Linda in the north

The North wasn't exactly what Linda pictured it to be, although her situation was better up in the northern states she didn't fell like she thought she would. Linda thought that while she was crossing the borders of the south into the north she would some sort of great feeling of what freedom felt like. She pictured it to be some great thing that was impossible to know what it felt like until you experienced it, but when she got there, she felt the same as she always had. It reminded me of The Great Gatsby, because she built the idea of feeling freedom but it wasn't like she thought it would be, just how Gatsby built up the idea of Daisy, but the idea of her was so much better then actually having her. When she go there she still had the feeling that she still had to look over her shoulder and was worried about her freedom being taken away from her. Linda also caught herself lying a lot while in the north because she didn't want people to figure out her complete life story. While Linda is there with Fanny she feels incomplete without her family and doesn't know many people. 

Her experience on the train was also not what she wanted it to be nor what she pictured. usually when she rides the train she can sit on a car behind all the white people for free and the conditions aren't as bad as they are on this train's car. She has to pay to be in the car and can't buy a decent ticket. The car is dirty filled with smoke and cramped. 

William and getting away

William left because he saw the opportunity to become free. Mr. Sands wanted him to go up north with him and help him. Mr. Sands kept promising that the day would come and that he would let William go with him. Once the he saw his open window to go and get away he decided to take it.  I think that his choice is justified because no one wants to be under someone's complete control for their entire life and they want their own life. To slave no matter how nice their master is or how much they care for them they still aren't free and the master still sees his slave as a piece of property. William wants to be free so he  takes his chance but his time and way is a little rude. Mr. Sands is nothing but nice to William but he is still Mr. Sands piece of property, but i still see it as an action that is justified. 

Mr. sands and the Children

For Dr. Flint, he believed that the children would be better off if he sold them then if kept them. Dr. Flint would rather use revenge as blackmail then sell Linda's children. One day a man comes to Dr. Flint wanting to buy the children from him. The man finds a way to dry and convinced him to sell him the children. After a period of thinking he decides to sell Linda's children to him. Little did Dr. Flint know that Mr. Sands had made an agreement with this man, that once he had bought the children that he would then sell them to Mr. Sands. This is how Mr. Sands got ownership of them. 

The reason that Linda does trust Mr. Sands because there is nothing apparent to her that says not to. He has always been nice to her and never tried to forcefully sleep with her or ever black mailed her. He has told her that he would buy the children but Dr. Flint wouldn't allow him. She trusts him because he is the only man in her life that isn't family that is kind to her. I think Mr. Sands is a trustworthy guy. He hasn't given any reason for the reader to no think that nor has he ever tried to hurt Linda or her children. He helped the children get out of jail and told Linda he would provide for them and in the end that is what he does. 

Interesting quote

On page 54 Linda says, "The little vine was taking deep root in my existence, though its clinging fondness excited a mixture of love an pain." I found this quote interesting because earlier when the child wasn't doing well, she wished death upon him. She didn't want her son to be a slave or anyone for that matter. She felt that since it was her who brought the child in the world it was her fault that he would become a slave. She wished death on her son because Linda did not want him to face the same kind of fear, pain and mourning that she has faced. LInda does not wish anything bad on anyone, even those who envy her, such as Mrs. Flint. Linda is a very empathetic person and when her son was sick she wanted him to die so he wouldn't have to suffer the rest of his life fighting for his freedom. Once the child started to become well and healthier she starts to feel for him, even though she felt for him before, she sees him as a new joy and present in her life. he will become a new motivation for her to work harder so she can buy her and his freedom. 

The Gold Necklace

At the end of chapter 14 Linda’s daughter, Ellen, receives a gold necklace from her father’s old mistress. Ellen loves the necklace and wants to wear it; while Linda on the hand sees it as a very kind gesture she doesn’t like it. Linda sees it as her daughter being bind to the man through slavery and sees the necklace as a chain. A chain that links her to slavery and holds her down. She doesn’t want anything on her daughter that would hold her down in any way or show that she is somebody’s property. Linda wants her daughter to be free and not have her feel like she is being held down by society or a chain that was given to her by a free white man. Since Linda sees it as a symbol of slavery and not just a gold necklace but a chain that links her to slavery, Ellen isn’t aloud to wear it. I understand where Linda is coming from, even though it was a nice gesture she doesn’t want to feel or have her daughter feel like she is being held down by society or by anyone else. 

Love Of A Slave

Love for a slave is just like any others person's image and emotion towards love, but the only difference for them is they can't even obtain the love they have for another. A slaves emotion of love is something their master or owner would never think twice of letting them having unless they are really sympathetic and nice towards them. Sometimes the false image f love, marriage, is forced upon the slaves and it is a choice that the master would make that you could never get out of. The master forbids their slave to obtain happiness or even be close to it, but when a slave gets close to having happiness and being happy the dream is ripped away from them. As soon as the family settles down and has a few kids, their lives will be ripped away from them while they watch their kids be sold off at auctions and their lives wont be the same. So happiness and love in their life is forbidden for a slave to obtain. They could never obtain the life of white people, even the poor whites, they were forced to be put down by society and couldn't revolt because they were out numbered and would accomplish nothing without people by their sides and willing to fight for them to have rights. For a slave no matter what they tried to do to fight for their dreams, their dream would be ripped away from them in a matter of time whether it be a day or a year. 

The Image Of Slavery

In the first chapter of the novel, Jacob's description of slavery seemed as though not everyone thought they were slaves. If you were lucky and your master was nice and your family members were hard workers then it almost felt like a normal life. Your parents worked so you could eat and they worked for somebody, at least that's what Linda Brent thought. She didn't know she was a slave until she was 6 years old. This image had such a great impact on her because as soon as her master died and she had to work for another man it all changed. In her new master's house it was apparent that she was a slave. She didn't have a relationship nor did she have the benefits in which she used to have. She was treated like a cat or dog whether then a human being. She had very little freedom in the way of a dog or cat being how she could only eat when the master gave her food and she didn't have a choice. She had limited breaks and could only do what she was told to. So far Jacobs has done a great job in telling the story and made it easier to become connected to the novel. He has made Linda Bret tell the story and we can understand more of where she is coming from and what she is going through. The two different views and perspectives of slavery that people had are very well demonstrated and shown in these first four chapters. 

Reflection of Class Discussion

Class discussion on Tuesday was very interesting. I enjoyed the fact how Lamags and Keaton kept going back and forth on why the book was written and if F. Scott Fitzgerald really meant to put on the symbols in the novel. I also enjoyed how in stead of going into depth about the novel, Keaton just blatantly said that the author wrote it for money and didn’t mean to put all the symbols in the book, that they were just a coincidence. If you were to read the book without paying attention to it you wouldn’t catch most of the symbols. All you would get out of the reading is that this guy Gatsby gets rich just so he could impress an old girlfriend. With in all fairness that’s what the book is sort of about, but once you go into depth about the book it is nearly impossible to not notice the symbols in the novel and how they connect with the story and the American dream. The discussion in class was different and I liked how it brought out a different perspective of why authors write books. I never really thought they wrote books to make people think about what they are doing or how they do it. I always thought they wrote because they enjoyed it, I never thought they would try and hit topics and troubles of the world.