User:Jenni.mesa1023/sandbox

Plot Summary
Family begins with the ghost of Clora describing the start of slavery. Enslaved families were separated, and children were forced to have children with their owners. Clora's mother, Fammy, was constantly forced upon by the Master of the Land and bared nine of his children. These children were all sold by the time that they were three because the Mistress of the Land thought they looked too white and too much like the Master of the Land. In order to combat this, Fammy had a child with another Black slave, who she named Clora. Fammy eventually could not handle the torture of being a slave, so she killed the Master of the Land and then herself, leaving Clora behind in the hands of Miz Elliz, another slave.

Although the Master of the Land was gone, his son was now considered the Young Master of the Land. By the time that Clora was twelve, the Young Master of the Land had impregnated her and she had he first child, who she named Always because she would always love her child. Clora ended up being forced to have three more children with the Young Master of the Land, who she named Sun, Peach, and Plum. Clora constantly feared her children being taken away from her, and when it seemed that she would be killed by the Mistress and Master of the Land, Clora decided to prepare a poisonous tea so that they could all die together. Although all of the children drank the tea, Clora was the only one who died. Her spirit began to follow the lives of all of her children, but she payed special attention to Always.

Because Clora's children were all fathered by the Young Master, the Young Mistress and her two children, Loretta and Virginia, would constantly torment Clora's children. Virginia despised pretty slaves like Always and Peach because she felt that she was ugly. Loretta only liked Sun because she could tell that they were related. Loretta helped Sun both times that he attempted to run away from the farm, and throughout his enslavement, Loretta would smuggle him some extra food to eat. The first time he tried to escape, he was caught and almost tortured to death by the Young Master. The second time he attempted to escape with the help of Loretta, he was successful. Once he gained his freedom, Sun would send letters to Loretta using the pen name "Mr. Freer", and ask if she could help Peach escape. Loretta began to get jealous of the fact that Sun would constantly ask for Peach that she convinced her mother to sell Peach. The man that Peach was sold to was a nice man and eventually the two fell in love and moved to Scotland. Peach changed her name to Peachel, and her children grew in a wealthy household, became educated, and got high paying jobs. Similarly, Sun was also granted a happy life. When he was seventeen he was able to convince a business owner to let him work for only some food and a place to sleep. The business owner, Mr. DuBois, eventually recognized Sun's hard work and promotes him to work for his other businesses. Mr. DuBois's daughter also falls in love with Sun and they have children in a wealthy household.

It is 1844 and Always and Plum are the last siblings to remain on the farm, which was increasingly accumulating more debt. Doak Butler, a well-off land owner who had just become engaged, visited the farm in order to purchase a slave for his fiance, Wanda Sue. He purchased Always, but was unable to afford Plum. Plum, unable to fathom being away from her sister, managed to stow herself on the bottom of the buggy without anyone's knowledge. However, due to some form of mechanism underneath the buggy, Plum was crushed and bled to death.

Once the two arrived at Doak's land, Doak pulled Always out of the buggy and raped her. He then told Always to clean the buggy and to get rid of the remnants of her dead sister. Always was then introduced to Poon, another slave, and Jason, Doak's brother, who was paralyzed from the waist down. Always decided that she was going to take care of the farm, which had plenty of fertile land, in order to sell some of her crops and keep some money for herself. Once Doak's wife, Sue, came to the farm, she quickly became pregnant with Doak's child. Always learned that she was also pregnant with Doak's child. Although Always was prepared to hate Sue the same way she hated Doak, she never did. Sue was kind, and favored Always to the other slaves. She allowed Always to rebuild the chicken coop so that Always would have a private place to sleep with her future child, but asked Always to be present with her when it became time for her to give birth.

Sue eventually goes into labor when Doak is away for business, and after the process of giving birth to her son, she is exhausted and falls asleep. Right after she falls asleep, Always goes into labor and gives birth to her own son. Her child was born with blue eyes, like his father, and Sue's child had brown eyes. While looking at the two children, Always devises the plan to switch them so that her own child does not have to bare the realities of being a slave. In order for them to have something that connects them, she burns a mole onto his and her hip. In order for no one to notice the burn mark, she cares for both children and lets no one else touch them until the burn heals under the pretense that Sue is too weak to take care of her child. Once the burn mark healed, Always switch the children, naming the one under her care, "Soon".

Once Doak returned to the farm, he and Sue named their blue-eyed child Doak Jr. The two children grew up together and became close to one another. Master Doak was unable to sell Soon because Doak Jr. would throw a tantrum if Soon was gone. The rest of Always' children, all of them fathered by Master Doak, were sold before they were six years old. To honor them, Always names the land bought with the money from their selling after them. Meanwhile, with the land being so fertile, the farm was expanding and making plenty of money for the Doak family. Sue eventually became pregnant again, but fell ill and died with her second child. Master Doak grieved her death by sexually abusing Always, but soon he wanted another wife. He went back to Always' original owners and asked for Loretta's hand in marriage, who quickly agreed.

Major Characters
Clora

Clora is the narrator of the novel. After realizing that the slave master was going to kill her for protecting her child, she decided to concoct a poisonous tea for herself and her children. She did not want her children to continue living as slaves, especially without their mother. However, somehow she was the only one that died from the tea. Her spirit follows the lives of her four children (Always, Sun, Peach, and Plum), as well as their children. She is very family oriented and follows Always’ life the closest.

Always

Sun

Clora’s second oldest child and described as light-skinned enough to pass as white. As a child, he and his half sister Loretta became close and devised a plan for Sun to escape Swallow-Land. After being taught how to read and write by his half sister, Loretta and Sun attempted to get Sun up North. The first time, he was caught and almost killed as punishment. Him and Loretta were successful the second time, and Sun adopted the name “Mr. Freer” when he wrote to Loretta in order to try to buy his siblings. Sun was eventually hired by Mr. DuBois, a wealthy man in the food industry, and was eventually promoted within his various businesses. Sun ended up marrying Mr. DuBois’s daughter and lived a wealthy lifestyle, never letting anyone know that he was the son of a slave.

Peach

Clora’s third oldest child, described as almost-white and very pretty. Sun taught her how to read and write, and her main job was within the main house, specifically taking care of Loretta’s room. Loretta eventually asked her mother to sell Peach, who was sold to a nice gentleman looking for a slave to take care of his wife. His wife died eight months into the arrangement, and eventually the gentleman and Peach fell in love and got married. They moved to Scotsland and lived in extreme wealth.

Plum

Clora’s youngest child, often described as a weak and very sickly. Always was her caretaker and when she learned that Always was sold, she attempted to stow away on the bottom of the buggy. However, due to the mechanism of the buggy, she was crushed and then bled to death.

Loretta

Master Doak

Wanda Sue

Master Doak’s wife and the mother of Doak Jr. A kind and caring White woman who becomes very attached to Always. She dies during her second pregnancy, along with her second child. She never learns that the child she raised was never biologically hers.

Doak Jr

Soon