WHAT IS BETHANY’S GREATEST FEAR?
Bethany’s greatest fear was being sold and separated from his son as she was separated from the daughter. She explains her fear by telling Mr. Adams that she is not going to be sold again. She has even planned to hide his son into the mountains before she gets sold one more time and separated from him. Mr. Adams reassures her that she is not going to be sold and promises her to stay. She even goes ahead and explains how she had been sold before plus the boy for seven hundred and seventy-five dollars.
WHAT DOES SHE SAY ABOUT THE KITCHEN AND HOW DOES IT MAKE HER FEEL?
The kitchen made her feel confused on what exactly to touch or do and what not to. She describes the kitchen in a magnificent manner that gives a mental picture to us. She starts by saying how uneconomical the kitchen is to her as a slave—the description of dishes and the neatly organized pans. The clean and distinct clothes that serve different purposes, brooms, and brushes used for different purposes were also not left out in the magnificent kitchen’s good looking. To her, this kind of kitchen made her work much easier. Nigro women could be taken to custody or jail and sold at the highest bidder, which was also part of her fear.
WHAT STRUCK YOU MOST ABOUT HER STORY AND WHY?
How the story is brought out is amazing, it starts in pain and agony, we expect a very terrible ending. This is not the case. Bethany shades light and brings change to the story. We expect her to treat the people of color in a hostile manner, especially those she suffered in their hands, but this does not happen. She positively treats her old masters and appreciates them for the little they gave her. Another interesting part of the story is how she fights and ultimately owns a 21 Tufts Street house.
SHE MAKES REFERENCES ALMOST AT THE END OF THE EXCEPT ABOUT HER SOUTHERN INTEREST(IT IS HIGHLIGHTED IN YOUR COPY). WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT HER? WHAT ARE THE SOUTHERN INTERESTS SHE IS REFERRING TO?
Bethany is talking about the freedom that she had been deprived of. Her value could only be seen in terms of work and not her heart and her interest. She had been deprived a lot of what she loved, like staying with her daughter. She lucked the freedom to get what she loved. Her interests are seen at the end of the story, where she owns a beautiful street house. She is having her daughter, son, and a grandchild under one roof owned by her.