Plot Summary
The narrative begins at a slave auction in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Clara, the daughter of a slave and her white master, is sold along with many other slaves to a plantation in Lexington, South Carolina. This chapter details the cruelty of the slave auctions of the day and how they tore families apart. The next chapter focuses on the family (the Hopkins) and plantation Clara lives and works on. The family is relatively kind and not as cruel as most, but life as a slave is still difficult for a young girl who knows nothing of her history except for what the mothering figure in the form of Martha, the slave, has told her. Master John and Mistress Sarah are described as kind but relatively intolerant masters. The supposed Christian plantation/slave owners are also exposed—especially the various forms of cruel and unusual torture they deem acceptable and even encouraged by the Bible. Christmas comes and goes on the plantation, with little celebration. Clara and the other younger children/slaves receive very little (virtually nothing) in terms of “presents.” They do not partake in a great feast; rather they receive an extra slice of bread (at best) in celebration of the holiday.
As Clara grows, she hopes to be able to read and write and goes to Martha in hopes of receiving her aid in the area. Though it is illegal and a huge trouble, Clara finally manages to master these skills (with the help of Martha as well as other knowledgeable slaves). Clara grows even older and becomes close to a fellow slave on the Hopkins’s plantation. Abraham is a “full negro” and very hardworking. He is quite defiant and rebels in the little ways that he can, attempts to refuse whippings, but in the end he is always violently punished. The two fall in love, and it is during this time that Clara grows more and more discontent with her life as a slave and begins to see the unfairness in it through the cruel treatment Abraham is given. After much prodding, Abraham convinces her to run away with him so they may be legally married and free. But this escape is far from successful—the attempt is hindered by a pack of bloodhounds, Abraham is killed, and ironically enough, Clara ends up seeking refuge in the place of her birth, the plantation of William Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. She recalls some vague memories of an abandoned outhouse and spends the rest of the night there. In the morning, she tracks down her brother, Peter, and attempts to persuade him to run off with her. Before they can complete their conversation, Master William Scott catches her and rapes her. Traumatized by this experience, Clara cannot bring herself to formulate a logical plan to run away and hides in the attic—she stays longer than expected when she becomes pregnant. With the help of other fellow slaves, and William’s daughter, Katherine, she is able to take cover in that same outhouse for quite some time. While she is in hiding, Katherine keeps her updated with the events by bringing her the anti-slavery publishings after Elijah Lovejoy.
Some time after her stillbirth, Clara is able to muster enough strength to escape to the North under the guidance of the North Star and with the help of the Underground Railroad. At one of the last “stations,” she spends an unusually large amount of time with a Quaker family (where she learns about the Nat Turner rebellion) that helps her integrate herself into society and even encourages her to take their last name, since she did not even have one. Clara gets a job in the North as a nanny and finds that the freedom she experiences isn’t 100% freedom, and she is still treated differently. After a few years of living in the north, Clara receives a letter from Katherine and learns of the occurrences in her absence (when John communicated to William that Clara had run away, William remembered her and his actions and offered John a very nominal amount of money to buy Clara—and more recently, William died and left Clara to Katherine, Katherine sent her a letter along with her freedom papers). Soon after, Clara moves to Canada where she meets a free black man named Sam. Sam has some sort of occupation. The two fall in love and have two children: Beth, Charles, and Katherine.
As Clara grows, she hopes to be able to read and write and goes to Martha in hopes of receiving her aid in the area. Though it is illegal and a huge trouble, Clara finally manages to master these skills (with the help of Martha as well as other knowledgeable slaves). Clara grows even older and becomes close to a fellow slave on the Hopkins’s plantation. Abraham is a “full negro” and very hardworking. He is quite defiant and rebels in the little ways that he can, attempts to refuse whippings, but in the end he is always violently punished. The two fall in love, and it is during this time that Clara grows more and more discontent with her life as a slave and begins to see the unfairness in it through the cruel treatment Abraham is given. After much prodding, Abraham convinces her to run away with him so they may be legally married and free. But this escape is far from successful—the attempt is hindered by a pack of bloodhounds, Abraham is killed, and ironically enough, Clara ends up seeking refuge in the place of her birth, the plantation of William Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. She recalls some vague memories of an abandoned outhouse and spends the rest of the night there. In the morning, she tracks down her brother, Peter, and attempts to persuade him to run off with her. Before they can complete their conversation, Master William Scott catches her and rapes her. Traumatized by this experience, Clara cannot bring herself to formulate a logical plan to run away and hides in the attic—she stays longer than expected when she becomes pregnant. With the help of other fellow slaves, and William’s daughter, Katherine, she is able to take cover in that same outhouse for quite some time. While she is in hiding, Katherine keeps her updated with the events by bringing her the anti-slavery publishings after Elijah Lovejoy.
Some time after her stillbirth, Clara is able to muster enough strength to escape to the North under the guidance of the North Star and with the help of the Underground Railroad. At one of the last “stations,” she spends an unusually large amount of time with a Quaker family (where she learns about the Nat Turner rebellion) that helps her integrate herself into society and even encourages her to take their last name, since she did not even have one. Clara gets a job in the North as a nanny and finds that the freedom she experiences isn’t 100% freedom, and she is still treated differently. After a few years of living in the north, Clara receives a letter from Katherine and learns of the occurrences in her absence (when John communicated to William that Clara had run away, William remembered her and his actions and offered John a very nominal amount of money to buy Clara—and more recently, William died and left Clara to Katherine, Katherine sent her a letter along with her freedom papers). Soon after, Clara moves to Canada where she meets a free black man named Sam. Sam has some sort of occupation. The two fall in love and have two children: Beth, Charles, and Katherine.
wait, i thought we said it was in lexington kentucky
ReplyDeleteWHY THE HECK WOULD IT BE IN KENTUCKY
ReplyDeleteiv never heard of lexington sc, but i hav heard of lexington ky, sorry
ReplyDelete