Edward P Jones The Know World Chapter Summary

Edward P. Jones’s The Know World deals with the subject of the free black class in Virginia. His story focuses on the county of Manchester and the circumscribed world of the free blacks in Antebellum Virginia. The story starts off at Henry Townsend's Plantation. Henry is a free black born into slavery. Throughout his life he has risen in status through his connection with William Robbins, the Townsend Plantation, and the teachings of Fern Elston. By examining the events before, during, and after Henry's death, Jones illustrates how free blacks had a circumscribed freedom. They had no natural power and had to construct a world in which they held meaningful status above slaves. To obtain this power, they had to adapt their lives to the rules …show more content…
A white (or black) master could still control your family. Such is the case with Augustus and Mildred Townsend. After Augusts buys his freedom from William Robbins, he saves up money to free his wife and his son. He buys his wife’s freedom first. Henry is still Robbin's slave. Robbins controls when Augustus and Mildred can see their son. After Augustus hits Henry for being late to one of their visits, Robbins takes away visiting privileges for a month. Augustus and Mildred are free, but their old master William Robbins controls them. They are slaves without a master. Per the 1806 act of the Virginia House of Delegates, free blacks had to leave the Commonwealth once obtaining their freedom. In order to stay, they had to petition to stay and be close to their family. Augustus Townsend gets white people, including well-respected Robbins, to petition on his behalf. Henry Townsend does not have to petition. Robbins likes him so much the other white people did complain about Henry staying. White people had the ultimate say on whether free blacks could stay close to their families. Even though they did not have masters, free blacks were slaves to the