Reading and Writing

You know how teachers used to make you read and write all the time? Wait a minute… We're still doing that to you. Anyway, it might seem like no biggie to us to pick up a book and write a book report about it—after all, that's pretty much our life's work—but to Toussaint, it is a big deal since he couldn't read or write for the longest time:

What point was there in reading when you were nothing but an owned thing, to be whipped or sold on a whim? When the only things to read were written in the language of the whites and did not speak to you? (6.107)

Whoa. It just got real. Toussaint's honest observation about the value—or lack thereof—in slaves reading helps us get to the heart of the issue.

Once Toussaint is freed, he can read, write, and express himself. He now has a purpose and independence; no longer does he need to check with his master before acting. He does whatever the heck he pleases, when he pleases. That type of freedom and agency is symbolized in reading and writing for Toussaint. It's also something that a lot of us take for granted. Guilty.