Linda waited for six months for news that her daughter Ellen had made it to New York. This news came in the form of a letter to Linda's grandmother. In the letter, Ellen expressed a sentiment to her mother. Ellen prays for her mother each morning and night. The remainder of the letter was written by a young lady with whom Ellen was staying. The end of the letter left Linda with a sense of uneasiness about her daughter's future. The letter's author had referred to Ellen as "her little waiting maid." Linda verbalized this uneasiness by conjuring up a variety of outlandish scenarios for her daughter's future.
After reading this particular passage, I felt that Linda's life was starkly differently from that of an average slave. I understand Linda's reluctance to trust anyone, but I feel as though the letter's author was trying to put her at ease, not scare her. Linda takes the letter out of context.
Kristy,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about whether "Linda" was reading something in to the letter or whether there was something genuinely troubling there. You needed to tie this incident to a larger issue or theme, though.
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