Morzaria 1

Your Name (Times New Roman 12)

Professors Name (CORRECT SPELLING)

Subject

Date of submission

Title of topic

Odd Numbers - Book Review / Essay 3

Even Numbers - Show Review / Essay 4

While Precis writing starts from the start, review writing has paragraph tabs (see below).

Works Cited

Sources that you have cited word to word. (Source to be mentioned in the bracket)

References

Every website/book that you have referred to.

Plagiarism Report

See the page below for an example written by me. You don't need to write it in more than 500

words, this is an old published paper of mine attached as an example.

 Morzaria 2

Sneh Morzaria

Dr. Homi Bhabha

Communicative English 1

28th October, 2022.

A review of Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

1. Introduction:

Washington Black (2018) by Esi Edugyan is the story of George Washington ‘Wash’

Black’s escape from slavery onboard a cloud-cutter, a scientific invention by his master Mister

Cristopher ‘Titch’ Wilde and his subsequent adventures of finding love, escaping man-catchers

and ultimately finding his truth. It represents the real past of the African Americans, the realistic

dynamic between a master and slave, the role fear plays in a slave’s life and how slaves were

used as guinea pigs in scientific experiments.

It has won several awards like the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was shortlisted for

the Booker Prize, 2018 and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. The novel is written through

the lens of realism and is roughly based on ‘the Tichborne Claimant’1, a short story that Edugyan

had read.

Born on the ‘Faith plantation’ in Barbados, the story begins when the original owner

Richard Black dies leaving the plantation to an extremely cruel Master - Erasmus Wilde, his

nephew, when Washington was just eleven years old. Though Wash was raised by Big Kit, a

fellow slave woman who is later revealed to be his mother, he is later taken in by Titch and

1
In the 1850s, a British aristocrat named Roger Tichborne was shipwrecked off the coast of South America and
presumed dead. His devastated mother never gave up hope; a decade later, when Lady Tichborne heard that Roger
might be alive in Australia, she offered a reward for information. After a butcher named Thomas Castro emerged
claiming to be her long-lost son, she sent Andrew Bogle - a former Black slave who had been stolen from a
Caribbean plantation to become a family servant - to verify Castro’s identity. When other members of the Tichborne
family took the case to court, believing this foreign man to be an imposter, Bogle became a main witness for the
defense. It was the hidden narrative of Bogle’s life that inspired Edugyan to create her character, Washington Black.
 Morzaria 3

raised as a ‘science’ boy and taught english and science that later helps him establish ‘The Goff

Ocean House’ for aquatic animals at the mere age of eighteen under the name of Mr. Goff, his

girlfriend Tanna’s father as the London Zoological Committee would not pay heed to the ideas of

a negro boy with a scarred skin.

2. Review:

The first President of the United States of America, George Washington2, at the end of the

Civil War, ‘allowed’ the black population the dignity of a surname and in the process of asserting

their freedom a major population of the black community chose the surname Washington. Even

though Wash is named George Washington Black, Titch plays the role of President Washington

in the novel - he taught him science and gave him adequate education that the younger

African-Americans were promised.

The relationship that a master and slave share is depicted in four ways in the novel. One

is Wash’s journey under the rule of Mr. Richard Black, his original owner, who kept detailed

records of all his slaves that later helped Wash discover that Big Kit, the slave woman he grew

up with, was his own mother and even gave him his date of birth, thus giving him an identity -

April 19, 1818. The next was his relationship with Master Erasmus Wilde who he described as a

ghost like a white duppy who could vanish and reappear at his will and who survived by drinking

blood. A very vile person, he knew the importance that Wash played in Titch’s life and would

constantly use him in their power struggle. When Wash successfully escaped with Titch, he took

this a notch further by releasing this pamphlet to catch him:

“A Reward of One Thousand Pounds will be paid for the capture of GEORGE

WASHINGTON BLACK, a Negro Boy of small stature, his countenance marked with

Burns; a Slave for life. His Clothing is a new Felt Hat, black Cotton Frockcoat and
2
Almost ninety percent of Americans with the surname Washington are African-Americans.
 Morzaria 4

Breeches, and new Stockings and Shoes. He may be travelling alongside an Abolitionist

White Man not his lawful owner, with Green Eyes and Black Hair, of tall stature.

Whoever secures the Murderous Slave so that I get him Dead or Alive shall have ONE

THOUSAND POUNDS reward.

JOHN FRANCIS WILLARD, acting agent for

ERASMUS WILDE

Faith Plantation, Barbados, British West India”. (Edugyan, Washington Black, page 341)

Erasmus’s brother, Master Philip played a major role in Wash’s escape from Faith

Plantation when he, a master, declared that Wash as a slave had it easier in life where everything

was laid out for him and even apologized to him for being the reason his face got burnt in the

cloud-cutter accident when he asked Wash to get him a sandwich despite Titch’s safety protocols

in place. He later suicided right in front of Wash forcing him to flee as he would be blamed for

Philip’s death - depicting the reality that no one would believe a negro slave’s truth.

Wash’s relationship with Titch was the most realistic aspect of the novel and portrayed

how real a friendship between a master and slave can be. Titch only takes in Wash because he is

of the perfect girth of the weight required on board a cloud-cutter and even educates him for

better communication between them. Though he pretends to be caring for Wash when he plans

their escape, in reality he is doing this for himself because staying at Faith Plantation would lead

him to rule the slaves, something which he did not want to do as he was an adventurous man of

Science. When he feels that Wash is a burden to him, he quickly parts ways with him, leaving a

thirteen year old Wash alone in the arctic north. When he crash lands the cloud-cutter on the

Kansts’ ship, he is quick to proclaim that Wash is ‘his property’ to safeguard their travel. And

when Wash meets him for the last time, he has easily replaced him with another nine-year-old
 Morzaria 5

Moroccan boy. Despite this, his affections and care for Wash were very real and he even formed

The Abolitionist Society for the Betterment and Integration of Former Slaves.

Fear is the most realistic emotion in the entire novel. Wash escaped from Faith plantation

but his entire journey ahead is guided by this one emotion - the fear of being told upon, the fear

of being re-captured and killed. For a boy who never knew the world outside his plantation,

being able to travel the globe should have been a liberating experience but because he is trapped

by these emotional burdens, it is clear how fear is just as restrictive and emotionally damaging as

physical activity. He even declares that if it hadn’t been for the fear of getting killed, he wouldn’t

have gotten on the cloud-cutter, an invention that he himself did not trust.

The face of Wash’s fear is none other than John Francis Willard, the man-catcher. His

entire journey is shadowed by the fear of being caught by him and when he finally does meet

him, he is unable to even swallow a morsel of food in front of him despite there being no fault of

his. Though John portrays that he has forgiven and forgotten Wash after losing his credibility as a

man-catcher when he could not find them for years, he later attacks Wash and in the ensuing

battle loses his eye when Wash stabs him with a knife.

3. Conclusion:

Edugyan gives us comprehensive details about Wash’s everyday life where his day is

spent taking care of Titch and ending with drawing for pleasure and ultimately burning it out.

The character development of Wash is wonderful - he goes from being a slave to the man who

enslaves aquatic animals inside fish tanks to realising his truth and going into the desert’s

solitude. The novel not only shows us the relationship between a master and slave but also the

class distinction in the entire globe at the time slavery existed.

 Morzaria 6

4. Works Cited:

Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. Manipal, Manipal Technologies Limited, 2019.

5. References:

Carter, Sue. “Esi Edugyan on the inspiration for her new book Washington Black.” Toronto Star,

15 September 2018,

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/09/15/esi-edugyan-on-the-inspiration-

for-her-new-book-washington-black.html. Accessed 22 June 2021.

Wikipedia Publishers. “Esi Edugyan.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, 27 May 2021,

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Esi_Edugyan&oldid=1025480001. Accessed

20 June 2021.

Zelazko, Alicja. “The novel.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/realism-art/The-novel.

Accessed 20 June 2021.

Waterstones. “Esi Edugyan: The Waterstones Interview.” Youtube, 19 October 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FTHSPIlzCo. Accessed 22 June 2021.

Flexner, James Thomas. “Washington and Slavery.” The New York Times, 22 February 1973,

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/22/archives/washington-and-slavery.html. Accessed

23 June 2021.
 PLAGIARISM SCAN REPORT

Date 2022-10-27

9% 91% Words 912

Plagiarised Unique

Characters 5584

Content Checked For Plagiarism

Sneh Morzaria
Dr. Homi Bhabha
Communicative English 1
28th October, 2022.
A review of Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
1. Introduction:
Washington Black (2018) by Esi Edugyan is the story of George Washington ‘Wash’ Black’s escape from slavery onboard a
cloud-cutter, a scientific invention by his master Mister Cristopher ‘Titch’ Wilde and his subsequent adventures of finding
love, escaping man-catchers and ultimately finding his truth. It represents the real past of the African Americans, the
realistic dynamic between a master and slave, the role fear plays in a slave’s life and how slaves were used as guinea pigs in
scientific experiments.
It has won several awards like the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, 2018 and the
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. The novel is written through the lens of realism and is roughly based on ‘the Tichborne
Claimant’, a short story that Edugyan had read.
Born on the ‘Faith plantation’ in Barbados, the story begins when the original owner Richard Black dies leaving the
plantation to an extremely cruel Master - Erasmus Wilde, his nephew, when Washington was just eleven years old. Though
Wash was raised by Big Kit, a fellow slave woman who is later revealed to be his mother, he is later taken in by Titch and
raised as a ‘science’ boy and taught english and science that later helps him establish ‘The Goff Ocean House’ for aquatic
animals at the mere age of eighteen under the name of Mr. Goff, his girlfriend Tanna’s father as the London Zoological
Committee would not pay heed to the ideas of a negro boy with a scarred skin.
2. Review:
The first President of the United States of America, George Washington, at the end of the Civil War, ‘allowed’ the black
population the dignity of a surname and in the process of asserting their freedom a major population of the black
community chose the surname Washington. Even though Wash is named George Washington Black, Titch plays the role of
President Washington in the novel - he taught him science and gave him adequate education that the younger African-
Americans were promised.
The relationship that a master and slave share is depicted in four ways in the novel. One is Wash’s journey under the rule of
Mr. Richard Black, his original owner, who kept detailed records of all his slaves that later helped Wash discover that Big
Kit, the slave woman he grew up with, was his own mother and even gave him his date of birth, thus giving him an identity
- April 19, 1818. The next was his relationship with Master Erasmus Wilde who he described as a ghost like a white duppy
who could vanish and reappear at his will and who survived by drinking blood. A very vile person, he knew the importance
that Wash played in Titch’s life and would constantly use him in their power struggle. When Wash successfully escaped
with Titch, he took this a notch further by releasing this pamphlet to catch him:
“A Reward of One Thousand Pounds will be paid for the capture of GEORGE WASHINGTON BLACK, a Negro Boy of small
stature, his countenance marked with Burns; a Slave for life.
His Clothing is a new Felt Hat, black Cotton Frockcoat and Breeches, and new Stockings and Shoes.

Page1of2
 He may be travelling alongside an Abolitionist White Man not his lawful owner, with Green Eyes and Black Hair, of tall
stature.
Whoever secures the Murderous Slave so that I get him Dead or Alive shall have ONE THOUSAND POUNDS reward.
JOHN FRANCIS WILLARD, acting agent for
ERASMUS WILDE
Faith Plantation, Barbados, British West India”. (Edugyan, Washington Black, page 341)
Erasmus’s brother, Master Philip played a major role in Wash’s escape from Faith Plantation when he, a master, declared
that Wash as a slave had it easier in life where everything was laid out for him and even apologized to him for being the
reason his face got burnt in the cloud-cutter accident when he asked Wash to get him a sandwich despite Titch’s safety
protocols in place. He later suicided right in front of Wash forcing him to flee as he would be blamed for Philip’s death -
depicting the reality that no one would believe a negro slave’s truth.
Wash’s relationship with Titch was the most realistic aspect of the novel and portrayed how real a friendship between a
master and slave can be. Titch only takes in Wash because he is of the perfect girth of the weight required on board a
cloud-cutter and even educates him for better communication between them. Though he pretends to be caring for Wash
when he plans their escape, in reality he is doing this for himself because staying at Faith Plantation would lead him to rule
the slaves, something which he did not want to do as he was an adventurous man of Science. When he feels that Wash is a
burden to him, he quickly parts ways with him, leaving a thirteen year old Wash alone in the arctic north. When he crash
lands the cloud-cutter on the Kansts’ ship, he is quick to proclaim that Wash is ‘his property’ to safeguard their travel. And
when Wash meets him for the last time, he has easily replaced him with another nine-year-old Moroccan boy. Despite this,
his affections and care for Wash were very real and he even formed The Abolitionist Society for the Betterment and
Integration of Former Slaves.

Matched Source

Similarity 6%
Title:frockcoat in Dutch - English-Dutch Dictionary | Glosbe
His Clothing is a new Felt Hat, black Cotton Frockcoat and Breeches, and new Stockings and Shoes. Zijn Kleding bestaat uit
een nieuwe Vilthoed, een zwarte Katoenen Jas en Broek, en …
https://glosbe.com/en/nl/frockcoat

Similarity 6%
Title:Washington Black: A novel - Google Books Result

https://books.google.com/books?id=XNRGDwAAQBAJ

Page2of2
 PLAGIARISM SCAN REPORT

Date 2022-10-27

12%
88%

Words 407
Plagiarised Unique

Characters 2986

Content Checked For Plagiarism

Fear is the most realistic emotion in the entire novel. Wash escaped from Faith plantation but his entire journey ahead is
guided by this one emotion - the fear of being told upon, the fear of being re-captured and killed. For a boy who never
knew the world outside his plantation, being able to travel the globe should have been a liberating experience but because
he is trapped by these emotional burdens, it is clear how fear is just as restrictive and emotionally damaging as physical
activity. He even declares that if it hadn’t been for the fear of getting killed, he wouldn’t have gotten on the cloud-cutter,
an invention that he himself did not trust.
The face of Wash’s fear is none other than
John Francis Willard, the man-catcher. His entire journey is shadowed by the
fear of being caught by him and when he finally does meet him, he is unable to even swallow a morsel of food in front of
him despite there being no fault of his. Though John portrays that he has forgiven and forgotten Wash after losing his
credibility as a man-catcher when he could not find them for years, he later attacks Wash and in the ensuing battle loses
his eye when Wash stabs him with a knife.

3. Conclusion:

Edugyan gives us comprehensive details about Wash’s everyday life where his day is spent taking care of Titch and ending
with drawing for pleasure and ultimately burning it out. The character development of Wash is wonderful - he goes from
being a slave to the man who enslaves aquatic animals inside fish tanks to realising his truth and going into the desert’s
solitude. The novel not only shows us the relationship between a master and slave but also the class distinction in the
entire globe at the time slavery existed.

4. Works Cited:

Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. Manipal, Manipal Technologies Limited, 2019.

5. References:
Carter, Sue.

“Esi Edugyan on the inspiration for her new book Washington Black.” Toronto Star, 15 September 2018,
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/09/15/esi-edugyan-on-the-inspiration-for-her-new-book-
washington-black.html.
Accessed 22 June 2021.
Wikipedia Publishers.

“Esi Edugyan.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 May 2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Esi_Edugyan&oldid=1025480001. Accessed 20 June 2021.

Zelazko, Alicja. “The novel.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/realism-art/The-novel. Accessed 20 June 2021.

Waterstones. “Esi Edugyan: The Waterstones Interview.” Youtube, 19 October 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6FTHSPIlzCo. Accessed 22 June 2021.

Slavery.” The New York Times, 22 February 1973,
Flexner, James Thomas. “Washington and
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/22/archives/washington-and-slavery.html. Accessed 23 June 2021.

Matched Source

Page 1 of 2
Similarity 6%
Title:
Esi Edugyan on the inspiration for her new book Washington ...Esi Edugyan's new book Washington Black is a 'cinematic
...Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan named finalist for Man Booker ...

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/09/15/esi-edugyan-on-the-inspiration-for-her-new-book-washington-
black.html

Similarity 6%
Title:Esi Edugyan - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esi_Edugyan

Page 2 of 2