Читать книгу Benjamin Drew. The Refugee. Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada онлайн

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Other ex-fugitives like Mrs. John Little or Thomas Jones communicate their terrible experiences with alcohol in an attempt to condemn its destructive nature and reclaim their morally accepted and acceptable selves in Canada. They also make clear the difference between the corrupted and alcoholized U.S. and the welcoming Canada, best summoned in Mrs. John Little’s own words: “I now enjoy my life very well – I have nothing to complain of”. Bridgen precisely informs that “an additional reason for practising temperance was to fight prejudice. African Canadians constantly faced racist thinking that judged an entire group by the behaviour of individuals” (72). For his part, William Grose acknowledges that “as a general thing, the colored people are more sober and industrious than in the States”. On these positions, Afua Cooper declares that “among Blacks, like whites, allegiance to temperance signified middle-class respectability and good moral character” (“Doing Battle in Freedom’s Cause” 288). Through their attachment to the temperance ideals, the ex-slave’s testimonies put forth their own legitimizing message that accentuates the moral and social differences between a condemned U.S. and a merciful Canada.