Question

Write a paragraph
Jourdon Anderson’s letter “To My Old Master” into Notability. Read it closely, making notes on the document as you read. Make sure you understand the text. (It’s from 1865, so that makes it a little tricky. Look up words you don’t know. Read it more than once if you need to!)

Pay special attention to the tone the author uses. Is he being straightforward or sarcastic? (Hint: would I ask this if he were being straightforward?)

Now demonstrate your understanding of Anderson’s letter by answering these two questions in a single, substantive paragraph.

What is the stated (surface) reason for Jourdon Anderson writing this letter to his former master? Support your claim with evidence from the text.

What is the implied (deeper) reason why he wrote it? What does he hope his letter will do, achieve, or demonstrate? Again, give textual support.

Answer 1

Jourdon Anderson’s stated, surface reason for writing is to answer his former master’s request that he return to the plantation: he opens by acknowledging the letter and then explains why he cannot simply come back—he is living in Ohio with a wife and children, gives their names and ages, and describes the life he now leads—so he declines the invitation unless certain conditions are met (most notably, payment for his past labor). The text supports this plainly: Anderson recounts his family situation and life in freedom and makes concrete, businesslike demands about “how much money you owe me” and the wages due before he would “be ready to return.” The deeper, implied purpose, however, is critical and satirical rather than merely practical: Anderson uses polite, measured language and mock-serious accounting of back pay and interest to shame his former master, to expose the moral and economic injustice of slavery, and to assert his dignity and autonomy. His tone—calm, ironic, and deliberately legalistic—turns the master’s request on its head: by treating his former servitude as a debt to be settled and by only “agreeing” to return for an absurdly high compensation, Anderson demonstrates that emancipation is irreversible and compels the reader (and his old master) to confront the costs and consequences of slavery rather than presume a return to the old order.