James: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of sexual assault, abuse, racism, and enslavement.

“My change in diction alerted the rest to the white boys’ presence.”

The narration in this novel moves between standard English and dialect. Among themselves, enslaved characters speak in standard English, but around white people they switch to dialect. This is because they know that dialect, which is perceived as less educated, is what white people expect from the enslaved. These linguistic shifts are part of the novel’s commentary on race and racism in the pre-emancipation United States.

“Religion is just a controlling tool that they employ and adhere to when convenient.”

James instructs enslaved children on how to interact with white people, and part of that instruction is a conversation on religion. His broader point here is that the white people’s religion is just one of their many means of subjugating the enslaved. To assert that there is a god who would tacitly approve of the serial abuse and enslavement of men and women while offering them promises of happiness in heaven is hypocritical and manipulative.

“Mos’ peoples likes money mo’ ’n anything else, white folks anyway.”

Although the various white enslavers depicted in this novel are unaware of the fact, Jim and the other enslaved characters have ample time to contemplate The Brutality of Enslavement and the moral failings of those who enslave. Greed, Jim realizes, is one of white people’s primary motives for enslaving Black people.