Genre
Neo-slave narrative
Setting and Context
Set in the 1860s in the context of slavery
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad and reflective
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Quickskill.
Major Conflict
The major clash is between Arthur and his slave, Quick skill. Quickskill escapes from his slave master, and he is headed to Canada to be safe, but he first settles in Buffalo, New York.
Climax
The climax comes when Quickskill, at last, manages to escape to Canada with the help of Princess Quaw Quaw despite the many traps laid for him by Swille.
Foreshadowing
The mistreatment of slaves foreshadowed Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in the North. The Southerner's rich slave owners were compelled to free their slaves.
Understatement
Swille’s efforts to track down Quickskill are understated. Swille is a powerful Slavemaster in the South, and he even funds Abraham Lincoln in the North to silent him on pushing for freedom for slaves.
Allusions
The story alludes to the evils of slavery and how slaves made efforts to escape for safety.
Imagery
The imagery of slavery is dominant in the book aiding readers to see the evils committed to the enslaved people. Similarly, the imagery helps readers to comprehend the efforts undertaken by the Northern readers to end slavery.
Paradox
The main paradox is that even with the abolition of the slave trade, Swille is determined to locate Quicksville and return her to work on his farm as a slave. Additionally, there is a satire of taking a flight and watching television in the 1960s.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
‘Bourbon’ is used as a metonymy for freedom.
Personification
N/A
