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Viewpoints


Knowing a story really well means that readers practice looking at the story from different points of view. For example, telling the story from the point of view of a slave's descendant, would necessitate studying the life of black residents of Washington D.C., after the abolition of slavery. One way to do it is by conducting interviews in role. One student can ask questions of another playing the role of Edward Sayres or Chester English or any other character.
An Interview With Paul Jennings - Senator Daniel Webster's Butler

  1. You worked for Senator Daniel Webster, who was willing to free you after you repay your purchase price, what motivated you to become one of the organizers of the escape? I liked my owner, Sen. Webster, and as you know, in the end, I decided to stay with him and not escape, but I was motivated by a higher calling of my people to use my knowledge to help others to get their freedom. I was also approached by the abolitionists to organize this. They convinced me that my position as Sen. Daniel Webster's butler can add weight to this escape operation.
  2. What made you change your mind?  I was in no danger of being sold to slave traders by Sen. Webster. He is a very good master, who agreed to free me after I repay the purchase money. I realized that if I continue to work for Sen. Webster, it will not be long before I will be free. On the other hand, if I joined the escapees on the Pearl, there is a chance that the operation will fail and my chance of freedom with it.
  3. How did you act to make this happen? I went back to Sen. Webster's house and asked the housekeeper to give me back my resignation letter.
  4. Did you not trust the abolitionists who convinced you to join the escape? I did trust them, but I was not sure whether they had enough power and clout in the population to make this happen.
  5. What happened to that higher calling to help your people, did you just give-up on that?  As I mentioned before, I had to be practical and think about myself first. I was not convinced that most of the population would be behind the escape, I believe that the time has not come yet for this type of operation. However, don't forget that I was one of the organizers of the escape and I approached Captain Sayres about using the Pearl. The escape was not cancelled because I did not join in the end. So, had this been a successful operation, my help would have been quite substantial in making it happen. I also started realizing that I can have much more influence on helping my people by being part of Sen. Webster's household.
  6. In view of your belief that the time has not come for this type of operation and its failure, are you sorry that you helped organize it?  I am, because the fate of the escapees became much worse than the life they had before. Many slaves worked in households that respected them and after the escape they were subject to humiliating conditions and were removed from their families and sold to owners in other states far away from their previous homes.