February 17 1662
My Dearest Efuru,
I know that you will never receive this letter, and if by some miracle you do, you probably wouldn’t be able to read it because I’m writing in the native language of the settlers in this new world. I have been able to learn the language by using a guile plan that I came up with. Once a week when my master and his family are all asleep, I creep into their house in the dark of night and secretly take the little boy’s English homework. I study it for hours on end and finally before the cover of night fades away and the little boy wakes up, I return the papers to his bag and go back to my living quarters. I know that if I were to ever get caught my hateful master would gruesomely beat me.
It’s been almost seven years now since that tragic day when the white men came and took me from our house. It is imperative that I know how my child is doing. It breaks my heart that they took me away before I ever got to know him. I hope that he will make a great warrior and someday take my place as a strong leader of our tribe.
I was taken to the new world on an unsanitary ship that was even disgraceful for slaves. We were forced to row for hours on end, and if we let out a word of complaint we would be starved for days. They wouldn’t dare beat us because they wanted to keep us strong so they could sell us for more money. If I had my old disposition I would have fought back, but now that I am a slave, I follow the orders of my masters. I was brought to a colony in the south, which I think is called North Carolina.
I was sold to an older man by the name of Mr. Johnson. He has a family of 5, and 12 other slaves to work his cotton farm. Ginning cotton is hard work, and when a spontaneous strain of small pox pervaded throughout the plantation, 5 of the slaves died and work was almost doubled.
I highly doubt I’ll ever see your precious, loving face again. But as I stare up into the sky while writing this message, I see the stars and I know that you are at the other end looking up at the same stars. I will never give up hope of seeing you again.
Love,
Kweku
This letter is amazing!!! You had it historically correct about slaves being sold, though I´m not sure of when we learned this in history. You used all the words correctly as well. The best part was that you gave the character a life of his own, you didn´t just follow facts, and the reader is able to feel what the character is feeling. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThe way you used the words were amazing, I liked the way you described the characters life. I also liked the names you made up. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteI knew it from the instant that this was going to be good because the title sounded already professional. But I must say that it was very creative to have thought about history in the slaves' perspective. I loved the way you gave the character life. Although it felt kind of funny when you think about a slave writing in such an educated way.... Did you make the names up? They sound very genuine to me... Well done :)
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