Character Sketch Whattupppp

Clara is the main character, who tells the story. She is the daughter of her master and one of his slaves, but he denies her existence and sells her as soon as he can, therefore she does not really have much time with her mother. She does not officially know her parents and assumes she is half-white because she is so much lighter than the other slaves on the plantation in South Carolina. After some years on the plantation, she attempts to run away, but finds herself in her birthplace, where she then gets into a bit of trouble. Finally, Clara runs away to the north and creates her own family. Clara is strong and faithful, a bit naïve as a child, but determined to do whatever she sees to be just. Clara means “clear” or “bright,” and as a slave, she is uncharacteristically optimistic.

Peter is Clara’s younger brother—though he is also the illegitimate son of his master, his skin is a bit darker and he bares more resemblance of his mother than his father, and so the master decided to keep him (also since he is a boy = more manpower). Peter stays on the plantation and gets a bit caught up in Clara’s drama when she finds herself back there. Peter is a bit less outgoing than Clara and though he is mistreated, he would never dream of running away from slavery.

Martha is Clara’s only mother/parent figure. She was sold at the same auction as Clara to the same plantation and was once close friends with Clara’s mother. Martha really guides Clara and explains as much of her past as she can when she is old enough to explain. Like Peter, Martha is reserved and would not dare question the status quo of slavery in the south.

William Scott is Clara’s father and original master. He owns a relatively large plantation in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is cruel and horrible with no respect for human life. The only reason he even has a family is because he is very rich and his wife was money-hungry—even his own children hate him.

Katherine Scott is the daughter of William Scott. And out of her hatred for her father and his cruelty, as well as her own love for human life, rebels against him by aiding Clara and any other slaves or runaway slaves that she can. She is about 18 years old when Clara is back in Charlotte, which is very old for a single woman at that time, and it is believed that she never did marry because no man could match her big and beautiful heart.

Abraham is a slave on the plantation in Lexington. He is very strong and brave and a hard worker. But he is also very sensitive, hence the reason he and Clara fall in love. Unlike Clara, he is a bit more passive in his punishments and takes them without question. He resents slavery, but he will not take action—which is why it takes a great amount of convincing on Clara’s part to get him to run away with her.

John & Sarah Hopkins are the owners of the plantation in Lexington. They are a couple of about 30 years old. They are definitely kinder than William Scott and many other slave-owners, but they are very strict. They make many demands of their slaves and expect them to be followed. The most benevolent thing about the Hopkins is their attempts to keep slave families together—they only sell their slaves if they are in desperate financial need or as the most severe punishment.

Quaker Family!

Sam _(needs last name)___ is a free black man in the North. He was born free, the child of a runaway slave father and a free black mother. He works as a fisherman in Boston, and though the treatment is sometimes rough, he appreciates his home. He meets Clara at the market where he sometimes sells his fish and they fall in love.

Beth & Charles are the children of Sam & Clara. They are very happy and energetic children, each with unusual intelligence and curiosity.