Jacob Vaark A Mercy Analysis

A Mercy, by Toni Morrison, is set in the beginning of the 17th century, during the transition of the Old world into the New world. The New world, in this setting, includes the upcoming rules and notions of freedom and property prior to being infected with racial associations in the United States. In the beginning of A Mercy, Jacob Vaark is descending into the New world on a boat in fog, “Unlike the English fogs he had known since he could walk, or those way north where he lived now, this one was sun fired, turning the world into thick, hot gold. Penetrating it was like struggling through a dream” (Morrison, 9). This journey does not allow Vaark to see what is coming up in front of him and the boat. He could only see what was in front of him after he has passed through the fog. When he can finally see clearly, he steps into the new world. Due to this new world, along with the “relative safety of his skin” (Morrison, 11), Jacob is able to enjoy life as a free man. Jacob Vaark portrays the beginnings of North American slavery. Vaark, although disgusted by how D’Ortega treats and acquires slaves, he is enamored by the owning of land, and the opportunities he has to own and trade things. He desires to own better and bigger …show more content…
Willard had originally been sold for seven years to a Virginia planter. He was supposed to be freed at age 21, but 3 years were added to his servitude and he was given to a wheat farmer in the north (Morrison, 148). Then he gets his length of servitude increased again as, “Early on in his post, he had run away twice, only to be caught in a tavern”(Morrison, 149). In A Mercy, it is because Willard is legally contracted into a servitude that he keeps extending, that he is probably never going to have the freedom or power like Jacob Vaark. It is Willard’s fault that his servitude keeps extending, and ultimately denying himself