Washington contemplated the banquet, and wondered if he were in his right mind. Was this the plain family dinner? And was it all present? It was soon apparent that this was indeed the dinner: it was all on the table: it consisted of abundance of clear, fresh water, and a basin of raw turnips—nothing more.
At the dinner, they hoped for more than there was. In truth, they only had raw turnips. Poverty had struck them that severely.
Judge Hawkins and Col. Sellers have made and lost two or three moderate fortunes in the meantime and are now pinched by poverty. Sellers has two pairs of twins and four extras. In Hawkins’s family are six children of his own and two adopted ones. From time to time, as fortune smiled, the elder children got the benefit of it, spending the lucky seasons at excellent schools in St. Louis and the unlucky ones at home in the chafing discomfort of straightened circumstances.
Here we see the two families in a state of poverty. And the children are affected by this too. Some are lucky, and some aren't.
The Squire remained, and read his letter. Then he sighed, and sat long in meditation. At intervals he said: “Missouri. Missouri. Well, well, well, everything is so uncertain.” At last he said: “I believe I’ll do it.—A man will just rot, here. My house my yard, everything around me, in fact, shows’ that I am becoming one of these cattle—and I used to be thrifty in other times.”
Here we see Squire contemplating the new state of Missouri and his life that he lives. And in the process, he decides it's time to move on to greener pastures.
Tom got down from the carriage, and looked about with an air of calm, still enjoyment. The negro, it must be remembered, is an exotic of the most gorgeous and superb countries of the world, and he has, deep in his heart, a passion for all that is splendid, rich, and fanciful; a passion which, rudely indulged by an untrained taste, draws on them the ridicule of the colder and more correct white race.
The underlying message of this segment is that if a slave were seem to enjoy the new place they may be working at, their white slave owners may choose to change that notion for them by making work hard. This is all purely an inference of course of the times.
Poor John! It was rather natural; and the tears that fell, as he spoke, came as naturally as if he had been a white man. Tom drew a long breath from a sore heart, and tried, in his poor way, to comfort him.
The separation of families had a strong impact on the slaves and they struggled with the idea of never seeing them again. This segment also displays the kindness that Tom had.
It had been his custom to get the Bible read to him by his master’s children, in particular by young Master George; and, as they read, he would designate, by bold, strong marks and dashes, with pen and ink, the passages which more particularly gratified his ear or affected his heart.
This custom of Tom's shows his want to read the Bible and find passages that affected the way he felt. It was his way of finding the important segments of the Bible.
The following song I have often heard the slaves sing, when about to be carried to the far south. It is said to have been composed by a slave. “See these poor souls from AfricaTransported to America;We are stolen, and sold to Georgia,Will you go along with me?We are stolen, and sold to Georgia,Come sound the jubilee! See wives and husbands sold apart,Their children’s screams will break my heart;—There’s a better day a coming,Will you go along with me?There’s a better day a coming,Go sound the jubilee! O, gracious Lord! when shall it be,That we poor souls shall all be free;Lord, break them slavery powers—Will you go along with me?Lord break them slavery powers,Go sound the jubilee! Dear Lord, dear Lord, when slavery’ll cease,Then we poor souls will have our peace;—There’s a better day a coming,Will you go along with me?There’s a better day a coming,Go sound the jubilee!”
I find this section to describe a key part of the slave culture: gospel singing. We hear about the gospels that were written and sung out in the fields as they worked, but to have one documented in this book by Brown gives a stronger connection to their culture. We may not know how it was sung, but the words speak the song's message.
The fact that I was a freeman—could walk, talk, eat and sleep as a man, and no one to stand over me with the blood-clotted cowhide—all this made me feel that I was not myself.
The difference between the life of a free man and the life of a slave made Brown feel uncomfortable with the way his life was now. I think it's an important thing to note as life for former slaves was changing from what they were used to.
I cannot give a just description of the scene at that parting interview. Never, never can be erased from my heart the occurrences of that day!
The emotional impact of these two sentences greatly shows the struggle that negro families had when they were split up and sold by their masters. This second sentence in particular displays the importance that this final interaction Brown had with his sister was one he holds onto dearly.