Dana's Other Options

In our discussion group today we discussed the different choices Dana had which would project a different outcome in the events that transpired. We thought that she should have tried harder towards the begining of the book to make free papers for herself and by doing so, if the fake papers worked, she should have made copies for the slaves on the plantation before Rufus was killed. Dana and Kevin thought of making free papers, but the idea was put aside, partly because they had a hard time finding records that contained official papers, but also with Dana coming and going so quickly she probably didn't have time to look more into it. If the timeline of events would have happened that way though, everyone would have had a better chance to be free once the plantation owner was no longer in existence. It says later in the epilogue that everyone was sold, except for Nigel and Carrie, and Joe and Haggard. Nigel's sons were sold, as well as Sara. The only problem would be that none of them would have anywhere to go if they were free. The plantation was their home, and with their lack of education they would run into trouble trying to find work. Also, some of the slaves didn't have a family anymore, or their kindred was scattered all over the place. Nonetheless, they would be free and that's a start. It's hard to say whether it would have been better for everyone if things happened in a different way, there is always some obstacle to overcome when making any kind of difficult decision, but Dana did have options, and while she did so much already for the slaves on the plantation, there is a chance she could have done even more. She did inspire a lot of the people around her though, and sometimes, just having a different mindset is all it takes for you to endure the rest of your survival in tough times.