not the same now as it was then, there are still some people who do not quite see everyone as equal. Loyalty is a great trait of Juan in this book and it shows what true actions of devotion really are, qualities that people can use in their future relationships. No matter what Juan’s situation was, he stayed dignified and thoughtful of those around him, he was never bitter or untrustworthy, and he was respectful to everyone. He was honest in the end and that's what led to his freedom.