Excerpt:
The judges of the murder trial did not care that he killed a man, they were more focused on gaining the lost value from their erroneous inventory, aka Chambers (Twain, 144). This example supports the presentation that slavery still existed in communities in the South long after reforms such as the Reconstruction period. Twain demonstrates that even though people, such as Roxy and her son, were so close to escaping the system, they could never have avoided being sold down the river while slavery was still engrained and practiced in society.
Excerpt:
Reflecting upon her youth, the narrator states that while Calixta did possess feelings for Alcée, “…she was still inviolate; a passionate creature whose very defenselessness…made her defense, against which his honor forbade him to prevail” (Chopin, 631). Chopin is commenting on the restrictions that young women had to abide by in the 19th century. Women were viewed as pure and untouched, therefore the only man society deemed appropriate for them to be with were their future husbands. Chopin presents the idea that women should have been allowed to have forbidden romances, such as the one between Calixta and Alcée, as they would lead to a happier life for both families.
