The Horrors of Slavery/Racism

Until the 1860s, slavery was legal in much of America because many people held highly-racist views based on misconceptions, social traditions, and prejudice. This novel takes place in the early 1860s when America was embroiled in a civil war with slavery as one of the top issues under contention. There are characters in this novel on both sides of the issue – slaves who fight for their freedom only to face more racial bias as they live and work alongside cruel slaveholders and whites. On the other side, abolitionists want slavery abolished.

As the novel opens, the reader learns about Jemma, a slave at the Peeler Plantation owned by Anne-May Watson. Jemma has one advantage over most slaves in that she knows how to read and write, though she was taught for the convenience of her former owner rather than out of any...