Freedom vs. Obedience Theme Analysis

The Longest Memory explores the horror of slavery through its dissection of life on a Virginia plantation in the early nineteenth century. Whitechapel, the oldest and most respected slave on the plantation, does not believe in his freedom, trusting instead that he should show subservience toward his master, Mr. Whitechapel, to protect his life. By contrast, Whitechapel’s son, Chapel, wants to fight for liberation. When Chapel escapes from the plantation, Whitechapel is forced to decide whether he wants to let his son attempt a risky journey to the North, which is likely to get him killed, or whether he should negotiate with Mr. Whitechapel a fair punishment that would spare Chapel’s life. Whitechapel’s subsequent decision to betray his son’s whereabouts leads to Chapel’s brutal whipping and ultimate death, shattering Whitechapel’s views about obedience. D’Aguiar uses Chapel’s death to underscore the fact that, no matter how well they behave, slaves inherently lack the freedom to protect their own bodies and lives. In this way, he ultimately suggests that the only way for slaves to maintain a sense of agency and humanity is to retain their own moral freedom. Otherwise, they become nothing more than mere tools blindly serving the master’s purposes.

A core conflict of the novel arises from the contradiction between Whitechapel and his son’s differing conceptions of a meaningful life. Whitechapel advocates a philosophy of survival, deeming it necessary for slaves to obey their masters in order to protect themselves and their families. Chapel, on the other hand, believes that life is only worth living if he can achieve freedom. Whitechapel’s firmly held belief in the protective nature of obedience is why, when Chapel runs away, Whitechapel disapproves of this action and fears for his son’s life. His misguided decision to tell the master about his son’s whereabouts follows a personal logic based on physical preservation. Indeed, Whitechapel believes that his son is more likely to die if he runs away than if he stays on the plantation, because trackers will kill him outright if they find him. Whitechapel trusts that his ability to negotiate a fair punishment with his master will spare his son’s life, as well as discourage other slaves on the plantation from trying to escape (and, it follows, keep them from endangering themselves). In this way, Whitechapel is willing to sacrifice slaves’ moral and spiritual freedom in order to protect their physical lives.

However, Whitechapel does take part in small acts of resistance that reveal an underlying belief in his own moral agency. These acts show that he is willing, within certain boundaries, to defend his freedom. After Chapel’s escape, he temporarily conceals information from his master, in the goal of trying to negotiate his son’s fair treatment. Mr. Whitechapel, he notes, “was furious and appeared to judge my knowledge of my son’s whereabouts as some form of power over him, my master.” Later, Whitechapel audaciously argues with Sanders Junior, the plantation’s overseer, who wants to give Chapel two hundred lashes instead of following the master’s orders. In both cases, Whitechapel oversteps his own role and shows defiance toward his superiors for the sake of protecting his family. He seems convinced that, in these particular cases, he has the right to speak his mind and defend his point of view, even if this involves small acts of disobedience.

This defiance shows that Whitechapel does trust in his power to determine right from wrong and to exercise moral agency. It also demonstrates a largely illusory trust in the system, as Whitechapel believes that his master and the overseer will actually be able and willing to protect his son’s life. After Chapel’s death, Whitechapel realizes that he does not actually have the power to protect his own son’s life, and that his views about obedience are therefore erroneous. Obedience does not protect one’s life, but rather encourages dehumanizing passivity and subjugation. He realizes that slaves’ survival is arbitrary and subject to the whims of authority figures. The only hope for slaves to maintain their humanity, then, is for them to believe in their own internal freedom, separate from the rules of slavery.

This leads Whitechapel to conclude that survival without freedom is meaningless. Without the capacity to transform one’s internal knowledge of right and wrong into concrete action, the life of an obedient slave loses all purpose. “[I] decided that from this day I had no name,” he notes, speaking about the day of Chapel’s death. “I was just boy, mule, nigger, slave or whatever else anyone chose to call me.” As a passive, resigned slave, he becomes a mere piece of property, like a “mule,” that must serve the plantation staff’s orders even if they threaten his life or those of the people he loves.

Retaining one’s humanity within the confines of slavery thus involves trusting in one’s own freedom, however frail this freedom might be. Regardless of the riskiness of Chapel’s escape attempt, it allowed him to take control over his life and assert his human agency. Similarly, Whitechapel’s discussions with his master and the overseer protected his humanity, demonstrating that he retained his freedom of thought. Therefore, without such protection of one’s moral independence, being a slave merely equates to being a piece of the master’s property.

Furthermore, the possibility for a slave to retain a sense of freedom has the potential to impact an entire community. For example, Whitechapel’s desire to punish his son for running away makes him complicit of the entire system of slavery, as his rigid principles turn him into an oppressor whose actions perpetuate discrimination and injustice, by reducing everyone’s incentives to run away or rebel. Similarly, even if Chapel’s desire to run away is personal, his decision is also a political one, affirming symbolically that no human being should have to live in such degrading conditions. More than a mere conflict between father and son, then, Whitechapel and Chapel’s views about freedom have potential repercussions on everyone’s lives. They are capable of inspiring slaves to rebel or, on the other hand, to accept their harrowing existence.