Chapter 31: Incidents in Philadelphia

Chapter 31:

Incidents in Philadelphia

Summary: This chapter followed Linda as she entered into the free states. She met Rev. Jeremiah Durham and his wife and was to stay with them for five days. During this time she was treated well and did not have to live in discomfort and fear of Dr. Flint coming to find her. After those five days Linda and Fanny left to continue on their way to New York. It was on this journey that Linda encountered her first run-in with discrimination wherein she, as well as any other African American, was not allowed to sit in the first class section of the train.

Importance: It was in this chapter that Linda learns of the cruelties which occurred in the North. In the South African Americans would speak of the North as if it were heaven. They spoke of no wrongs or negative aspects whatsoever, so it often came as a surprise to them that the North was closer in similarity to the north than they had thought. This chapter displayed Linda's realization of this.

Connection to Theme: This shows how similar psychologically the North was to the South. Even though there were no slaves in the North, they still held the same rules as those in the South, only tweaking them slightly as to satisfy the public. For example, after learning about the rule of colored and white sections on the trains, Linda compared this with that of the South by saying that "colored people were allowed to ride in a filthy box, behind white people, at the South, but there they were not required to pay for the privilege". This meant that in the South the rules were the same, but unlike in the North, they didn't ask for money from the African Americans. She concluded this analogy by saying that she was saddened to learn how the North "aped the customs of slavery".