In The Longest Memory, the system that controls the characters is slavery. They fall as victims because they are disadvantaged or harmed in some way. The slaves definitely are victims of this system because they lack freedom and all rights. Although Lydia is not a slave, she is also a victim when it comes to her relationship with Chapel, a slave. Although the system largely benefits the plantation owners and overseers financially, they too are considered as victims of the system. Although they are not disadvantaged by the system, they are harmed because their humanity is comprised.

The slaves are victims because they are directly affected. They are disadvantaged, they are denied all legal rights and are denied education. "It was forbidden for a slave to know how to read and write", says Chapel. Through the eyes of the whites, the blacks are mere tools, property of the...