Summary:
Day of Tears, a historical fiction novel, was written by Julius
Bernard Lester. This award winning novel tells the story about Emma - a slave of a horrible gambler, Pierce Butler, and caretaker of his two daughters. She teaches his daughters, one who opposes and one who supports slavery, to be open minded and have a good soul. During this, Pierce is in terrible gambling debt and decides to sell his slaves in the largest slave auction in America, including the protagonist Emma. On this day, the rain falls hard as if the sky was sobbing on the auction below. Other than the selling of Emma which disconnected her from her loving family, one major event was the escape of Emma and her friends away from their plantation, towards freedom. As you can see, this novel is heartbreaking and powerfully dramatic with a roller coaster of events.
Setting Analysis: This book takes place in Georgia, Kentucky, and Philadelphia during the late 1850s and early 1860s. In the beginning of the story, the story takes place in Savannah, Georgia on the Butler plantation. America’s largest auction sale was held at the start of the book, in Georgia, and it was raining very hard. The rain symbolizes “God’s tears” because he is weeping on the proceedings at the auctions. The mood and tone in Georgia is very somber and dull, demonstrating the actions taken by characters. Furthermore, after Emma and Joe are sold from Georgia, they go to Kentucky on the Henfield plantation. The mood and tone in