My Precious Broomhilda,
Not a day goes by that I don't imagine caressing the outline of your beautiful face or hearing the sweet sweet sound of your voice calling my name. Since being separated and sold to different masters, I have been scheming on how to return the warm embrace of your arms.
Darling,
I write to inform you that your day of freedom and our reunion is in the
horizon! Fate has blessed me and set me on a course of action better than any
plans of escape and elusion that have spun from my mind. I am currently
traveling with a German bondsman who, you won’t believe, kills white people a
living and gets paid for doing it! He killed my master who bought me that
fateful day we were separated and since then I have been passing as a freeman
and an assistant to Dr. Schultz, my German friend. This past winter we have
been traveling all over the South, claiming bonds in exchange for the corpses
of the convicts we’ve killed. Despite being in the South, I’ve managed to evade
suspicion quite successfully. Dr. Schultz kindly gave me a horse on the day he
rescued me and the mere presence of a nigger on a horse baffles all who lay
eyes on me. I never realized how much respect is instantly gained just from
mounting this big-ribbed animal.
Furthermore,
I admit that I might have taken advantage of the doctor’s generosity and
fashioned myself as a true English gentlemen, complete with all the ruffles and
frills befitting of a wealthy, respected man. My suit is the color of the sky
on a clear, crisp Louisiana morning which, although it does attract even more
attention in addition to what the horse affords me, I believe intimidates
people from questioning the validity of our disguise.
And as
you can see from the existence of this letter that I’ve learned to read and
write! Dr. Schultz taught me how to read from the bond papers, which only
strengths our alibi of my being a freeman and an assistant to the doctor. I’ve
been thinking, once we’ve bought your freedom and have left the South, you can
disguise yourself as an assistant to the doctor, especially given your fluency
in German!
Again,
our day of reunion could not come sooner but for now, rest assured that we will
be together once more and have a bright and secure future as a freeman and
freewoman.
With
Immense Love and Longing,
Your
Django
Very interesting! I particularly like your discussion of the performative aspects of race -- rather than skin color alone, it is the clothing, the association with a white man, the mannerisms, and even the fact of literacy that makes Django believable as a free man.
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