Trouble Don't Last

Harrison is a 70-year-old, formerly enslaved man who, along with Lilly, raised Samuel after Hannah was sold off. Harrison is also secretly Hannah’s father and Samuel’s grandfather, and Samuel doesn’t learn this until late in the novel. Harrison is determined, yet he has little hope that he and Samuel will be successful in their journey. However, despite the discouragement he feels upon witnessing the horrors around him, Harrison works tirelessly to get himself and Samuel to freedom, and his determination illustrates the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. Harrison’s character, like Samuel’s, embodies the deeper nuances of The Hardships of Enslavement as well as The Challenges of Seeking Freedom. These themes are at the heart of Harrison’s decision to conceal his status as Samuel’s grandfather. Because Harrison lost nearly all of his loved ones due to the institution of enslavement, he develops the bleak viewpoint that it is better to have no relations than to suffer the pain of losing loved ones to the injustices of enslavement. He believes that by concealing the fact that he is Samuel’s grandfather, he is sparing the boy from unnecessary pain, should he be unable to complete the journey north with Samuel.

This same love and loyalty for Samuel fuels Harrison’s decision to get Samuel to Canada, where they can be free and he can tell Samuel the truth without worrying about someone selling them away from each other. This journey is long, difficult, and even life-threatening for Harrison, who develops a bad case of pneumonia. However, although Harrison knows that he may die on the journey, he takes the risk to bring Samuel to his mother in Canada. For Harrison, the notion of family is at the heart of the hardships of enslavement and the challenges of seeking freedom. The loss of his family has made his long enslavement completely unendurable, and at the same time, the family that he has left compels him to risk his life to seek freedom. Even though he tried to seek freedom for the sake of his family once before and was caught, he tries again now and succeeds in the name of his remaining family, Hannah and Samuel.

Lilly is an older enslaved woman who, along with Harrison, raised Samuel after his mother was sold away during his infancy. Lilly is not Harrison’s wife, but they are friends and were both tasked with raising Samuel. Lilly had several children of her own, but they have all died and are now buried on the Hacklers’ plantation. Lilly, like Harrison, has developed some pessimistic viewpoints due to the abuse, loss, and grief that she has experienced. Although she is a secondary character in the larger narrative, her life story also illustrates The Hardships of Enslavement. Lilly demonstrates her love for Samuel by helping him in whatever ways she can within the constraints of enslavement. There are substantial limits to how much she can help him, but she uses her meager savings to pay for the plate he breaks, and she also convinces Mr. Hackler not to beat him and instructs Samuel on how to sneak food when Mr. Hackler forbids it. These acts demonstrate her care and loyalty toward Samuel.

Lilly decides not to attempt to run away with Samuel and Harrison, and her reticence demonstrates another aspect of The Challenges of Seeking Freedom. Lilly stays behind because she doesn’t want to leave her family’s graves, and her attachment to what remains of their memory highlights a very real factor of many enslaved people’s decision to endure enslavement rather than risking a journey toward freedom. The presence of family in any form was often a compelling reason that enslaved people might not attempt to run away. The challenges of seeking freedom entailed many unforeseen obstacles, and the deterrents against such a journey were so strong that many enslaved people avoided risking the journey at all, keen to preserve even the painfully limited lifestyle that their enslavement allowed them to have.

The Hackler family owns the plantation where Samuel, Harrison, and Lilly are enslaved before Harrison and Samuel’s escape. The Hackler family consists of Mr. Hackler, Miz Catherine, their adult son Cassius, and their young son Seth. They are each different, but they all share the qualities of cruelty, greed, pettiness, and indifference to the pain of others. They never question the institution of enslavement or view it as immoral; instead, they focus on exploiting other people for their own financial gain. Furthermore, they go to great lengths to abuse enslaved people in cruel and unusual ways, such as burning them with candles to see if the layers of their skin beneath the surface are white. They also sell family members away from one other and give people away as wedding gifts or as payment for their gambling debts. They also physically and psychologically abuse the enslaved people on their plantation.

Even after Harrison and Samuel escape the Hacklers’ plantation, the Hacklers continue to pursue them and give them trouble in indirect ways, highlighting the many complexities involved in making a break for freedom. The Hacklers chase after Harrison and Samuel and try to catch them in the woods, and even when they fail, they continue the pursuit by traveling north to Ohio and investigating further, even stopping by the same church that Samuel and Harrison end up staying at a few days later. They post notices and try to enlist the help of people in other towns and states to recapture Harrison and Samuel. For Samuel and Harrison, being recaptured is an even more terrifying prospect than being enslaved in the first place because it would cause them to suffer much more horrendous abuse: a common “punishment” to discourage them from trying to escape again and to discourage others on the plantation from making a similar attempt. However, despite all the Hacklers’ efforts to recapture Harrison and Samuel, they fail, and Harrison and Samuel reach freedom in Canada.

Hannah is Samuel’s mother, who was sold away to a different plantation when Samuel was a baby. Because of this, Samuel doesn’t remember her but relies on descriptions of her from Harrison and Lilly. While Samuel is growing up, he doesn’t expect to ever meet his mother. However, unbeknownst to Samuel, Hannah has obtained her own freedom and now lives in Chatham, Canada. She sends word of this to Harrison and Lilly, but Harrison conceals this information from Samuel until they are well along their journey.

Although the journey to freedom is treacherous and life-threatening, Hannah provides the impetus for Harrison and Samuel to finally make their attempt. Before receiving word that she was free and in Canada, they didn’t try to run, but once Harrison learns this, he jumps at the chance to help his grandson live a free life with his mother. When they arrive in Canada, Hannah already has the table set with places for them because she has been expecting them. Hannah’s character develops the meaning of “freedom” because once the family is together again, they experience a greater degree of freedom than they had before. For Harrison and Hannah, one of the most painful aspects of enslavement is being separated from their family members. Now, they are finally able to live without fear of being wrenched apart again. Thus, Hannah’s character also represents the importance of family.

The river man is a formerly enslaved man who ushers fugitives from slavery across the Ohio River, from Kentucky (where enslavement was legal) to Ohio (where enslavement was no longer legal but where formerly enslaved people could still be captured by patrols and returned to states where it was legal). The river man is harsh, speaking a brutal and unadulterated version of the truth. He also carries a gun and a knife that he uses to intimidate people into obeying him without protest. Despite the man’s intimidating ways, Samuel learns from the river man’s harsh but practical advice. Samuel even uses his advice and applies it at a crucial moment to mislead several inquisitive patrollers and enable his group to elude capture and reach Canada.

The river man develops the themes of The Challenges of Seeking Freedom as well as The Role of the Underground Railroad in American History. Although the Underground Railroad played a crucial part in ushering formerly enslaved people to freedom, the system was not perfect, and not everyone who participated in it was fully committed to the abolitionist cause. The river man is clearly committed to helping people secure their freedom, but he also doesn’t want to cause any extra problems for himself. There are limits to what he can accomplish, and he makes difficult decisions to leave problematic people behind if their behavior jeopardizes his safety or the safety of the larger group. As Shelley Pearsall notes in her afterword, the river man is based on a real figure from history, and he is therefore an iconic figure in the novel.

Mrs. Taylor is a young widowed white woman with whom Harrison and Samuel briefly stay. After the river man shuttles them across the river, Mrs. Taylor’s house is the first place they stop. Mrs. Taylor is not an enthusiastic supporter of the Underground Railroad; in fact, she makes it clear that she does not want to keep helping formerly enslaved people and only does so to honor the wishes of her deceased husband. Thus, although she helps Harrison and Samuel on her journey, she also exhibits many signs of deep racism. She is afraid of Harrison and Samuel and approaches them with a gun, and she is also disgusted by them and refuses to touch the same objects they have touched. These behavior patterns illustrate the many ways in which extreme racism persisted in the northern states and was rampant even among the people who aided freedom seekers.

Reverend Pry is the reverend of the church to which Mrs. Taylor takes Harrison and Samuel, and Mr. Keepheart is another man who works at the church. Their church has been helping freedom seekers for a while, and they always collect and write down the freedom seekers’ stories to share with their congregation. While they seem to think that doing this is a good way to inspire their congregation, they fail to consider the problems that his practice could create for freedom seekers who are still on the run, as patrollers and other pursuers can easily use the information from these stories to track down their targets. Thus, the author uses these two characters to add complexity to the theme of The Role of the Underground Railroad in American History; just as his name indicates, Reverent Pry does willfully “pry” into the private lives of those he is ostensibly trying to help, and his curiosity runs the risk of doing more harm than good. Additionally, his desire to collect stories implies that his abolitionist efforts are based on ulterior motives, as he improves his own self-image before his congregation by touting his exploits and successes as a participant in the Underground Railroad. His behavior also illustrates the fact that even allies can still exhibit racism and make mistakes that endanger the same freedom seekers they’re trying to help. Whereas Mrs. Taylor is aware of her own racism, Reverend Pry and Mr. Keepheart are not aware of theirs until Harrison points out some of their problematic behaviors, such as their story writing and their desire to look at his scars.

Because Reverend Pry and Mr. Keepheart are in contact with people such as the Hacklers, they also illustrate The Challenges of Seeking Freedom. For example, when Harrison and Samuel arrive at the church, the two men already know their names and point of origin because the Hacklers have already been there and word of the pair’s escape has spread. This dynamic indicates that there was a network of patrollers, plantation owners, and other people trying to catch formerly enslaved people and return them to enslavement. This network obstructed the network of the Underground Railroad, which had to operate secretly rather than openly, like the network of capturers.

Miz Kettle and Ham are the next guides whom Harrison and Samuel encounter on their journey. Miz Kettle meets them in the church and explains that she doesn’t know many other participants in the Underground Railroad, which makes it easier to avoid detection. Miz Kettle and Ham aren’t harsh like the river man, but they’re not particularly friendly either, and they are primarily focused on accomplishing the task at hand. Miz Kettle provides disguises to help Harrison and Samuel avoid detection. The strategy of disguise was not uncommon, especially when walking in the daylight.

In addition to their disguises, Ham provides Harrison and Samuel with a string of fish, which serves as an excuse to explain why they were out and are now walking along the road. This strategy does “work” insofar as the white man who stops Harrison and Samuel does not question whether they are formerly enslaved people. However, he does steal the fish, which is discouraging to Harrison. Although Samuel questions whether Miz Kettle and Ham are truly invested in helping them, they do ultimately help Samuel and Harrison to reach the next leg of their journey.

Green Murdock is the next person who shelters Samuel and Harrison. A white salesman, Green Murdock is talkative, pompous, and primarily focused on making money. His involvement with the Underground Railroad is a side hustle rather than a moral endeavor, as he expects payment for food and abandons Harrison and Samuel at the first sign of trouble. His refusal to fulfill his original plan of helping Harrison and Samuel, coupled with his racist assumption that local Black people should look after the sick Harrison, demonstrate one of The Challenges of Seeking Freedom.

Green Murdock also complicates The Role of the Underground Railroad in American History by showing yet another reason why someone might get involved. Whereas other characters become involved due to moral commitments, grief, or even to promote their own positive public image, Green Murdock gets involved simply to make extra money. Although he doesn’t turn Samuel and Harrison in to the patrollers, he also fails to hold up his end of the bargain. Overall, he is one of the least helpful “stops” on the Underground Railroad and therefore illustrates the fact that not all such people were trustworthy.

Belle and August Henry are a formerly enslaved Black couple who live near Green Murdock. They are not originally part of Harrison and Samuel’s Underground Railroad route, but when they see that Samuel and Harrison are in need, they are willing to help. They take Harrison and Samuel in and help Harrison to recover from pneumonia. They also come up with a viable plan to transport the pair to the shores of Lake Erie, which separates Ohio from Canada, and the pair ends up boarding one of the cargo trains that August works on. In contrast to most of the other Underground Railroad characters whom Samuel and Harrison have encountered, Belle and August are caring, friendly, and truly invested in the well-being of the pair.