Unnamed Enslaved Field Hands
Character Key Number:
2399
Display Name:
Unnamed Enslaved Field Hands
Sort Name:
Unnamed Enslaved Field Hands
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?:
No
Biography:
Once the Sutpen family reaches the eastern part of Virginia on their journey in Absalom!, they begin seeing many enslaved people, described by the narrative as "niggers working in the fields" (182), "regiments of niggers [who] planted and raised" crops (184), "still more niggers [who] plant flowers and trim grass" on the grounds of the big plantation houses (185). The narrative describes these slaves as wearing "better clothes" than the Southern poor white population, which includes the Sutpens (186).