A
lot has changed since Tee Bob’s death. Mr. Samson has leased most of the
plantation to the Cajuns. Many adults left. Only the children and elderly
stayed. There is no life nor activity as there once was. The elderly know that
their time is soon to come.
The
time of civil rights movement arrived around the time that Jimmy left the
plantation. It was said that as whites and black started to die, they took
their ideals with them. The people would be forced to change in order to become
a better society and if they didn’t, they would be left behind. Robert Samson
did not agree with the movement. He told every African American who worked in
the plantation that if any of them dared to protest and join the movement, he
will throw them out of the plantation. He was old but wanted to remind them who
was in charge.
“Well my niggers know better” (P.231)
“But this I will not let go: there ain’t go’n be no
demonstrating on my place. Anybody ‘round here think he needs more freedom than
he already got is free to pack up leave now. That go for the oldest one, that
go for the youngest one.” (P.232-233)
In
the Big House they were depending too much on Jane, who is now an old lady.
This caused her to feel trapped and needed a way out. Her best option, and what
she wanted, was to return to the community’s houses. There is a big contrast
between Molly and Jane and here is when we see it the most. Molly could not
imagine a life outside the house and died soon after she left. For Jane it
wasn’t like that. She prefers freedom instead of living in a fancy house with
plenty comforts. We do not see any formation of friendship bonds between her
and the other servants that worked with her. She has always considered herself
to be independent from them and from other things in her life. She becomes more
humorous as she ages.
A new character appears, Jimmy Aaron, who
is very present in this final book. He was considered the “One”. He was
extremely smart. Since they start to go to Church and develop their
spirituality, they see him as the one who would save them. To their surprise,
he was not that much of a religious man. As a teenager boy, he was experimenting
with his sexuality, behavior the elderly despised because of their religious
beliefs. They were denying his right to explore sexuality, the way to achieve
his “manhood”. The author gave great emphasis to this because we can see again
how the men’s masculinity is brought back, since it is an important topic
presented throughout the whole book, how men had to prove themselves.
When Jimmy returns, we see how changed he
is. Now he’s a leader who is fighting for his and others rights. He uses Jane,
one of the most influential people at the community, and without any fear she
joins him. Soon after, on the way to Bayonne, they see many people who also
gave their support. Jimmy gets killed, but his movement did not die with him.
He saved his people by giving them courage and the opportunity to prove
themselves and fight for themselves because no one else will. That was the
message that was first brought by Ned, but he died and took with him the
movement. At the end, it is Jane who leads the crowd to the town and fulfill
Jimmy’s wish.
“People’s
always looking for somebody to come lead them.” (P.211)
At the end, she wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone, not even Mr. Samson who she then calls him by his name. This is a symbol of equality, what was the purpose of this book in my opinion. The author guided us through the process that African American had to go through in order to be truly free.
“Me and Robert looked at each other there a long time, when I went by him”. (P.259)
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