A Leap For Freedom Analysis

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The title “The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom” is referring to the actions of Melinda, Glen, and Cato. They are escaping the United States and their master in order to life free lives in Canada. “The Escape” refers to the negative aspect of their situation. They are escaping in a physical sense but they are also escaping slavery, a system of subjugation and hypocrisy. “A Leap for Freedom” refers to the more positive aspect of their journey. By becoming free, they are free to live their lives to their fullest potential. This includes Glen and Melinda living as husband and wife and Cato being able to freely practice medicine in Canada. The title communicates the idea that the abolition allows African Americans to break away from an oppressive …show more content…

Two important rituals are jumping the broom and song. Jumping the broom is the way African American slaves would commonly be wed, instead of being married by a preacher. In the play, Mrs. Gaines forces an impromptu wedding between Hannah and Cato and forces them to jump the broom. Dolly, a slave of Dr. Gaines, says that jumping the broom is for field hands and that servants should be married by a preacher. The general disrespect for marriage from Mrs. Gaines and the demeaning attitude of Dolly show how the marriages between slaves were not taken seriously. Mrs. Gaines believed it was something that could be casually forced on slaves because she does not view their capacity for love the same as white people. The attitude Dolly displayed showed that jumping the broom was a ritual that was inferior to being married by a preacher, which shows a degree of internalized racism, since African American traditions should not be viewed as something beneath her. Another ritual present in the play was song. Towards the end of the play, Cato sings “Dandy Jim” which is similar to many songs African America slaves would really sing. The song was a hopeful song about how escaping to Canada would liberate slaves and leave the injustices of slavery behind them. Brown used song to show a realistic portrayal of how slaves would yearn for freedom and not be satisfied with slavery as some

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