Dusty Miller Character Analysis in Johnny Tremain

Dusty is the younger, smaller apprentice in Mr. Lapham’s silver shop. He both admires and hates Johnny, as Johnny is skilled and likeable, but cruel to Dusty and Dove. So, Dusty forms an uneasy alliance with Dove so they can protect themselves against Johnny. In the year after Johnny leaves the Lapham household, Dusty runs away to work at sea.

Dusty Miller Quotes in Johnny Tremain

The Johnny Tremain quotes below are all either spoken by Dusty Miller or refer to Dusty Miller. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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Fetching water, sweeping, helping in the kitchen, tending the annealing furnace in the shop were the unskilled work the boys did. Already Johnny was so useful at the bench he could never be spared for such labor. It was over a year since he had carried charcoal or a bucket of water, touched a broom or helped Mrs. Lapham brew ale. His ability made him semi-sacred. He knew his power and reveled in it. He could have easily made friends with stupid Dove, for Dove was lonely and admired Johnny as well as envied him. Johnny preferred to bully him.

Related Characters: Johnny Tremain, Dove, Mr. Lapham, Mrs. Lapham, Dusty Miller

Page Number and Citation: 4-5

Explanation and Analysis:

Dusty Miller Character Timeline in Johnny Tremain

The timeline below shows where the character Dusty Miller appears in Johnny Tremain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...stands at the bottom of the attic ladder, shouting for Johnny to get Dove and Dusty up. The three boys are apprenticed to Mr. Lapham, Mrs. Lapham’s elderly father in law—and... (full context)

Downstairs, Johnny tells Dove and Dusty to get to work and then unlocks the silver shop himself. As he picks up... (full context)

...Mr. Lapham tells Johnny to swear to be humble and modest, and to stop making Dusty and Dove feel bad for being less intelligent. Johnny is incensed. (full context)

...poverty, and Johnny knows this. Johnny fetches a notebook and pencil, hisses to Dove and Dusty to look busy, and then focuses on recording Mr. Hancock’s requirements. Mr. Lapham doesn’t acknowledge... (full context)

...Mr. Lapham spent the morning working but now, he’s napping. Without him around, Dove and Dusty have gone swimming. Johnny is hard at work on an enlarged version of the pitcher... (full context)

...Saturday dinner, Mr. Lapham stretches out in the shop’s armchair as Johnny insults Dove and Dusty. Dove announces that there’s no charcoal—he didn’t say anything earlier because he knows Johnny likes... (full context)

...spills hot silver everywhere. Johnny doesn’t notice the crack, and he doesn’t notice Dove and Dusty snickering in a corner. And Johnny is in such a hurry that he neglects to... (full context)

...Soon, she’s scolding Johnny using the same cruel names Johnny always used for Dove and Dusty. Since Johnny is the least useful apprentice, it’s now his job to fetch water, sweep,... (full context)

...always humiliated Johnny, makes him sad. She explains that Mr. Tweedie won’t let Dove or Dusty go, so it’s her job. Johnny offers to carry the water most of the way... (full context)