Director 10-13

What was the overall theme of the novel?

How did it make you feel when Emma saw Fanny in New York?

Would you have fled to Canada if you were in this same situation? Why/why not?

If you could change the ending, would you? Why? How would you change it?

Vocabulary Ch 10-13

"Leastways" Pg. 134 - Winnie

"whupped" Pg. 145 - Emma

"have mercy" Pg. 156 - Joe

"it does my heart good" Pg. 161 - Fanny Kemble

"unscrupulous" Pg. 162 - Fanny Kemble as an old woman

Connector 10-13

I found it really interesting that Emma and Joe settled in Nova Scotia, Canada. I did some research and here's a good website that shows a timeline of African Americans immigrating to Canada. Turns out that even after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was passed, bounty hunters even kidnapped blacks in Canada and sold them to the southern states. http://blackhistorycanada.ca/timeline.php?id=1800

I also thought it was very honorable that Emma's husband Joe joined the Union Army and ended up losing his life fighting against slavery. I found a great website that gives more information about African American soldiers in the Civil War. Turns out that African Americans made up 10% of the Union Army. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/

Connector 7-9

http://www.shockfamily.net/underground/runaway.html

This is a link to a story about a Runaway Slave.

Of course when you think of runaway slaves, you automatically think of Rosa Parks:

http://www.rosaparks.org/

http://www.runawayslavemovie.com/site/

This is an actual documentary which talks about the economic issues that runaway slaves dealt with as well as the fight to be "free at last" from slavery.

Director Ch 7-9

1. In Sarah's interlude she talked about her father and said, "I had no respect for him as a man, no respect for how he had lived his life, Yes, he was my father and I honored him because he had helped to give me life. More than that I could not do" (p 111). What's the difference between respecting someone and honoring someone?

2. Why do you think Samson never told his son how he tried to escape slavery when he was younger?

3. What do you think about Samson's argument, is it better for a slave to have a master and not worry about basic necessities, or be free and worry about tomorrow?

4. Do you think Samson gave up too easily after being on the run for three days?

Vocab Ch 7-9

"I can hear my blood boiling like hot water in a tea kettle." -Mattie (pg 101)

"You done wrong this day and Satan is going to put you on the fire like you was pork ribs at a barbecue." -Mattie (pg 103-104)

"... the grief weighing us down like we carrying mules on our shoulders." -Will (pg 105)

"...jumped the broom" -Joe (114)


The slaves vocabulary is very descriptive and full of symbolism and metaphors. Their grammar has several errors, but their colorful language is very interesting to study.

Investigator Ch 5-6

After reading so much about the slave trade in these chapters, I decided to do some research on slave prices. According to my research, some of the slaves in the Butler auction sold for well above average prices. Prices for a male slave peaked when the slave was between the ages of 20 and 30. The price pattern was similar for female slaves. Young children and babies were worth much less than slave children who had approached puberty. Also, experience played a role in determining the cost of a slave. Women who were fertile and of child bearing age were worth more than other women because of their ability to provide the master with more slave children. Certain attributes including disabilities and specific skills could either lower or raise the price, respectively. Furthermore, just as the stock market increases and decreases today to determine different costs of products, back then, the slave trade was almost treated as a stock market. If the demand was down, then the costs went down. It was all about supply and demand.

http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/wahl.slavery.us