Jim Meaher Character Analysis in Barracoon

One of the brothers who financed the illegal slave-trading expedition in which Cudjo was forcibly brought to America. Cudjo spends his five years of enslavement working on Jim Meaher’s plantation. Although Cudjo credits Jim Meaher for treating slaves more humanely than his brothers Tim and Burns, it’s always clear that Meaher is unwilling to treat Cudjo and his brethren as humans with legitimate rights, even after the Civil War legally frees them.

Jim Meaher Character Timeline in Barracoon

The timeline below shows where the character Jim Meaher appears in Barracoon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

In 1859, three brothers—Jim, Tim, and Burns Meaher—and a captain named Bill Foster colluded to launch an illegal but... (full context)

...a tugboat to tow the Clotilda to a safe location. When he receives the message, Jim Meaher goes to the local church, where the tugboat pilot is attending services and calls... (full context)

Cudjo says that his real name is Kossula. When he arrived in America, his master Jim Meaher was unable to pronounce his name. Cudjo asks him, “Well, I yo’ property?” When... (full context)

Cudjo is part of the group of slaves claimed by Jim Meaher. He travels to Meaher’s plantation, where he and the others live under Meaher’s house,... (full context)

Jim Meaher is kinder towards his slaves than his brothers. For example, he sees that Cudjo’s... (full context)

...even the women have to work hard in the field. Cudjo himself usually works on Jim Meaher’s boat, which carries freight and lumber from Mobile to Montgomery. Every time the boat... (full context)

...blockade, so little coffee or foodstuffs reach the village. To keep his slaves from starving, Jim Meaher allows them to kill some of his hogs, saying that “de hogs dey his... (full context)