Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Nonfiction | Biography | Middle Grade | Published in 1955

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Chapters 11-12

Chapters 13-14

Chapters 15-16

Chapters 17-18

Chapters 19-20

Chapters 21-22

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 9-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary: “The Patchwork Quilt”

In 1843, Harriet begins sewing her patchwork quilt in anticipation of her marriage to John Tubman. Despite not taking to the task naturally, she completes her project, which is her most treasured possession. Harriet’s marriage to John reinvigorates her desire to be free since John is a free man whose parents were manumitted before he was born. Using her savings of five dollars, Harriet hires a lawyer to investigate how Old Rit and her family came to be owned by Brodas. She finds that her mother, Old Rit, was cheated out of freedom by people who did not respect a will that dictated that she must be freed by age 45. Harriet is angered by the fact that her mother has been “tricked and deceived” (81) and feels that she has also borne the consequences of that injustice.

The price of cotton goes down, which results in slaves also being valued at less money. Harriet observes that the plantation, which Doctor Thompson is now managing, is in disrepair, and she worries that he will sell more slaves. When Harriet mentions running away to John, he discourages her strongly, telling her she will freeze in the northern states and that it is better to stay in Maryland, where the weather is temperate, and there are abundant natural resources. He is convinced that slaves who run away die in the harsh conditions in the North.

Harriet confesses that she often fantasizes about escaping and following the North Star to reach freedom. She tells John that she dreams she is flying until she reaches an obstacle she cannot cross. John is deeply upset at the thought of Harriet running away and tells her she is “slow-witted” (84) to have the same dream again and again and that if she were alone in the woods, she would starve to death. While Harriet is confident in her ability to forage for food in the forest, she recalls her childhood shame of running away from Miss Susan only to return from hunger. Finally, John loses his temper and tells Harriet that he will report her to the master if she runs away. Harriet cannot believe that he would betray her trust, and she feels her husband has been “replaced by a hostile stranger” (86). The couple never regains their trust; Harriet remains scared of him.

Chapter 10 Summary: “A Glory Over Everything”

In 1849 Harriet meets a white woman passing by a field where Harriet is working. The woman is interested in Harriet’s life and tells her that she lives on a farm near Bucktown. She offers to help Harriet if she ever needs it. The heir to the Brodas plantation dies, and more slaves are sold South, including two of Harriet’s sisters. Harriet resolves to run away, and three of her brothers agree to join her. Harriet is terrified that she will fall asleep involuntarily and be caught immediately.

The brothers agree that Harriet should lead the way since she knows the woods well. While Harriet finds it easy to see in the dark and moves quietly through the forest, her brothers are loud and panicked. Harriet realizes that her brothers have stopped, and they tell her they must return to the plantation because the trip is too dangerous. She explains that if they go back, they will eventually be sold; she tells them they are too afraid. Her brothers angrily force her to return to the plantation with them, and Harriet realizes that she will have to do it by herself if she is ever to escape.

Two days later, another slave informs Harriet that she and her brothers will be sold to the chain gang soon. Panicked, Harriet realizes that she must leave that night by herself. Harriet prays that her journey will be successful despite her injuries. She realizes that she would rather die than continue to be enslaved: “I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted” (94). Harriet attempts to tell her sister Mary, who works in the Big House, about her plan to leave. However, she feels she cannot do so without being caught, so instead, she sings a song about leaving for the Promised Land, hoping that other slaves will understand its meaning.

Harriet waits for her husband John to fall asleep and then leaves, taking some food and her quilt with her. She goes through the woods to Bucktown to seek the white woman who had promised to help her. The woman invites Harriet in and tells her the names of the next two people who will help her escape. Harriet realizes that the “Underground Railroad” is not literally an underground road or train but a network of people helping slaves escape the South by offering food, housing, and hiding places. Grateful for the help, Harriet gifts the woman her quilt and leaves for the next safe location. She walks through the night, fearful that patrollers are already pursuing her. She reaches the next location, where the farm owner gives her a meal and instructs her to sweep the grounds. Harriet is wary but agrees. That night the farmer puts Harriet in his wagon with boxes of vegetables and covers her with a blanket. In the early morning, the farmer stops and tells Harriet the directions for the next safe house. Harriet is amazed that white strangers would offer her help, and she thanks the man. As Harriet continues her journey north, she hides in a hay pile, attic, and potato hole, is rowed upriver by a stranger, and sometimes sleeps outside alone at night. Finally, Harriet reaches Pennsylvania, a “free state” with no slavery, which feels like heaven to Harriet (101).

In the chapter addendum, Petry notes that by 1849 about 30,000 fugitive slaves were living in northern states. Slaveowners were furious that these slaves could not be successfully caught and demanded stricter laws from Congress.

Chapters 9-10 Analysis

In these chapters, Petry uses Tubman’s conversations with her husband, John, about running away to add nuance to her characterizations. In their conversations, the two convey their different perspectives on running away and the cost of freedom. Harriet is committed to her goal of escaping slavery, and her marriage to John, a free man, is another factor prompting her to think about running away. Again motivated by her love for her family, she wants them to leave the South together so they can rest easy, knowing that their union would never be broken: “If she were sold, she would be separated from John. She truly loved him” (80). She had always assumed that “John would not deny freedom to her when he had it himself” (85). However, John does not share this perspective. Petry imagines Harriet’s inner monologue to show the different possibilities informing her situation: perhaps John was simply afraid of change, worried about being punished by Harriet’s owner, or even worse, would tell on her and be rewarded for doing so. Petry’s approach to storytelling keeps the reader focused on Harriet and John’s relationship while also hinting at situations other slaves commonly experienced when considering escape. These conversations and inner monologues add nuance to Petry’s portrayal of Tubman’s experience as an enslaved person. Not only did she have to fear the plantation owners and their neighbors but also her husband. It also reminds the reader of people such as Old Rit who, while wanting to be free, were anxious about pursuing change and sought stability instead.

These passages also bring up the theme of abolitionist activism and how it impacted slaves’ ability to escape southern plantations. Harriet’s acquaintance with a local white woman abolitionist affects her immensely since she set her on the route of the Underground Railroad. The “railroad” gave Tubman access to food and places to hide, as well as to transportation for certain parts of her journey. These activists had a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds but were united by their opposition to slavery. Petry describes these abolitionists as Quakers, German farmers, free Black people, and others, helping the reader envision the diverse people who collaborated to make the Underground Railroad a successful reality.