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Slavery Susan Leckler Character Analysis

1033 Words5 Pages

Throughout the history of slavery in America, there was always the false promises, and broken deals when it came to slaves being able to be emancipated by purchase, or manumission, and Leckler exposes his intentions, similar to most slave-owners, of never letting Josh become free (2).
Alternatively, Josh exhibits all of the exemplary characteristics of a person, although being subjected to the imprisonment of slavery, uses his intelligence, ingenuity, and courage to survive and achieve. Hardworking, honest and a loyal servant, Josh outwardly personified all the positive attributes that slaveholders would expect and have pride in their slaves’ acquiescence to their conditions (2-3). Spurred by the innate urge to become a full human being while …show more content…

Searching for the opportunity to learn, like so many who risked, punishment for themselves and others, or being sold, Josh had secretly been learning to read, even before Mr. Leckler’s insidious plan to educate him (2). Utilizing the skill of deception, presenting himself as a dim-witted uneducated, non-thinking subservient slave, Josh, like so many enslaved, positions himself to be able to take advantages of the slaveholder’s (Mr. Leckler) complacency (3). As his lessons commence, Josh shows great improvement and acuity, which makes Leckler amaze at the quick study that Josh was, until the slaveholder’s fears kicked in by informing Josh he had learned enough and it was time to suspend the teachings (2-3). Once Josh is smitten with increased knowledge and awareness, he continued to read and learn at every opportunity and anything he could gather (3). One of the most confining and restrictive elements of slavery was the prohibition of teaching the enslaved how to read. The invisible barrier of ignorance, which imprisons one possibilities, and awareness of a world beyond the decrepit existence of …show more content…

Playing on the complacency and trust that Mr. Leckler owns, Josh makes his escape from slavery by using all of the skills he has attained (4-5). Writing his own pass that allowed him to board a train, and later a boat, knowing because of the trust that he had instilled into Leckler, that he could be absent for an extended amount of time, shows the genius of Josh, and represents so many others that used any and all resources and opportunity before them to escape that terminal grip of slavery (4). Referring to the Quakers, and the assistance that Josh received from them during his escape, were instrumental in housing, and assisting runaway slaves, this historical note pays homage to those brave heroes crucial to the abolition of the slave system and emancipation of slaves (5). Well known in history books, the story of the Underground Railroad, with such icons like, Harriet Tubman, and William Still Grant, is mentioned as essential to the escape of Josh. Freedom, as presented when Josh reaches Canada, realistically represented the ultimate land of emancipation for escaped slaves, Dunbar at pertinent historical content to the story highlighting its prominence

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