In order to fulfil the masters' daily quota of harvested crops, slaves like Reynolds and many others, started and ended their days in accordance to the sun's cycle. .
Plantation masters were accustomed to the belief that the crack of their whip drove slaves to work harder. In actuality, the solar cycle not only dictated crop growth, and with it slave labor schedule; the sun also determined work intensity on plantations. During harvest season the sun hung high overhead, beating its rays down on the plantation. Harvest season meant two things for the crops - crops would reach their ripening peak and that they had to be harvested before the sun's vigor gave way to winter. Masters were pressured by this environmental factor, in turn redirecting the pressure onto slaves to collect crops quicker and in more abundance. Nan Stewart's recollection of harvest time on the plantation illustrates this notion, "Wurk started 'bout seben clock 'cep harvest time when ebrybudy wuz up early22." In her account, Stewart explains how during harvest time all slaves on the plantations were to wake up earlier and work harder than usual. The sun's presence governed the actions of master and in turn, slave; challenging the master-slave chain of command. Firstly, the solar cycle and its implication on seasonal shifts directly dictated a crops growth. This growth in turn, fueled both the masters' ambitions for wealth and his stress; shaping slave labor hours and work intensity. .
The sun's solar cycle stands atop the chain of command on plantations, challenging the master's power structure while shaping the history of slavery; even in the sun's absence. As previously mentioned, master's believed that they were the authoritative law in which the slaves obeyed on the plantation. During the day masters enforced this false notion of being in command by administering punishments and assigning labor.
