The Known World
"A man does not learn very well, Mr Robbins. Women, yes, because they are used to bending with whatever wind comes along. A woman, no matter what the age, is always learning, always becoming. But a man, if you will pardon me, stops learning at fourteen or so. He shuts it all down, Mr Robbins. A log is capable of learning more than a man. To teach a man would be a battle, a war, and I would lose." This is Fern Elston speaking, in Edward P. Jones' wonderfully original and informative novel about slavery, The Known World. Fern Elston is a free black woman, a teacher, and she is…
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