Freedom
is something African Americans have spent years fighting for, and who can blame
them? Having freedom is an honor and can be conveyed in several different ways.
Freedom is having the ability to do whatever you want, and to not have someone
tell you what to do. Freedom is being able to have a say and to make your own
choices. In “The Good Lord Bird” written by James McBride, he talks a lot about
freedom especially with two characters Pie and Sibonia who are slaves. Specifically,
Sibonia has much more freedom than Pie does because Sibonia voices her opinion,
makes smart decisions, and sticks up for herself.
Figure 1 The Good Lord Bird book cover
Figure 2 Picture of James McBride
However,
Pie may have a much easier life than Sibonia, but she is certainly not freer.
Pie is a mulatto woman who is very beautiful with lighter skin and lovely hair.
She has a higher status than an average slave. She lives in the big house with
her master, a German woman named Abby. Pie gets to eat good food, has her own
room, and luxurious bedding. Even though she has all of these amenities, she
cannot express herself. Miss Abby is constantly threatening her. “Miss Abby
commenced to razzing Pie something terrible for me ripping her scarf and
causing a ruckus in her business. She cussed Pie’s Ma. She cussed her Pa. She
cussed all her relations in all directions” (149). Pie was trying to talk to Miss Abby and make
the situation better but she would not hear it. Miss Abby does not treat Pie
right. She yells at her and gets mad at her very easily. If Pie has an opinion
about something there is no way she can say it. Freedom of speech is important,
because being able to express yourself and say how you feel is a benefit, and
Pie cannot even do that.
Figure 3 The Big House where the Slave Owner lived a long with Pie in the book.
In
addition to voicing her opinion, Sibonia makes smart decisions that she uses to
her advantage, that contribute to her freedom. Sibonia acts crazy, and uses it
to her advantage to intimidate people and to avoid manual labor. “She sat on
it, and the Negroes gathered ‘round her again, holding picks and shovels,
working the ground all ‘round her, glaring at me, picking at the mud ‘round her
while she set on her box in the middle of ‘em, cacking like a chicken” (McBride
166). By her making her own choice to be crazy, she then gets out of her work. Sibonia
may make mud balls and throw them at people but then she doesn’t have to do
labor. She also avoids questioning because no one wants to deal with her when
she starts rambling random words. Sibonia is very smart for doing this. She is
then able to get away with a lot more than the other slaves.
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| Figure 4, many different slaves that worked on a plantation http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/photographs/plantation-slaves.htm |
Pie
on the other hand just takes her orders, no questions asked. She doesn’t have
to do manual labor but she still has to please the men that she is with. If Pie
doesn’t want to take orders from Abby she can potentially lose everything. Pie
is constantly living in fear. “Pie spoke softly -- I could hear the terror in
her voice – ‘you don’t have to do that missus. I’ll fix it. I promise. And I’ll
pay for the scarf, missus”(150). Onion just ripped Miss Abby’s scarf, and now
Pie is trying to fix the problem so she doesn’t get in trouble. If Pie does
anything that could get Miss Abby mad she could lose all of her privileges that
is why she is always scared. She lives her life not questioning anything just
so she has some luxuries. What kind of life is that? Not being able to live
just so you can have your own room and food on the table, that is not freedom
at all.
Moreover,
if Sibonia doesn’t like something happening she will stick up for herself. In any situation, Sibonia will definitely be
her courageous self and fight for what she deserves. For example, when Judge
Fuggett wanted to know who started to plot the rebellion Sibonia looked
straight at him and confessed. “Go ahead. You can even get Darg if you want.
But it can’t be whipped out of me nor coerced in any way. I am the woman. I
done it. And if I had the chance, I would do it again” (177). Sibonia defended
herself against the Judge because she is brave and she knows that she has to
fight for what she believes in. This shows that she is confident in herself and
believes in equality.
| Figure 5, Here is a painted image of slaves picking cotton and working on the fields. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/why-was-cotton-king/ |
| Figure 6, Here is what seems to be a family of slaves. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/reform/jb_reform_slaveauc_3.html |
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| Figure 7, A picture of slaves working in the fields. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/548305/slavery/24173/Agriculture |
For
the most part, Sibonia has more freedom than Pie does. Sibonia is able to voice
her opinions and stick up for herself. Sibonia also makes smart decisions that
benefit her and her life as a slave. However, Pie has to constantly take orders
or else she will lose her privileges of living in the big house and having a
better lifestyle. Therefore, everyone is not really equal and does not have the
same freedoms. Pie cannot express herself like Sibonia can. That is what
freedom is, expressing ones self, and being able to make your own choices and
Sibonia does it unlike Pie. Just because you have privileges it does not mean
you have freedom.
Works Cited
McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. New York:
Penguin Group, 2013. Print.
