One of the aspects that reveal this is the fact that the plantation turns into chaos. Caldonia, Henry's wife, affirms his worst fears after his death as she is not as disciplined and organized as her husband (Merkel, 2007). Meanwhile, Henry reads Milton and beats his slaves just as much as Robbins does. Even though he is viewed as, a cruel slave master to his own, Robbins is helplessly in love with one black woman who has as much adoration for Henry as he has for his children. In the end, some of his richest characterizations in relation to Robbins and Henry are practically revealed. Jones's thorough knowledge on social and legal intricacies of issues to do with slaveholding enables him to display a complex of the startling quality of life around the region. On the other hand, Robbins patronizes him immediately he sets up shop to be a shoemaker through helping him purchase his plantation and his first slaves1. After Henry's parents manage to secure the family's freedom, Townsend maintains a high level of allegiance to Robbins (Parrott, 2003). During his time as a slave (his youth), Henry certainly works particularly hard to make himself essentially indispensable to the master, William Robbins. Townsend is critically concerned about the eventful destiny his holdings after his early death. In Manchester County, he also owns way beyond 50 acres of land. The Known World, based on the little known fact that a number of once-enslaved people did go on to become slave owners themselves, expanded my awareness of past, present, and possible future implications of racism and classism, even as it swept me up in its saga and left me deeply moved.The author’s fictional assessment on this unusual phenomenon begins with the death of the 31-year-old Henry Townsend who is a former slave turned now a master of his own 33 slaves. As a result, I found myself entirely immersed in stirring, albeit unfamiliar situations, captivated by intriguing and complexly drawn characters, and contemplating questions and issues of injustice and oppression, desire and desperation, in new ways. I adapted by taking it slowly and savoring every word. Some readers, myself included, may find the structure and style of this narrative make for a more challenging reading experience, especially as the first pages unfold. From there, the story moves back and forth through time, as an omniscient narrator chronicles Townsend’s life, the lives of his family members, and the lives of people he encountered in the larger community.

The Known World opens as Henry Townsend, a former slave who now owns a large and fertile estate and is master to many slaves himself, lays dying. Jones, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 and the National Book Critics Award in 2003. Antebellum Virginia is the setting of this eloquently written historical novel by Edward P.

Edward p jones the known world 2003