Character Description for Julilly

Julilly is a healthy black girl slave who is tall, strong, and big for her age.
Julilly is about twelve or thirteen years old. Her real name is June Lilly, but people
slur the two words together to become Julilly. Julilly's father died from being bitten
by a snake on the day she was born. Julilly lived with her mother, Mammy Sally, in
the slave cabin of the Hensen plantation until a slave trader from the deep South
came and tore her away from her mother. She was sold to the Riley plantation.
There, Julilly starts to dream about escaping to Canada: a promised land where she
can meet her mother again and where slavery is not allowed.
Throughout the story, both her actions and thoughts show that Julilly is
determined to escape to Canada and be free from slavery. She appears to be quite
hopeful about her future and does not give up easily. Julilly is also a very helpful
and friendly girl. For example, when she and her crippled friend, Liza, escaped and
went on the journey to freedom, Julilly helped and protected Liza at all times.
Another example is when Julilly helped the noisy, frightened children calm down by
singing songs when she was on her way to the Riley plantation in a wagon. This
example also tells us that Julilly is very motherly and caring. Even though Julilly
herself is very poor and has a hard life, she still has sympathy for other people. For
example, when Joe, a slave, gave all his food for the day to Julilly, she felt bad and
sympathetic for the old slave though she really needed the food.
I think that Julilly is a very courageous person because others would be too
afraid to try to escape from the Riley plantation and would have to live their lives as
slaves. Julilly risked her life several times for freedom, such as escaping from the
Riley plantation. If Julilly got caught, she would have suffered from lashes and she
might even die! It was her determination to meet her mother again and to become a
free person that kept Julilly moving on the dangerous trip. Because of her
determination, helpfulness, sympathy, and courage, Julilly is a great role model.

Character Description for Liza

Liza is a black slave girl who is scrawny and sullen. She has smooth black
skin and a low and soft voice. Liza lives in the Riley plantation without any family
members. She once tried to escape but got caught and whipped until she nearly
died. The whipping made Liza crippled and hunch-backed. Although Liza is only
about thirteen years old, she can be easily mistaken for an old lady because of her
bent back, hurt eyes, and beat-up legs. Liza also has scars running through her
cheeks and legs that give her constant pain. When her new friend, Julilly, is going to
escape to Canada, Liza decides to go along and risk her life again for freedom.
Although Liza is grumpy because of her disability, she still knows to be
thankful to others who has helped her. For example, when Julilly helped her pick
the cotton she could not reach, Liza gave Julilly a grateful smile and told Julilly that
she is a friend. Moreover, Liza has an incredible ability to endure pain and
hardships. For example, on her long trip to freedom with Julilly, Liza seldom
complains about how hard it is for her to make this trip. Also, Liza is filled with
hatred and anger. Each time Liza speaks of slavery or people who make slaves
suffer, her words came out with intense hatred and anger.
It is amazing how Liza has such a strong mind to go through her tough life.
Liza's body is physically not capable of making the trip to Canada. It is her strong
will and her hatred and anger toward slavery that kept every part of her body
moving. We should learn from Liza's ability to endure hardships and her
gratefulness to those who helped her.

Research Underground Railway

The Underground Railway was a wide network of people who helped slaves
escape to Canada from the southern states. It began in 1787 when Isaac T. Hopper
started to make a system for helping and hiding runaway slaves. The system then
got the name Underground Railway in 1831. The Underground Railway was not
an actual railway but a system that was consisted of stations: homes or
businesses where slaves could eat, rest, or hide.
A lot of people, both black and white, were involved in the Underground
Railway in different ways. For example, there were station masters who ran the
stations, stockholders who donated money or items, conductors who moved
the slaves from one station to another, and many others. By 1850, there were
about three thousand people working in the Underground Railway. Some notable
people were Levi Coffin, who helped more than three thousand slaves to freedom,
and Harriet Tubman, who made nineteen trips to the South in order to help slaves
escape. All the participants together helped approximately 100,000 slaves escape
to Canada between 1810 and 1850. Unfortunately, in 1850, the American Congress
passed the Fugitive Slave Act, allowing slave owners to recapture their slaves, even
in Canada. Moreover, anyone who got caught helping the slaves escape could be
fined $1000 and put into prison for six months.
I think the Underground Railway was a great thing because all human beings
are the same species and we should not judge them based on their skin colour or
race. So, all kinds of people in the world should have the same rights, whether their
skin colour is white or black. The Underground Railway was simply giving the
slaves the freedom that they deserved. I also think that the Underground Railway is
a good system because it was well-organized and was able to free many slaves.
What the members of the Underground Railway did was risky and difficult, so I don't
think I could have done what they did because I probably won't have enough
courage to do risky missions, such as transporting the slaves from one place to

another. However, I would still support the Underground Railway by contributing

money and items to help the poor slaves in another way.

Chapter Twenty
Sun was filtering through the window. Julilly woke up and panicked. She was
going to be late for work! Her employer would be angry. Julilly calmed down and
looked at the clock. She was relieved. Summer came and the sun rose early. It had
already been almost a year since Julilly escaped to Canada.
It was seven o'clock. She still had one hour before work. Julilly was now
working at a flower shop as an assistant to the owner. She wasn't paid much, but
Julilly liked her job.
Julilly got off the bed, which was just a thin mat spread out beside the dusty
table and stool in the room. Then she walked out of the room, careful not to wake
up Liza, who was still sleeping soundly beside her. Mammy Sally was not home.
She went out to the hotel kitchen to prepare food for the visitors.
In the dining room, Julilly sat down on a chair she found in the dump, getting
ready to have breakfast. Suddenly, the wobbly chair collapsed, and she fell to the
ground. Julilly got a hammer and some nails that Mammy Sally bought from a tool
shop. Just as Julilly finished fixing the chair, Liza came out.
What was that sound? said Liza, drowsily.
Nothing. Sorry, I woke you up? said Julilly. Then, she quickly explained to
Liza how the chair broke and how she was trying to fix it.
Julilly looked at Liza. Liza's back was still bent, but it didn't hurt as much. Liza
was now working at a farm where she sorted fruits. Liza liked her job because she
said the sorting work won't give her back pain.
For breakfast, they shared a thin slice of bread that Mammy Sally brought
back from the hotel kitchen leftovers. While they were eating, Julilly looked around
the small house. There was a room where Mammy Sally, Liza, and Julilly slept, a
dining room, and a kitchen. In the dining room, there were three chairs and a big
table. The chairs were old and the table was made of the wood that was left from
the building materials of their house. They ate out of wooden bowls and cups that
Mammy Sally brought back from the hotel when the hotel owners decided to
replace the old wooden bowls and cups with new china bowls and cups.
After eating breakfast and saying goodbye to Liza, Julilly went outside. She

picked some flowers from Mammy Sally's lily garden and went to Adam's grave.
Julilly changed the old flowers into fresh, new ones. Then, Julilly set off for work.
On the way to the flower shop, Julilly met Lester. Lester asked her, how are
ya? Julilly replied, I'm good. How 'bout you? Lester smiled and said, I'm fine.
Then he rushed off to the hotel.
Lester was still working at the hotel, but he got a raise and lived in an office in
the hotel. Julilly had been there once. Lester's office was small but cozy. It had a
real bed, a table with a lamp on it, and a chair. Also, Lester had a new job: a
teacher. Since Lester was the only black man who knew how to read and he also
taught himself to write, he became the teacher of the new school for black people
which was finished last month. Julilly went to the school to learn to read and write
on Saturdays and Sundays. Now, she could read some simple words. Julilly liked
the lessons she took with Lester because it was fun and interesting. The students
played word games in which they had to spell words out quickly before others spell
them.
Julilly finally arrived at the flower shop. Her employer, Lauren Flores, was
already there. Julilly hurried to her boss and asked, what am I doing today?
Lauren smiled at Julilly. Lauren was a middle-aged white woman. She had no
relatives, and she owned the flower shop and some flower fields near it. Lauren
was nice to Julilly, although she could be bossy sometimes. Lauren answered,
today you are going to pick the flowers off the fields.
Julilly started off to the flower fields and sighed. It wasn't that Julilly didn't like
picking flowers. It was because that it was very hot today. Thinking of her salary,
Julilly started picking diligently until noon. The sun was blazing, and it was so hot
that Julilly felt that she might melt.
Julily ran into a hut beside the fields and ate lunch. Her lunch was consisted
of a half-rotten apple thrown away from the farm where Liza worked and two yellow
slices of potato. After lunch, Julilly started picking flowers again. She finished
picking roses and now she was picking lilies, her favourite. Occasionally, Lauren
would let Julilly bring some flower seeds home for Mammy Sally's garden.
Julilly kept on picking hard, only taking brief breaks to drink water. She

worked until the evening. The sun was setting. This was her favourite part the day.
Julilly took her thin jacket out of her backpack and put it on because it was getting
chilly. She took out her dinner and sat down. Just as she was beginning to eat her
dinner and enjoy the beautiful sunset, Julilly suddenly felt a drop of water on her
nose, and soon rain was pouring down from the sky. Julilly ran into the hut to hide
from the rain, thinking that she was so exhausted that she would collapse to the
ground. Her life was just too tough! Then, she remembered her life as a slave.
Julilly remembered how slaves got caught escaping. She remembered how
the people of the Underground Railway helped her and how lucky she was to
escape to this land of freedom. It was like opening the box which locked away her
memories. Julilly realized how she should not complain about her life now because
she had a much harder life as a slave. Now, her eyes were filled with tears. Julilly
was ashamed about how she had become so used to her life now that she forgot
how hard life was as a slave. Julilly thought that she should be grateful to have a
chance to live a free life.
After reporting to Lauren, Julilly started the long walk home. The rain stopped
and the sky was clear. In her mind, Julilly decided that instead of complaining to
herself about her life now, she would be thankful from now on. Julilly would work
harder and give her family, friends, and herself a better future. She was poor, but
she was not a slave. Her life was very tough indeed, but she was free, and that's all
that mattered. She was free.