The real ingrate
The story is set in the South of the United States, before the start of the American Civil War in 1861. At that time, slavery was still legal in the southern states and was considered one of the foundations of their economy due to the amount of capital invested in slaves. Many slaves managed to escape north through the underground railway and Joshua Leckler was one of them. What made his escape possible ? Was it the education he had received or his own master's arrogance ?
From the very beginning, the personality of Mr.Leckler is described in a sarcastic way. The first fact stated in the story is that he is a man of high principle, but later we find out that he didn't mind breaking the law at the prospect of making more money and mock the other master, showing off the capacities of his own slave. He is also a person who asks for advice but does not follow it. In numerous occasions his wife told him that educating a slave was not a good idea but he always dismissed her arguing that he was doing it for the sake of Josh, because he didn't want him to be cheated on anymore. At the end of the story he even blamed his wife for Josh's escape, saying that he acted upon her mistaken advice. This made realise how high he really thinks of himself, at the extent believing his own lies. In my opinion, he truly thinks that he allowed Josh to have a basic education because of his immense kindness and goodness of heart, and that Josh is an ingrate for seeking his own freedom instead of working for him for the rest of his life. The real ingrate is Mr.Leckler, who saw see the profit he could make out of Josh's inteligence, showing his enemies that if they couldn't even deceive one of his slaves, how would they be able to do it with the master ? In the end, it was his own arrogance what deceived him.
Josh's intelligence also played a big role in his escape. For the beginning, we know that josh is different from the other slaves. His extraordinary capacities made him the most on demand slave, and he knew how to take advantage of that situation. In the eyes of his master he was a docile slave that never complained or failed to do a job, but in reality he only had one thing in mind, his freedom. While the other hopeless slaves mocked him for not taking a wife, he was educating himself and refused to share the same fate with them, a future where the only source of happiness would be taking a wife and fathering children who are condemned to slavery since birth.
Joshua could achieve his freedom thanks to his determination of forcing a fate for himself. He knew what kind of person his master was and what side of his personality he should show. Mr. Leckler is the kind of man who believes he is always right, greedy to be above others. He lives in his own lie, treating the people that surround him as puppets from which he only accepts compliments. Those are the attitudes for which he lost Josh, and that make him the real ingrate.
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