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become one culture which is different from her identity of a Negrita. Her skin reveals that she is an African female slave. Current says that
The slaves found themselves almost completely under the control of their owners. Identifiable by their color, black slaves could not run away and
merge themselves with the mass of free humanity as white servants 1976: 16.
The white people who have slaves have an authority to control them. They
employ the slaves and indenture servants in their plantation. The slaves cannot escape to everywhere place because of the principle of white people, but they can
adapt their manners with white servant. “Lina entered the cowshed and glanced at
the broken sleigh where, in cold weather, she and Florens sleep” 2009: 63. As a slave and a white servant, Florens and Lina a native American woman, they
become roommate each other. Slavery existed in all the English colonies in North America. Yet our first
census, in 1790, showed that of seven hundred thousand slaves in the United States, North slaves were used chiefly as house servants. Their
labor was not profitable on the small Northern farms. Few of them were used in commerce and manufacturing because so many whites objected to
working side by side with persons of another race 1957: 265. Landing in America with European people, many slaves work as a house
servant in the north of United States because they are not profitable in a farm. Any of them work in a commerce and manufacturing. Many slaves work with white as
well. Several Florens
‟s characteristics are depicted in the novel A Mercy. The characteristics of Florens are kind, smart, naïve, unyielding, brave and
trustworthy. The writer analyzes these kinds of characteristics by her dialogue, conversation, thought, and action to the other character.
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1. Kind
After Florens spends the night in the Widow house, she continues her journey to find the blac
ksmith‟s house, in order to cure her Mistress. In a single word
, Widow‟s daughter, Jane explains how to get the blacksmith house is. Then, for all her aids that Florens is received, Florens sends her gratitude to Jane. She
says “I say thank you and lift her hand to kiss it. She says no, I thank you” 2009: 114. From the conversation above, Florens is kind and polite to daughter Jane.
She sends her gratitude to Jane for all helps such as spending the night in her house. The act of
Florens‟s lift hand shows that she has kind characteristics because she wants to kiss Jane‟s hand in order to send her gratitude to her.
In the other analysis, arriving in blacksmith house, blacksmith makes a deal with Florens that she must keep Malaik until blacksmith back from the
medical treatment of Florens‟s Mistress. “In the dark I know he is there. Eye big, wondering and cold. I rise and come to him and ask what. What Malaik, what. He
is silent but the hate in his eyes is loud. He wan ts my leaving” 2009: 137.
Malaik does not like Florens. Therefore, he hides himself from Florens. Malaik is quiet but actually he hates Florens. He wants Florens left him. “In the morning the
boy is not here but I prepare porridge for us two” 2009: 138. Even though Florens knows that Malaik hates her, Florens still keeps Malaik well. She is very
patient to keep Malaik well. She makes porridge for Malaik in the morning. Florens is kind girl. It shows from her action and her dialogue to Malaik.
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2. Smart
Reverend Father teaches some slaves to read and write once every a week. Actually slave is forbidden to get education by Virginian and Protestant.
Therefore, Reverend Father teaches Florens, her mother and her baby brother concealed near the marsh. They have stick through the sand, pebbles to write in a
smooth rock.
When the letters are memory we make whole words. I am faster than my mother and her baby boy is no good at all. Very quickly I can write from
memory from the Nicene Creed including all the commas Morrison, 2008: 6.
It means that even though Florens is a slave, she can read and write. She is
smart because she is faster to receive some education rather than her mother and her baby brother. She can write quickly. In addition, she can memorize all the
whole words from the letters Nicene Creed including the punctuation commas. “As Florens grew, she learned quickly, was eager to know more and would
have been the perfect one to fine the blacksmith if only she had not been crippled with worship of him” 2008: 63. Under the order from the Mistress to find
blacksmith, Florens as a young girl grow up and learn quickly. She is very curious to learn much knowledge. Therefore, she can find out blacksmith
‟s house easily with all her thought.
“Rebekka had confidence in Florens because she was clever and because she had a strong reason to succeed. And she felt a lot of affection for her, although
it took some time to develop” 2008: 96. From that quotation above, even though she is a slave, Florens is reputed as a clever woman slave. Rebekka admits Florens
differently with the other slave which is an uneducated person. Florens is a black
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slave which has much ability to work. Therefore, Mistress is very confidence to order Florens to do her task
because of Florens‟s cleverness. One thing that can make Rebekka believes
with Florens is her cleverness. “Already Florens could read and write. Already she did not have to be told repeatedly how to complete a
chore” 2008: 61. Florens implements her work without her mistress‟ order, she works actively
. She is perceptive under Rebekka‟s errand.
3. Naive
Florens is described as a naïve black slave. It portrays in the novel when Jacob Vaark is offered
slave as his bad debt payment by D‟ortega. It takes place in the cookhouse.
Just then the little girl stepped from behind the mother. On her feet was a pair of way t
oo big woman‟s shoes. Perhaps it was that feeling of license, a newly recovered recklessness along with the sight of those little legs
rising like two bramble sticks from the bashed and broken shoes, that made him laugh 2009: 26.
As a naïve slave, Florens is shy and she hides behind her mother. She
wears the broken shoes. Florens ‟s physical appearance which wears broke shoes,
it makes Jacob Vaark laugh because of her naïve. It is caused not only by wearing broke shoes but also by rising two bramble sticks from the bashed in front of him.
Again in the boat, Florens is accompanied by the Reverend father but then she gets bad treatment unfairly from white woman, when the Reverend Father
goes somewhere else. “A woman comes to me and says stand up. I do and she takes my cloak from my shoulders. Then my wooden shoes. She walks away”
2009: 7. In this case, Florens is depicted as a naïve slave because she just quiet.
