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Free at last

            "Free at Last," by Harriet Jacobs, tells the story of a slave girl named Linda. A slave girl whose mistress is unable to keep her due to her husband's death. She was sold to a man whom she never met. She never met him because with the help of her mistress, she leaves the city to avoid becoming this man's slave. She stays away from her mistress" house until the mistress is able to buy her freedom.
             Reading this story made me realize how important friendship is. The thought that a slave girl and a mistress who owned her could have a friendship seems absurd for me. The mistress could have easily told the new owner where Linda was, but she did not. Instead, she saved her money to buy her freedom.
             What struck me was when Linda said, "The more difficult it was for me to consider myself an article of property; and to pay money to those who had so grievously oppressed me seemed like taking my sufferings the glory of triumph." I could not imagine having everyone view me as a piece of property. That had to take a lot of strength to allow everyone to see you as property when you know in your heart, you breathe the same as them and the only reason you are considered to be a piece of property is because the color of your skin.
             It must also have taken a lot of emotional strength to have to buy your freedom. Freedom is not something that is bought nor given to you. It is in your innate right to have freedom. Therefore, to have to buy your freedom from someone who "owns" degrades you and does make you appear to be property since you have to pay someone to let you free. .
             I think that is the only part of the story that I found to be offensive. Other than that, I found it heartwarming to read a story about a slave that was not all about how bad they were treated. This is the first one I read that focused on the friendship between a slave and the mistress. I guess that is because these friendships were rarely found between a slave-owner and a slave.


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