Slavery

One of the primary functions of the narrative is to explore the deep inhumanity of slavery and human bondage, as it highlights the incongruity between captivity and the natural human need for freedom. When narrating the events of his childhood and youth, Hiram begins the narration by stating, “All my life I had wanted to get out. I was unoriginal in this—all the Tasked felt the same” (10). Thus, the main narrative begins from the fact that freedom is a natural human desire/need. Thus, regardless of the actual conditions of slavery, the denial of freedom makes bondage untenable. On one hand, physical abuse is a fairly ubiquitous symptom of slavery, as owners can harm slaves with impunity, and thus slavery is immoral in that regard. On the other hand, even when Hiram’s duties as a slave become less strenuous, he still desires freedom. Thus...