Pearl

Pearl is a girl around 12 or 13 years old who is a slave on the Jameson plantation all her life until she is freed by the Civil War. She is a "white-skinned Negro," the daughter of her mother, a slave, and her white master.

Pearl is the closest thing the book has to a protagonist, since she is the only character whose story continues from the beginning of the novel to its end. She is both excited about her newfound freedom and fearful of it because she has no idea what it will bring for her. She is also ambiguous about her own race, identifying more with her black mother but recognizing that her physical appearance causes most people to think she is white, and she is somewhat uncomfortable with knowing that her ability to pass for white has many advantages.

Pearl is happy to be free, but like...