Summary

Chapter 6 centers upon the return of Ibrahima to Thomas Foster's plantation. Despite being married to kind Isabella and fathering several children, Ibrahima never smiles or appears lighthearted. In time, he becomes Foster's driver (a slave overseer). Foster begins planting cotton when the price of tobacco declines, and Ibrahima's misery deepens: "Ibrahima is familiar with the plant and is perhaps able to pass along some knowledge about its cultivation, but cotton emasculates him, crushes his pride, drags him down to a new level of humiliation and misery. In Futa Jalon, growing cotton, and working with cotton, is a job relegated to the Jalunke women, the lowest of the low in the caste hierarchy" (70). Ibrahima simply exists without joy now.

Chapter 7 opens at the King's Tavern where Regina Charboneau is ordering a much-needed cocktail. Opening night of the Tableaux is at hand, and everyone knows...