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Miss Jane's Journey
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Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation Jane's master had just told all his slaves about the Proclamation. The younger ones decided to leave. The older ones who sided with Unc Isom stayed. Unc Isom tried to tell the younger ones that life as free people won't be so easy. However, all the younger slaves, including Jane, just headed out for freedom. " 'Them papers say I'm free, free like everbody else' "(13). -
Murders by Secesh
It happened while Jane and some other ex-slaves headed North. In the month of June on one morning, Secesh soldiers found where Jane and the other former slaves were at. Brutal murders were performed upon just about every freed negro. The only ones who managed to survive were Jane and Ned. "I went back to Ned and asked him if he wanted to go to Ohio with me,"(23). Then Ned and Jane had to continue to Ohio. -
Arriving at Mr. Bone's Plantation
Jane walked and walked with Ned for some time. Encountering hunters, Secesh, etcetera, the two finally found a place to stay at. It was Mr. Bone's plantation. Jane had to work there for Mr. Bone, but Jane did so to get money. The money would help out with a lot, including Ned's education. "Bone said. . 'Fifty cents of that coming back to me to school that boy over there - if he wake up long enough,' "(59). -
Ned Leaving the Plantation
Jane wants Ned to go. However, Ned doesn't want to leave without Jane. Jane is like a mom to Ned. After a while of some arguing, it was decided that Ned had to leave Colonel Dye's plantation. "I stood in the door and watched him till he had gone out the quarters, then I went back inside and laid down on the bed. And I cried all night,"(76). Jane cried because she treated Ned like he was one of her own. -
R.I.P. Joe Pittman
According to Jane, the horse is evil. It's wild, hard to tame, etc. Jane didn't want her love to die. Therefore, she let the horse loose one morning. Letting the horse be free backfired though. Joe Pittman tried to get the horse back, but the horse killed him. "When they found him he was tangled in the rope, already dead,"(98). Jane Pittman became devastated because of what happened. Nobody could take the place Joe took in Jane's life. -
The Return of Ned
"That war ended in 1898. He came here that next summer,"(98). After all those years, Ned came back to Miss Jane. He returned with his wife, Vivian, and three of their kids. Jane automatically knew it was Ned even though he didn't look like he did many years ago. Ned had changed in appearance. However, Jane felt it in her heart that he was Ned. Ned was like a son to Jane. -
Ned Versus Gun
First Joe Pittman, now Ned? It's unfortunate for Jane how her loved ones leave her like this, but Jane actually knew that it was going to happen. She knew Albert Cluveau. Cluveau killed many people, and he was going to kill Ned. A shot to Ned's leg happened first. After Ned fell to a crawl and got up, Cluveau shot him again. This time the bullet tore off half of Ned's chest. "The white people had told Cluveau to make Ned crawl before killing him,"(116). -
Chariot of Hell
Hoo-doo or not hoo-doo? That is the question. "When the Chariot of Hell come rattling for you, the people will hear you screaming all over this parish,"(121). Jane only said these words to Cluveau because Cluveau killed many people, including Ned. However, Albert Cluveau became simple-minded and believed it. Believing the Chariot of Hell exists caused him to actually be screaming at the time of death. Jane just saw all of these events as Cluveau's sins catching up to him. -
High Water of '27
1927 High Water "I remember the high water of '12 well enough, but the high water of '27 I won't ever forget,"(149). Rain poured for what seemed like forever, but it wasn't really that long. The ground couldn't absorb water at all. Water from before had taken up the amount the ground could absorb. Miss Jane Pittman surely would remember this high water because she lived through the water. She "survived to tell the tale". -
Tee Bob's Suicide
" 'And because she couldn't love him back, because she knowed better, he killed himself,' "(188). Tee Bob obviously didn't know better than to commit suicide. According to Jimmy Caya, everybody associated with Tee Bob killed him (Tee Bob) somehow. That includes Miss Jane. The way she acted around Tee Bob was possibly a cause. Miss Jane didn't really do anything to make a man kill himself, but she did somehow. Tee Bob's suicide only added to the deaths Miss Jane lived through in her life. -
Is You the One?
Jesus and How he Brought Unity Many asked baby Jimmy if he was "the One", including Jane. These people wanted a Messiah in the world to save them from sin. "Anytime a child is born, the old people look in his face and ask him if he's the One,"(199). The old people would either flat out ask, or they'd think it to themselves. Jane must've at least thought of it to herself. She knows Jimmy's life will give impact on hers. -
Racial Equality
Civil Rights
Around 100 or so years old, Miss Jane found out about Jimmy's death. Robert asks her to stay on the plantation, but Miss Jane wants to find Jimmy in Bayonne. As Miss Jane passes Robert, she just says he's Robert. She's not using "Mr." when naming him. It shows that the Civil Rights movement is going to happen. "Me and Robert looked at each other there a long time, then I went by him,"(246).
