Samiksha Tamang English 32000, 06[13997] Shortpaper#3 "Racial Slavery" in A MERCY By Toni Morrison Toni Morrison's "A Mercy" explores the history of racism and slavery in early society of colonial America before slavery was institutionalized. During that time, the concept of slavery and race were not viewed together, and slavery was not determined with any particular category of people to be a slave. In this paper, I will try to explore the stories of the main characters to underline the trajectory in which racism gradually become cemented with slavery, and demonstrate its miserable consequences on the identity of people and on entire culture. Morrison highlights the early society with no association of racism and slavery by creating a Jacob's family of misfits, where the path to slavery and indentured servitude was different irrespective of race, gender, status, and others. He portrayed servitude extending beyond slavery to cover all aspects of life where the person is not free, rather remains intertwined due to several reasons. Jacob's wife Rebekka, even being white, finds herself enslaved by society because of her gender. To be free in the eyes of society, she must have a husband, and she is never free to make her own choices. Similarly, Lina, who is the most educated among Jacob's slaves, was forced to choose the life of slave after her entire Native American village was decimated by small pox and she was not accepted by church community. Sorrow, though young biracial girl, is already seen being pregnant due to rape, and she is also enslaved in Jacob's family. Willard and Scully, though being white men, are indentured servants, and the time they will be freed is uncertain. Despite being wealthy and having reputed status in society, servitude is also extended to D'Ortegas, who is enslaved to debt because of which he has to give Floren to Jacob. Even Jacob himself and his family were orphans at some point of time with no one to guide or take care of, making them realize the limits in their freedom in life. Floren is living life with obsession, being enslaved after she was given to Jacob in exchanged for bad debts. On contrary, Blacksmith is a free man even after being a black man, challenging the description of linking blackness with slavery. In the OED meaning, "Slavery means the state or condition of having the legal status of being the property of another person; involuntary servitude or forced labor". Correspondingly, we can see that, Morison describes about many factors that affect slavery in the beginning of the novel, but till the end 'race' becomes the more concrete construction and began to dictate social class. Morrison has used Floren exile as indication of migration from Africa which displaced many
people and stand as a turning point in shifting identity to 'racial slavery'. The migrated slaves were then obliged to start over in a new and oppressive environment. Morrison indicate the beginning of racial slavery, when Floren's mother observed the racism as primary