1.
What
is the significance of Nicodemus, Kansas being primarily dominated by blacks?
The significance of Nicodemus,
Kansas being primarily dominated by blacks is that it gave Blacks the
opportunity to become entrepreneurs and establish successful businesses that
created jobs for blacks. This enabled blacks to improve their quality of life.
At the time Nicodemus was mostly populated by blacks because they were able to
buy their own land. This was important to the African American population
because having their own land was essential to their freedom. This is why the
idea of selling land was such a huge issue for Sophie and her sisters, their
land was the only form of freedom they had and they were not about to give that
up to white speculators.
2.
Why do
we speculate that Frank does not like America and prefers Europe?
The British Slave trade was
completely abolished in 1834 and no Jim Crow Laws were enforced. Therefore,
this gave Frank the ability to gather with whites and feel equal to them. This
makes Frank feel superior to others especially when he is Kansas. Especially,
because he is a mulatto, a person who is half black and white. Frank can also
be considered a black man who has assimilated into the white culture. Frank had
a white father that allowed him to travel to London at such a young age. As a
result, Frank developed a liking for Europe and decided to move there when he
was older.
3.
What
motifs did you come across with during the reading?
The motifs that we came across
during Act 1, scenes one to three was Family, Home, Community and Traditions
and the Black Female. The reason why we chose Family, Home, Community and
Traditions because the Sisters established a sisterhood bond without being
sisters by blood. They all decided that it was better to leave Memphis,
Tennessee because of all the riots and violence that blacks were faced with.
Therefore, the Sisters with other blacks established communities in Kansas that
were primarily dominated by Blacks. Kansas became associated with the
Underground Railroad which freed slaves. The reason why we chose the Black
Female was because Sophie represented the aggressive black female. Sophie was
the one who was going to pass the law about the white speculators leaving the
Nicodemus land alone. She was not going to let white speculators take her land
so, she did something about it. She confronted the situation and was going to
make sure the land would not be sold. On the other hand, Minnie represented the
passive black female. For example, Frank would repeatedly beat on Minnie and
threaten her but, Minnie never did anything about it. She would let him control
her and her life. She couldn’t even visit her sisters as much as she wanted to
because Frank would not allow it.
