77 pages • 2 hours read
Erin Gruwell and Freedom WritersThe Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Key Figures
Ms. Gruwell
Ms. Gruwell is an English teacher at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. While most of her students come from low-income backgrounds and live in neighborhoods where gang violence is common, Ms. Gruwell is from a middle-class family and lives in a safe neighborhood in Newport Beach.
Throughout the book, Ms. Gruwell describes her teaching methods as “unorthodox.” She teaches books that she thinks the students can relate to, asks them to write about their personal experiences, takes them on field trips, and invites guest speakers to visit their classroom. She also pursues outside monetary support for her efforts and seeks attention for her class from the media and public officials. Ms. Gruwell’s students respond positively to her teaching and say that she is different than other teachers, who “drone on” and “lecture.” Ms. Gruwell describes herself as a “mom” to the students, and when the students wonder about the morality of their action or inaction, they frequently hope that Ms. Gruwell won’t find out.
Ms. Gruwell often struggles to gain support from her school administration and other teachers to stay with the class until they graduate. She believes this is because of rules about “seniority.” At various points, she considers leaving the school because of this resistance, and she even begins teaching college classes on the side. But she stays with the class until they graduate, and afterward, she also moves on to become a college professor.
The Students
A note at the beginning of the book says that the students’ diary entries are anonymous and numbered “to protect their anonymity and illustrate the universality of their experiences” (6). Thus the entries, while very personal, can be read as a group story where all students share each individual’s experience. Even when individual storylines stand out—for example, the student with cystic fibrosis, who is represented in entries 25 and 141 and referenced it the epilogue—the reader can’t be certain this is the same student. A student’s gender is also often not evident from their entry, further contributing to this sense of a universal, shared story that is nonetheless very personal.
Zlata Filipovic
Zlata Filipovic is a teenager who lived in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and kept a diary. Her war diary, written in 1992 and 1993, was published as Zlata’s Diary: a Child’s Life in Sarajevo, and she became an international speaker on issues of tolerance. The Freedom Writers read Zlata’s book and write her letters inviting her to visit their class. She agrees to visit, and later, writes the forward to the Freedom Writers Diary.
Zlata an inspirational figure for the Freedom Writers, as she is a teenager like them and has survived a war. Many of the Freedom Writers feel that they are also living through a war, albeit an “undeclared” one. Zlata provides a living model for how a person like them can make good out of a bad situation.
John Tu
John Tu is a wealthy businessman who took an interest in Ms. Gruwell after hearing about what happened when she took Sharaud’s class to the theater. He donates money for Ms. Gruwell to take her class on field trips and gives the class 35 computers when they begin working on their book project. He also hires some of the students for part-time jobs within his company.
John Tu is not the class’s only supporter—they also receive donations from a lawyer, local restaurants, Marriott Hotels, and the clothing company GUESS?—but he is their first supporter, and serves as an inspiration for some of the students. He is also the focus of some insults Ms. Gruwell receives, as one teacher calls John Tu her “sugar daddy” (47).
Miep Gies
Miep Gies is the woman responsible for finding Anne Frank’s diary. She visits the Freedom Writers during the spring of their sophomore year. During Miep’s visit, one student asks if Miep considers herself a hero. She replies that she thinks they, the students, are the true heroes. It is the first time the students had ever considered this possibility, and her words make them feel that they are special and can make a difference.
