Oxherding Tale (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Charles Johnson
- First Published: 1982
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: 1843-1865
- Setting: South Carolina
- Principal Characters: Andrew Hawkins, George Hawkins, Mattie Hawkins, Jonathan Polkinghorne, Anna Polkinghorne, Ezekiel Sykes-Withers, Flo Hatfield, Reb, Horace Bannon, Peggy Undercliff
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: African Americans, Racism, Blacks, Biracial people, South or Southerners, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Interracial relationships, Intermarriage
- Locales: South Carolina
The Novel
Oxherding Tale describes the education a young slave, Andrew Hawkins, receives from a variety of people. It is through synthesizing the different views from these people that he becomes a complete person.
The novel itself opens with “the Fall,” which is how Andrew describes his conception. During a bout of heavy drinking, Jonathan Polkinghorne, the owner of a South Carolina plantation named Cripplegate, and his favorite slave, who is also his butler, decide to swap wives for one night. The master slips into the slave’s quarters, while the slave...
[The entire page is 2795 words long]
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