Tom Weylin
Tom Weylin took an instant disliking to Dana because she talks like she was too educated, and she came from a free state. According to Nigel, the master did not want niggers talking better than he did or giving other slaves the idea that they could be free. Slaves were supposed to be uneducated. Slaves were supposed to be inferior to their masters, and Dana seems to be educated, unlike the others. For Tom, this was a red flag since he had other slaves, and Dana may influence them.
Margaret Weylin strongly disliked Dana and resorted to verbal and physical violence because Dana had spent the night in Mr. Franklin’s room. Margaret considered her house a Christian household, and Dana being a woman spending the night in a man’s room, sent the wrong impression. Margaret did not know much about Dana, and this is not something she liked.
Rufus Weylin is a needy child who is always getting himself in tough situations requiring him to be rescued. He tries to exert his dominance on Dana as he is his father’s child. Rufus believes that slaves should be whipped to get them in line, as this is what his father teaches him. Rufus, though connected to Dana, is an aggressive child taught that he should be dominant. He is the reason Dana loses her arm.
Dana quickly adapts to life on the Weylin plantation as she played the role of a slave, just like the other slaves in the plantation. This disturbs her lot because she has to pretend that Kevin is her master, and they did not have trouble playing their particular roles. The only problem they had with the whole situation was that they would get bored. It was easy for Dana to pretend to be Kevin’s slaves, and Kevin pretending to be her master. Given that they were married in real life, the situation could have made her uncomfortable.
Sarah and Dana got along well since they were both slaves. This made it possible for Sarah to open up to Dana about her situation. Sarah informed Dana that when her husband passed away, Tom Weylin sold her three children but left her with Carrie, her fourth child. The only reason the fourth child was not sold is that she was deaf. Sarah, thanks God, for this defect because it meant that the child would not cost much.
Dana and Kevin witnessed the children playing a game where slaves are sold. The kids were selling the girls, and negotiating on the prices, playing it as they saw it done by the adults. The scene leads to the argument because Dana is disgusted by the game. After all, the same fate would befall the children sooner or later. Kevin, however, does not feel as strongly as Dana because he knows there is nothing that they can do about it. Kevin rationalizes that history has already happened, and this is just the past.
Dana refers to the children, herself, and Kevin. They can act their roles of slave and slave owner so well while the children play the selling of the slaves with ease. This can be deemed as being trained to accept slavery. They would easily become accustomed to the situations.
The former slave speaks of the disease where the white people feel like they let the black people be human. They forget that they are people just like them. The epiphany comes in understanding that when there is segregation of jobs, and the white people get all the right jobs and perks, then they deprive the black community of their rights. He feels like he is different, but he does not acknowledge that the society should not act like they gave them that which was their birthright. The slave’s narrative offers our culture and society the lesson that all human beings should be equal. No race should be regarded as superior to the other.