Essay Questions

Friendship as a theme is explored in William Wells Brown’s Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter. Show how the writer achieves this in the novel.

Ill-fate sees the death of Currer’s lover (and master), Thomas Jefferson and her subsequent sale as a slave together with her two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. When Currer is sold to a priest, Mr. Peck, as a slave, a friendship strikes between her and the priest’s daughter. As the friendship grows between the too, it becomes so profound such that the priest’s daughter begins advocating for her release from slavery. This is friendship explored in concrete terms in the story.

Currer is ill-fated. Is this assertion correct. Explain.

Currer’s ill-fate begins with the death of her lover and master, Thomas Jefferson, which sees her and her two daughters being sold as slaves. When later, Currer is sold to a priest, Mr. Peck, she strikes a profound relationship with his daughter who goes on to advocate for her freedom from slavery. Even so, Currer is unlucky in this respect, as she passes on from yellow fever, before being freed. In this way, the argument that Currer is ill-fated holds water, despite her being one among the many characters in the work who suffer a significantly related fate—a fate of life under slavery.

How does Henry Morton’s decision not to free his wife and daughters from slavery affect her daughters?

Henry Morton is a businessman who purchases Althesa as his slave. Even though Henry helps her pass as white, he does not quite free her from slavery, let alone the two children that the couple have together. While Henry loves his two daughters, Ellen and Jane, his decision to not free them from slavery takes a toll on them after Althesa and Henry pass on. Their two spoiled daughters fail to cope with the life of slavery. Ellen commits suicide after being raped by her master and Jane dies due to wasting away.