Inside the black race dwells an unspoken division as well. Lighter-skinned blacks in this story act superior to darker-skinned blacks. ... The river discussed at the beginning of the story is a symbol of the human spirit. ... Another important symbol in the story is the black stallion. ... A third and less apparent symbol in this story is a flint used by a young boy named Ned. ...
Instead of simply portraying slavery in black-and-white terms of racial tension, A Mercy shows slavery in different forms. ... Owning slaves during that period was considered a status symbol. ... The mother also commented on slavery, repeating the word "we" to emphasize the role of black women in society. By using "we" it shows the unity and bond of the black women and that they are all treated the same. ... When she comes to the blacksmith's house she sees her mother "leans at the door holding her little boy's hand, my shoes in her pocket" and then she...
In these years Mark Twain was still a boy. ... Although she is black one doesn't notice it at first site because only one-sixteenth of her is of black. ... Then that home was complete, and its contentment and peace were made manifest to the world by this symbol, whose testimony is infallible - (5) Only seemingly harmless and peaceful though, because Dawson's Landing was a slaveholding town inhabited by townsmen of Virginian ancestry, and by slaves. ... Only one sixteenth of her was black, and that sixteenth did not show. ... In creating a situation in which a white child get...
