The main character is Martha ; an old Indian.
The scene takes place in winter, at the first in Virginia then in Colorado.
Martha is a representation of blacks people; it’s the first notion. Then there is the symbolism of the journey. Finally the long distance brings to freedom.
Martha represented the black segregation; she used to be a slave and she travelled a lot. When she arrived in Virginia she was a little girl. She decided going to California when she became free. She was a servant so she got much arthritis all over her body. She is exhausted and worn out. Lucy is the only relative that she has and she didn’t speak about her children. That’s why her life is long and loneliness. Her only hope is to search Lucy. She felt shameful because without identity she was not recognized. Martha has to leave her companions because she was too tired. She tries to protect herself from cold but after the Civil War she wanted to escape from Sunbelt where there is racism. Whites made black work as slaves.

West is the search of freedom; Martha looking for a place where she can be free, a place where she is a part of society. The end of the journey is a good city where whites and blacks live together in happiness. The journey is represented as a ticket for freedom to find a place where blacks are not rejected. The travel east to west is the trajectory of sun and so the trajectory of life. Martha is a pioneer because she is one of first to escape slavery, discover news things…

At the end, a white woman helps Martha, it’s the symbolic beginning of equality between whites and blacks. However the woman is still covered of prejudices because she didn’t want to touch Martha’s skin so she kept her gloves.

To conclude, the text is interesting because we can see the very slow evolution of black segregation.

Brunching out: -Martin Luther King -Nelson Mandela - Rosa