Caroline Jolley Ms.

Caruso English 1102 5 April 2012 Proposal

A Fight For Freedom is about how a family of slaves becomes separated when their owner auctions off the three children but decides to keep their mother, Justice. This cruel act leads to the rebellion of the slaves making this book a heart-felt suspense. Although, there are many books and movies out there about slavery, none seem to be relatable. In A Fight For Freedom the family aspect immediately intrigues the reader because the situation of children being taken from their mother often arouses peoples emotions with anger and sorrow. This book will be popular among a variety of people, but more so with teachers and the education system. It will not only be a wrenching suspense of an escaping slave family but also an informative piece on how slaves were treated and the specific time period. In addition, this book has meaning; it is derived from the mistreating of our own human beings. Even though the concept developed from a period in history that does no longer exist it still should not go unrecognized. It is well known that in the late 1700s slaves were abused for petty acts. African Americans had it hard enough being owned and having to do the white peoples dirty work all day long. On top of that they had to live in fear. No one ever knew if and when they could be sold from their loved ones, get beaten, or even be killed. If seeing this kind of cruel act among our own people does not get one worked up, nothing should. This book will touch the hearts of many because it is not just a story being told. Instead, it is a real life event being

retold. This issue is not one that is sugarcoated; it is blunt and somewhat disturbing. This being said, it is just what readers want, a true story straight to the point. A Fight For Freedom will begin at a slave auction where a slave mother, Justice, has to watch her three children be auctioned away from her. While undergoing the traumatic experience of watching her kids being taken away from her, Justice becomes raged and runs out, screaming, begging for her owner not to sale them without her. A whole lot blood and tears will be shed during this part of the story. Having this at the very start of the book immediately grabs the reader allowing them to become lost in the story early off. After the auction Justice decides that she will not bow down to the white people anymore and starts scheming a plan to be with her children once again. Justice acts immediately and tries to escape. Of course, she gets caught and receives the usually punishment of thirty lashes to the back. During the time it takes her to recover from the punishment of trying to escape she has had enough time to develop a plan that will be successful. Slaves are not usually allowed to talk to one another from different plantations. Therefore, Justice had to learn how to communicate with her kids through quilts. This is no easy task for anyone, much less a woman who has to work all day long. The struggle of communication shows just how smart slaves were and how much the white people underestimated them. Now that Justice has explained the whole escape route to her children through quilts it is finally time to escape. This will be the scariest part for Justice and her children. They will have to escape and spend 3 nights and 4 days out on the run not knowing if they will be caught or not. In order to do this they will need the help of others. Now the Underground Railroad comes into play. The Underground Railroad is a secret escape route developed to help runaway slaves just like Justice and her family. Justice and her children will use this program to help them find their way to each other and even after they are together to stay in hiding for a while longer. Once they have made it to the end of

their journey they will be living together in a free state where know one can ever separate them again. These characters are very unique characters. The story does not talk about many people, therefore, Justice and the children have to be above and beyond the ordinary. Justice is the main character. Being a single mother of three, she will exemplify independence, strength, and courage. She has a strong love for her family and is not willing to let anything or anyone get in the way of that. Isaiah is Justices oldest son. The thirteen-year-old boy plays the role of his mothers sidekick and somewhat of the father figure in the family. Since Isaiah has grown up in this way of life he has had to mature much faster than the other kids his age. Isaiah carries the same ambition that his mother does and is a great help when escaping.