Wilson’s only known work, Our Nig; Or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, I read about a young black girl who grows up as an indentured servant to a large Bellmont family. In the readings I read, the young girl has three names: Alfrado, Frado and Nig. In this essay, I’ll refer to her as Frado. Although Our Nig is an actual fictitious novel, our literature book only gives us three chapters. Each of these small chapters tells us a great story.In Chapter IV “A Friend for Nig”, we learn what Bellmont family members are Frado’s friends and what member despises her. Our readings didn’t start from the beginning of the novel, we didn’t get a proper introduction to the characters. Instead, you have to catch on as you read. Mrs. Bellmont is married to Mr. John Bellmont. They have four children: James, Jack, Jane, and Mary. Aunt Abby is Mr. Bellmont’s sister, but Mrs. Bellmont calls her Nab. Finally, the family dog is Fido. Confused? Well, I hope I got it right. Fido, the dog we know is a friend to Frado. He may not say anything, but he listens, and sometimes we just need a friend to listen. Mrs. Bellmont, on the other hand, we learn quickly, is very abusive to Frado. She orders Frado to get the smallest wood to keep the fire burning. Frado does what she is told, but Mrs. Bellmont still wants the wood smaller and orders her again. If Frado brought the smallest wood she could find the first time, every other piece of wood had to have been slightly bigger. Mrs. Bellmont couldn’t or didn’t want to understand this, so she kicked Frado repeatedly. The only reason she stopped kicking was because John and Aunt Abby walked in (2640). When they did, Frado got up and ran away from the house where no one could find her. The conversation between Aunt Abby and John after this incident was interesting. She asks John why he puts up with his wife beating Frado if he doesn...
