Kassie's passing

Kassie’s blog (in regards to Chesnutt's Passing of Grandison)


“Dick is the heir of his father’s estate, why does he need to free another man’s slave when his father owns so many and one day they will all belong to Dick.  When that day come he could just set them all free, why does he need to steal another man’s slave when he will have them all one day. “

Why? I believe that the answer to that question, lies in the very first line in the story ""for what a man will not do to please a woman is yet to be discovered." Fitting line for Valentine's day eh? Dick spends enough time courting Charity that he simply wants to please here or impress her with his fortitude and moral character. Unfortunately for him, character is not simply a role to be donned as one would a garment. As hard as he tries, he does not succeed in freeing Grandison, in fact, Grandison ends by freeing himself, as well as his loved ones. Interesting, that if any woman in the story should be impressed by her man's action, it should be Betsy. Jumping to the end of the story, last line Grandison by rights should not have simply "waved his hand derisively", but also placed his other arm around Betsy.

Decker

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