Washington Black Freedom Essay

In Esi Edugyan's novel, Washington Black, the protagonist discovers what the true meaning of freedom is through the pursuit of his passion. Throughout the novel, Wash experienced many forms of slavery. Whether that be physical, like a slave in shackles, or more modernly, like working a job you don't like.

To begin, Wash's early life on the plantation hinders his perspective of seeking freedom. Wash was born into slavery, and as a child could not comprehend another lifestyle. Wash inquired to another slave “What is it like, Kit? Free. Is really so?” (Edudyan 13). Enslavement was all Wash ever knew, and he had to repeatedly ask about freedom. Furthermore, he recognizes that he is owned and does not possess free will. This was evident when Wash

Wash understands that he is in captivity, but also fails to provide a solution or means to overcome it, this is because he cannot grasp the concept of freedom. Moreover, when the first notion of freedom is introduced, it can only be obtained through death. Many of the other slaves on the plantation believed that “the dead were reborn, whole, back in their homelands, to walk again free.” (Edudyan 10). This notion caused the suicide rates to skyrocket. This represents how disconnected Wash, and the other slaves, are from freedom.

With the arrival of Titch, a scientist, Wash is physically freed from the confines of the plantation and discovers his purpose, but he is still enslaved. Washington Black was adopted out of his slave duties and found he had a natural talent for drawing and maritime exploration. “I began, then, to draw. I felt something

He does so by first separating from Titch and shifting his focus to his personal ventures. He begins to create an aquatic museum and finds great pleasure in doing so. However, he would not receive any credit, “I had sweated and made gut-wrenching mistakes, and in the end my name would be nowhere” (Edudyan 385) Although Wash enjoys his research, he initially feels sad that he will not receive credit. However, he has a shift in attitude and decides to stick to it. Wash grew tired of constantly working and being undermined, and decided that, “that I would return to London and fight to undo the expunging of my name, that I would devote myself wholly to the project and seek some credit for it” (Edudyan 410). Washington Black makes a critical shift in his character and decides that if he doesn't cement his name in his work, he and his work will be forgotten. In the end, Wash feels very good about the work he did. “I felt, in those moments of looking around, ferociously proud of this strange, exquisite place where people could come to view creatures, they believed nightmarish, to understand these animals were in fact beautiful and nothing to fear” (Edudyan 384). Whether or not Wash receives credit for his work, it does not matter because he enjoyed doing it and possessed creative freedom within his