The adjective “sympathizing” means to share in grief, suffering, or to have an affinity with someone else. Linda here tells readers about how wonderful her grandmother was as well as her comfortable and welcoming home. Her use of “sympathizing” shows that her grandmother understood her and the struggles she faced. The relationship between Linda and her grandmother is one of the strongest and most important relationships in the text.
"Sometimes I wished that he might die in infancy..."See in text(Chapter XI)
This statement offers insight into what slave mothers felt when they gave birth to a child. Linda expresses the wish that her child would die before having to grow up and endure the life of a slave. It is well documented that the life of a slave was filled with pain, both physical and emotional. Linda wanted to save her child from such a life. Her wish for her child to die rather than live a slave’s life offers some insight into how truly terrible slavery was.
