Set at the brink of the Civil War in antebellum Virginia, The Known World reexamines our modern knowledge of slavery through an aggregate of views on what it means to be free and the social construct of identity. Presenting an atypical world of slavery, Jones introduces us to Henry Townsend, a black slave owner and the community of Manchester County where it seems as if everyone: man, woman, black or white, slave or slave owner, no matter wealth or status, is morally compromised. Psychological and political theories can be derived throughout the novel, making it clear that our interpretations of identity are not black and white, literally and racially. An intertwining story of the oppressed and the oppressor, social constraints of freedom and
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All Moses knows is the life of a slave; there is no world beyond the one Moses is enslaved to, the world he identifies with. Moses identifies himself with the land he works on so much that he eats the farm soil as if it is worth as much his own life (2). In contrast, in the same physical world Moses is living in, so is Sherriff Skiffington. One of few during this time, John opposes slavery, vowing never to own slaves, but as many other character’s undoing, his ethics are compromised: turning a blind eye to the injustice of slavery. For the sake of his job as sheriff, Skiffington is limited the very map hanging before him everyday. We discover both Moses and Skiffington with separate identities, but both detrimental to their known world. Whereas Skiffinton deep down does not abide by the tyranny of slavery, he still plays his part as sheriff; to others Skiffington is a supporter of slavery. Moses, on one hand is loyal to the Townsend plantation as the overseer of slaves. Whereas on the other hand Moses’s betrayal of his family leads to his demise. This shaping of identity Moses, Sherriff Skiffington, and the multitude of characters undergo is a clear representation of the Johari Window in the open and hidden self in our separate but shared
All Moses knows is the life of a slave; there is no world beyond the one Moses is enslaved to, the world he identifies with. Moses identifies himself with the land he works on so much that he eats the farm soil as if it is worth as much his own life (2). In contrast, in the same physical world Moses is living in, so is Sherriff Skiffington. One of few during this time, John opposes slavery, vowing never to own slaves, but as many other character’s undoing, his ethics are compromised: turning a blind eye to the injustice of slavery. For the sake of his job as sheriff, Skiffington is limited the very map hanging before him everyday. We discover both Moses and Skiffington with separate identities, but both detrimental to their known world. Whereas Skiffinton deep down does not abide by the tyranny of slavery, he still plays his part as sheriff; to others Skiffington is a supporter of slavery. Moses, on one hand is loyal to the Townsend plantation as the overseer of slaves. Whereas on the other hand Moses’s betrayal of his family leads to his demise. This shaping of identity Moses, Sherriff Skiffington, and the multitude of characters undergo is a clear representation of the Johari Window in the open and hidden self in our separate but shared