A relationship often overlooked

A slave master is not a slave master without owning slaves like a professor is not considered a professor unless they are conducting a class of students. Both parties are constantly dependent on one another, but a relationship that is often overlooked is the dependency of the slave owner on the slaves and the professor on the students. Slave owners rely on slaves to obey orders and conduct work for power and profit. In the end, it is obviously the slaves making the profit for the owner rather than the owner making a profit for himself. Between the majority of the slave population and the dependency on the slave population for the white population to succeed makes you wonder, why did the majority fall into the shadows and the minority governed

In the novel, Dana exposes this dependent relationship to the fullest. If it was not for Dana, Rufus have been dead long before he actually was, and for all we know, the plantation would not have been as functioning as it was. Tom Weylin realizes this dependency he feels for Dana as he allows Dana to read to Rufus, take care of his wounds, and even feed him. On the other hand, Dana brought a sense of comfort and advice to the slaves, which resulted in a more civilized lifestyle for both the slaves and Tom Weylin’s family. Dana acted as a buffer between the white community and the black slaves, exposing the white population’s dependency on the black’s population to be successful and functioning.