Underground To Canada

“Mammy shook Julilly into listening. ‘If we are sold apart, June Lilly, and the Lord forbid, don’t forget that freedom land I told you about. You and I are strong. We’ll get there with the guidance of that star, and the good Lord’s help.’”

This quotation foreshadows the events of the following chapter, in which Julilly is cruelly separated from her mother when a slave trader from Mississippi buys her for the Riley plantation. In this quotation the author also hints that Mammy and Julilly will both try to escape their enslavement at some point soon, piquing the reader’s interest and laying the foundation for Julilly’s persistent interest in Canada.

“The little children around her wore skimpy clothes. They pressed against Julilly with their hot, dry skin and whimpered like tiny, forgotten sheep. Julilly held two small hands, both sticky with sweat and dust.”

In this passage Barbara Smucker shows the tragic consequences of family separation as Julilly tries to care for the young children the slave trader took from their parents. This passage endears Julilly to the reader as she takes on the responsibility of comforting and caring for the young kids.

“There was nothing to say. But she shared the others’ silent fear and anger […] She was held, too, by Lester’s glinting hatred and lifted head. His pride brought swish after swish of the fat man’s whip across his back.”

This quotation reveals Julilly’s feelings as the slave trader takes her, Lester, Adam, Ben, and the young children to the Riley Plantation in Mississippi. The passage shows the cruelty and indignity of enslavement and establishes Lester as a proud man who quietly resists his enslaver’s actions. This sets the scene for Lester and Julilly to later become companions as they escape on the Underground Railroad.

“Then, Julilly saw the Big House. She stared. It was not at all like Massa Hensen’s. Clean, white pillars rose in front of the largest house she had ever seen. They looked as though they had sprouted from the earth. And between them, in glistening white, were rows of steps fanned out like a peacock’s plume.”

Julilly’s first impression of the Riley Plantation reveals the wealth and luxury that those slaveowners enjoyed. In this passage Smucker contrasts this comfort and beauty with the harsh, impoverished lifestyle that Julilly and her peers are forced to endure on the same plantation. This contrast highlights the injustice of slavery, as Riley and his family’s affluent lives are possible only because of the labor of Julilly and other enslaved people.

“Julilly walked away from the children toward a long, ugly shack and went inside. There was light and air only from the open door and the cracks in the wall. The small space of the hard dirt floor seemed packed with girls each one clinging to a filthy pile of rags. Julilly didn’t look for Mammy Sally. She didn’t want to find her here.”

While Julilly misses her mother, she is glad that her mom does not have to live in the harsh conditions of the Riley Plantation. Smucker’s imagery helps the reader imagine Julilly’s new reality in Mississippi and contrast it with the luxurious lifestyle the plantation’s owners could afford.

“‘He likes to beat at old folks and cripples like me,’ Liza said in a low voice without lifting her head. Julilly saw that Liza couldn’t reach the high branches with her bent back, so she began pulling at the open bolls from the top branches—letting Liza take all those at the bottom. Her new friend gave her a grateful smile.”

This exchange between Julilly and Liza reinforces Smucker’s theme on The Bonds of Friendship. By showing how Julilly helps her new friend during their forced labor, the author adds to her characterization of Julilly as a caring and insightful person who is concerned for the welfare of others.

“‘This is Mr. Alexander Ross.’ He stretched his words out like strands of taffy. ‘He’s come all the way from Canada to study birds in our beautiful land of the South.’ Julilly stiffened. Her whole body seemed to shake. The word ‘Canada’ came like a streak of lightning, knocking her off balance.”

In this passage Julilly overhears the plantation owner’s introduction of Mr. Ross, and she is intrigued to hear that he is from Canada since her only association with the country is what she heard from her mother. This passage shows Julilly’s intense interest in escaping to Canada, as her mother had told her to, and foreshadows her future connection with Mr. Ross.

“Julilly doubled the speed of her cotton picking. She was angry and she was afraid. Now that Sims had picked her out as a slave who watched and listened to white men’s talk, he would not forget. He would use his whip on her again.”

In this quotation Julilly reacts to Sims’s punishment after she paused her work to listen to him talk to Mr. Ross. This passage increases the tension in the novel and further demonstrates why Julilly feels the urgent need to escape from her situation.

“Free, thought Julilly. Free must be like a whippoorwill that could fly here and there and settle where it pleased…free could mean to get paid for your work like white folks…free was like the free black boy who stood beside the tall Abolitionist on the road to Mississippi and gave her water…if you were free you wouldn’t be whipped.”

Julilly considers the meaning and experience of freedom, which to her is a foreign concept. This passage affirms how Julilly’s life has been harshly limited and prescribed by her enslavement. In this quotation Smucker establishes the whippoorwill bird as a symbol of liberation.

“Mr. Ross shook Liza’s hand and then Julilly’s. Julilly hadn’t expected this. It was a gesture of friendship. It was like their hands made a bridge.”

Julilly’s delighted reaction to meeting Mr. Ross is the beginning of a life-changing connection as he goes on to be their first “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Smucker’s simile compares their shaking hands to a bridge, implying that this connection will help Julilly and the others cross from a land of enslavement to a land of freedom.

“Misery was everywhere—everywhere but on the cool greenness and the pillared whiteness of the Big House. The Big House, poised, serene and stately, ignored the slave quarters.”

This passage contrasts the “misery” of the slave quarters with the luxurious lifestyle the Riley family enjoyed in the Big House. In this passage Smucker exposes how the slave owners exploit the slaves by sharply contrasting their living conditions.

“She squeezed her friend’s hand. The return pressure calmed her. No matter what happened, no matter if Massa Riley got bloodhounds to chase them, she would help Liza, and Liza would help her.”

Julilly and Liza comfort each other as they prepare to take a great risk and escape with Lester and Adam. This quotation reinforces the girls’ strong friendship, which allows them to feel like their ambitious goal of freedom in Canada is possible.

“Julilly sat tense. Softly at first and then louder came the cry of baying dogs. Bloodhounds! Somehow their scent had been found and they or other slaves like them were being followed.”

This frightening scene increases the tension and suspense of Smucker’s work, inviting the reader to feel some of the panic that Julilly and the other escapees feel as they flee the slave hunters and their dogs.

“She wondered about the small man who drove the wagon. Was he one of the Quaker Abolitionists? Would the slave holders catch him too and put him in jail with Massa Ross?”

In this passage Smucker shows how Julilly is continually learning about the network of people and homes that are helping runaway slaves such as herself. This quotation shows Julilly’s concern for people such as Ross who are breaking the law to offer their help.

“Julilly felt dark, as if night had fallen and closed around them and they were trapped with no escape. The dogs began to whine. They had found their prey. But the shouting, men-sounds didn’t stop. Nor did the moaning, pleading slave-sounds. And, winding through them all, binding them horribly together, were the clanking sounds of chains.”

In this passage Smucker uses the darkness of night and the chains as symbols of slavery’s oppression and violence. Julilly compares the feeling of claustrophobia, of being trapped, to night closing around them. Sound imagery also gives depth to the tone of the scene with whining dogs, shouting, moaning, and clanking of chains: Each sound alone is disturbing, but taken together, the cacophony feels chaotic and terrifying.

“Julilly and Liza didn’t know how to express their gratitude to this kind lady. They couldn’t even talk about it to each other. Human kindness from the villagers of Felsheim had negated a little of the human cruelty that had made them slaves. It was hard to know how to accept these offerings from white folks.”

In this passage the girls are stunned by the kindness of the German Mennonite community in Tennessee. This unexpected experience challenges the girls’ existing worldview in which they could only expect cruelty from white people. This event reinforces how poorly Julilly and Liza have been treated in the past and suggests that it will take time to overcome their fear and wariness as they meet new people on the Underground Railroad.

“Julilly sat on her mat and cried. She had thought and dreamed of Lester and Adam dragging their heavy chains back to Mississippi. Now Jeb said they might be free right now inside of Canada. Inside her there was a welled-up fountain of joy. The tears came from its overflowing.”

Julilly is overcome with emotion when she learns of her friends’ second escape from enslavement. This passage shows her deep emotional investment in her friends’ wellbeing and prompts the reader to wonder if she may be reunited with Lester or Adam in the future.

“‘These helpin’ hands is the rails and the engines of the Underground Railroad,’ Julilly thought to herself. ‘All the way from Mississippi to Canada they is pullin’ and workin’ and makin’ a helpin’ chain. There is some good people across the land.’”

This quotation shows Julilly’s gratitude for the Underground Railroad and all the people who made her journey possible. This passage shows that Julilly’s new experiences have opened her mind and made her more trusting and positive about people.

“‘I will pray for thee.’ Aunt Katie’s voice was firm and steady. ‘And don’t you worry. Levi has no fear of the searchers. We seldom lose a slave to them.’”

Aunt Katie’s confident tone comforts the girls, who must hide in her bedroom as their house is searched by the sheriff. This quotation increases the reader’s apprehension about the girls’ well-being as the Smucker builds suspense with yet another search.

“‘We keep movin’.’ Julilly broke the silence among them. ‘We keep being lifted up and put on board. Massa Ross started it way back there in Mississippi.’”

Julilly insists that she and Liza continue to Canada as quickly as they can, despite their harrowing journey. This passage develops the theme of resilience by showing Julilly’s constant determination and positivity as well as her acknowledgment that they have received help all along the way.

“A voice cried out above the confusion: ‘Search all those cars for runaway slaves.’ Julilly’s heart pounded. She was glad for the sack and glad for the protecting arms around her. ‘Two packages of dry goods go in this car,’ she heard another voice call.”

Julilly and Liza hide in sacks so their driver can secretly deposit them onto a train in Ohio. The tense, bustling scene at the train station communicates the chaotic environment in which Julilly and Liza are in constant danger of being discovered.

“‘Then you aren’t comin’ with us?’ Julilly faced him soberly. Mr. Ross heaved his great shoulders and breathed long and full into the vastness of his chest. ‘I must return again to the South and free more of your people,’ he said.”

In this scene Mr. Ross reveals his ongoing commitment to freeing enslaved people in the South. This moment is particularly powerful since Ross’s character is based on the real-life person Alexander Ross, who used his profession as an ornithologist as the ideal cover to help communicate with slaves and provide them with opportunities for escape.

“‘We’re never goin’ back to bein’ slaves again.’ It was a pledge between them. They were near the end of their journey. Massa Ross had said that Canada and freedom were on the other side of Lake Erie. There was no more walking through the woods, or climbing mountains, or hiding in wet swamp water. ‘After all our trials, Liza,’ Julilly said slowly, ‘anything is better than goin’ back to slavery.’”

In this conversation, the girls renew their pledge that they would do anything to avoid capture. Smucker’s themes of resilience and friendship show how Liza and Julilly’s relationship helped bolster their resilience to hardship and their commitment to finding freedom.