George Washington “Wash” Black

George Washington Black, nicknamed Wash, is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. He was born a slave in 1818 on Faith Plantation in Barbados. Throughout Wash’s childhood, he experienced the terrible conditions of slavery and witnessed the cruel violence inflicted by slave owners. In the early 1830s, Wash is enlisted in scientific work by Titch Wilde, the brother of the plantation’s owner and operator, Erasmus Wilde. Wash and the kind Titch become friends, and Wash learns from Titch to read, write, and draw. Titch suffers burn wounds after a scientific experiment causes an accidental explosion. Wash and Titch eventually run away from the plantation and travel north so that Wash can be free. They join an expedition in Canada led by Titich’s father James. Titch has a nervous breakdown after interacting with his cruel father, and Titch abandons James.

In the year 1834, Wash...