Corrections Property the Book \"Property\"

Corrections

Property

The book "Property" by Valerie Martin, written in 2003, takes place on an 1828 southern plantation. The main theme of this book is slavery, the "property" of the title, but it also illustrates how married women were "property" to their husbands, and that they had few rights to call their own. The main character, Manon Gaudet, narrates the book in first person, and she is both unsympathetic and intensely interesting at the same time.

The main character is married to a sugar cane planter who she despises. Her "servant," Sarah, comes to the marriage as a "gift," and ends up as a mistress to Manon's husband. She has at least one child by him, as well. Manon is tough, unromantic, bitter, and not very likable. She is not the least bit concerned about her slaves or their welfare, and she sees the world effectively in black and white, with little fluff or color. In the end, she becomes cruel and indifferent, determined to keep Sarah a slave instead of allowing her freedom. She proves that she has no idea of what the blacks face as slaves, and that she does not care. The ending of the novel proves this, and proves her inhumanity and callousness, as well. In the end, she is no better than her husband, who used her and treated her as property. She is just the same, and just as unfeeling and empty.

Manon's husband is really a minor character in the novel, even though he is the source of her unhappiness and bitterness. He carries on an affair with Sarah under Manon's nose, and refuses to change. He is weak, although he tries to appear strong and in control - but the only thing he really controls in Manon. He is also a sexual pervert, which makes him even more repugnant and weak to the reader.

The author does use metaphor, but sparingly. She calls the doctor a "walking newspaper" (Martin 42), at one point, a nice image of a gossip, but metaphor is not the key ingredient of literary device in this book. Other devices play a larger role, and make the book more readable and enjoyable.

The author uses language effectively to paint vivid images for the reader. They are sprinkled through the book so they do not become too commonplace or ordinary. For example, she writes, "The torches were like flaming birds swooping and soaring over their heads" (Martin 21). The images make the book and the people come alive, and they show how much research the author put into the time and place so she could capture these details and make them come alive for the reader. Later she writes, "I could make out the shape of the oak, but only as texture, like black velvet against black silk" (Martin 42). The language is beautiful, but it paints a picture too, and the reader immediately understands what Manon is seeing.

Manon tells much of this historical volume in narrative. Because she is looking at events as they happened, the book has to be in narrative form, and it reads as if she is telling a story to a trusted friend. She gives her deepest emotions life in the narrative, so the reader comes to understand her pain, bitterness, and anger, and it helps make the book more real and compelling. The narrative helps the story move along more rapidly, as well, condensing some of the actions so they do not bog down the story or the pace.

The author's title is based on symbolism, because it symbolizes both the plight of the African-Americans and the plight of women of the time. When her mother dies, Manon learns she has inherited quite a bit of property and money, but she actually has no claim on it. Martin writes, "All this is mine, and yet it is not mine, because my husband can, and doubtless will, dispose of it just as soon as I can get it" (Martin 83). In reality, Manon is just as much a piece of property as the slaves, and she has just about as many rights. Thus, the novel symbolizes the way society allowed the strong to take advantage of the weak, whether they were women or slaves, and how the people suffered under this system.

The author uses lyrical prose to underscore the characters' actions and thoughts, especially Manon. For example, she writes, "I sat late in the cold room tending it, feeding it, until sparks ignited the dry tinder of my resentment, and it was as if I were sitting in a furnace" (Martin 89). The passage is extremely lyrical and symbolic, and it shows the burning anger that is flaming inside Manon, and gives the impression she will not be able to easily put this fire out. The author uses lyrical language like this throughout the novel, often using it in the way Manon speaks and thinks to indicate that she is a strong-willed and passionate woman, who does not deserve to be the property of anyone.

The author uses diction to portray the difference in the characters and their social stations. Manon speaks (and narrates) in perfect English, while Sarah and the other slaves speak in a black dialect that represents the lack of education slaves experienced. This distances the whites and blacks in the novel, and adds to the symbolism of the title. The blacks have no advantages and the whites do, but in the end, there is really little difference between them. Many of the whites can be cruel and violent, and the blacks are just as cruel and violent when they revolt. Their speech differentiates them, but that is about all that makes them different in this novel. Diction is often symbolic of "breeding" and quality, but in this novel, it is a symbol of the master and the slave, and how little distance there really is between them.

This text captured my attention from the very beginning, because the writer uses words so effectively, and the characters are so interesting. Manon is a fascinating woman and not your typical heroine at all. She is cold, unfeeling, and largely unsympathetic to anyone but herself, but her life is fascinating because she is so unique. For example, she thinks about her husband after his death, "He had not so much destroyed my life as emptied it, and now that he was gone, I had to pretend there was something alive in me" (Martin 153). Martin uses words to paint pictures, but she also paints the character's pain and bitterness with these words, which makes them much more effective and enticing. The reader can feel the character's pain, and so, she becomes sympathetic, even if she is so very unlikable. This is the measure of a good writer, and Martin is a good writer. She uses text and language extremely effectively, and in doing so, adds another layer of meaning and symbolism to the novel. Manon symbolizes women everywhere who are unhappy and distressed, from a black slave to a white mistress who hates her husband, and Martin creates this effect with her text, imagery, and understanding of how to create memorable characters.