(no subject)
Ignore this, its an english paper.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
At the end of the novel it appears from the outside that Linda has achieved the American Dream. From the bonds of slavery she has made her way through life and is a free woman because of it. Her struggles and hardships seem to pay off at the end. However the not so subtle undertones warns of something different. Even with her Freedom in hand, Linda hasn't met the American dream.
The base of her unfulfilled dream starts at the fact that she had to buy her freedom. She escaped, she worked hard, and was well educated, but it still came down to the bare fact that Linda was property. No matter how worldly she would become and her education aside, she was born a slave. That title limits Linda's ability to achieve the dream. Some would look at her and not see a black women. Pale complextion and well spoken manner are characteristics she could hide behind, but those characteristics could never out shine her birthright. Linda, herself, feels belittled when she is forced to buy her freedom. Sadly her children will have to face the same birthright.
Society at the end of her novel is still under the shadow of owning humans. The time period and mindset of those around her are two things that will always work against her. The incident on the train is a bitter reminder to Linda of how far she still needs to go to reach her dream. Freedom from their prejudices is her dream. The morning on the boat when she is told my the colored man that she is not allowed to sit comes as a shock to her. The white nurses are treated fine, where as Mrs. Bruce must stand up for her to even get food and tea.
Location is the last hindrance on Linda's dream. In England she treated by her status of nurse rather than her status of her skin color. Her American dream can not be realized in America. If Linda were to move to Europe she would have better chance at getting the social freedom she craves. Irony seems to play a part in Linda's hard life.
This dark era in American history closed the ability to to become more to many of those living in its borders. Slaves weren't the only ones effected by this. White males seem to be the only ones achieving what they strive for. Thankfully in modern society just about anyone can make themselves something. Linda on the other hand would always be left behind. She may have escaped from the bonds of Slavery but she would never escape the bonds of society.