The book is written in the form of a diary kept by Clotee, a young slave girl on a Virginia plantation in 1859. Clotee secretly teaches herself to read and write while fanning William, her owner's young son, during his lessons with his mother Miz Lilly. Clotee is discovered by Mr Harms, the tutor, who is actually an abolitionist working to help slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. When Clotee is given the opportunity to escape, she must decide whether to run away to freedom or stay behind to help other slaves escape.
Clotee's best friend on the plantation is a very strong girl named Spicy. Spicy desperately wants to change her name to Rose (the name her mother picked out for her), but is forced to accept the name given by her owners. Clotee later writes in Spicy's Bible, the only keepsake that Spicy has from her mother, that Spicy's name is actually Rose. Spicy is also in love with Hince, the person who Clotee calls her "brother-friend".
Clotee and Spicy are the property of "Mas' Henley," a cruel man. While Master Henley never whips or beats Clotee in the book, he does strike Spicy across the face in the final chapter. Mistress Lilly Henley is a weak, foolish woman and a disinterested mother. Clotee's mother was Lilly Henley's personal maid, but Master Henley forced his wife to sell her maid; Clotee's mother later died far from her daughter. Clotee's father is not present in the story as he drowned in the river before she was born. Mistress Lilly often tries to make Clotee her little pet, claiming that Clotee's mother was a very good friend of hers. Clotee always finds a way to decline and Lilly soon gives up, taking another housemaid under her wing and trying to turn the household servants against each other.
When Ely Harms is driven off the Henley Plantation, Clotee takes his place as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Clotee comes up with a plan so that Mr Harms didn't get arrested. Clotee eventually runs away; we later learn that she has become a teacher. She also keeps up correspondence with William Henley, who becomes an abolitionist as well. Clotee dies at the age of 92, and the book ends with the quote from her gravestone: "Freedom is more than a word".
Adaptationsedit
In 1997, the book was adapted for television by HBO for their Dear America miniseries. The episode starred Shadia Simmons as Clotee.[1]
Referencesedit
^IMDB. "Dear America: A Picture of Freedom (TV 1999)". IMDb. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
Further reading and reviewsedit
Burnett, Jeanie (Winter 1997–1998). "A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, A Slave Girl, Belmont, Virginia, 1859". Childhood Education. 74 (2): 106 – via ProQuest.
Chandler, Karen (2006). "Paths to Freedom: Literacy and Folk Traditions in Recent Narratives about Slavery and Emancipation". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 31 (1): 3–26. doi:10.1353/chq.2006.0022. ISSN 1553-1201. S2CID 143986439.
Hubler, Angela E. (2000). "Girl Power and History in the Dear America Series Books". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 25 (2): 98–106. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1657. ISSN 1553-1201. S2CID 144302979.
Connan-Pintado, Christiane (2022-06-06), Fictionalisation of Slavery in Children's Books in France, De Gruyter, pp. 313–324, doi:10.1515/9783110733501-022, ISBN978-3-11-073350-1
picture, freedom, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 200. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources A Picture of Freedom news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message A Picture of Freedom is a children s historical novel written by Patricia C McKissack and published by Scholastic in 1997 as part of their Dear America series A Picture of Freedom The Diary of Clotee a Slave GirlAuthorPatricia McKissackLanguageEnglishSeriesDear AmericaGenreYoung adultPublisherScholasticPublication dateMarch 1997Media typePrint Pages202ISBN978 0 590 25988 0Preceded byWhen Will This Cruel War Be Over Followed byAcross the Wide and Lonesome Prairie Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Adaptations 3 References 4 Further reading and reviewsPlot summary editThe book is written in the form of a diary kept by Clotee a young slave girl on a Virginia plantation in 1859 Clotee secretly teaches herself to read and write while fanning William her owner s young son during his lessons with his mother Miz Lilly Clotee is discovered by Mr Harms the tutor who is actually an abolitionist working to help slaves escape via the Underground Railroad When Clotee is given the opportunity to escape she must decide whether to run away to freedom or stay behind to help other slaves escape Clotee s best friend on the plantation is a very strong girl named Spicy Spicy desperately wants to change her name to Rose the name her mother picked out for her but is forced to accept the name given by her owners Clotee later writes in Spicy s Bible the only keepsake that Spicy has from her mother that Spicy s name is actually Rose Spicy is also in love with Hince the person who Clotee calls her brother friend Clotee and Spicy are the property of Mas Henley a cruel man While Master Henley never whips or beats Clotee in the book he does strike Spicy across the face in the final chapter Mistress Lilly Henley is a weak foolish woman and a disinterested mother Clotee s mother was Lilly Henley s personal maid but Master Henley forced his wife to sell her maid Clotee s mother later died far from her daughter Clotee s father is not present in the story as he drowned in the river before she was born Mistress Lilly often tries to make Clotee her little pet claiming that Clotee s mother was a very good friend of hers Clotee always finds a way to decline and Lilly soon gives up taking another housemaid under her wing and trying to turn the household servants against each other When Ely Harms is driven off the Henley Plantation Clotee takes his place as a conductor on the Underground Railroad Clotee comes up with a plan so that Mr Harms didn t get arrested Clotee eventually runs away we later learn that she has become a teacher She also keeps up correspondence with William Henley who becomes an abolitionist as well Clotee dies at the age of 92 and the book ends with the quote from her gravestone Freedom is more than a word Adaptations editIn 1997 the book was adapted for television by HBO for their Dear America miniseries The episode starred Shadia Simmons as Clotee 1 References edit IMDB Dear America A Picture of Freedom TV 1999 IMDb Retrieved 19 February 2011 Further reading and reviews editBurnett Jeanie Winter 1997 1998 A Picture of Freedom The Diary of Clotee A Slave Girl Belmont Virginia 1859 Childhood Education 74 2 106 via ProQuest Chandler Karen 2006 Paths to Freedom Literacy and Folk Traditions in Recent Narratives about Slavery and Emancipation Children s Literature Association Quarterly 31 1 3 26 doi 10 1353 chq 2006 0022 ISSN 1553 1201 S2CID 143986439 Hubler Angela E 2000 Girl Power and History in the Dear America Series Books Children s Literature Association Quarterly 25 2 98 106 doi 10 1353 chq 0 1657 ISSN 1553 1201 S2CID 144302979 Connan Pintado Christiane 2022 06 06 Fictionalisation of Slavery in Children s Books in France De Gruyter pp 313 324 doi 10 1515 9783110733501 022 ISBN 978 3 11 073350 1 nbsp Children s literature portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Picture of Freedom amp oldid 1212125646, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
