1st
By using Caroline as the narrator, the opinions and many things shift. She is a particularly interesting character, with many different influences. I believe that Ann Rinaldi picked an excellent character to show the contrasting sides of the people in the Revolutionary war in Cast Two Shadows.
Caroline is in between two major issues at the time: races and nationalities. This makes her an almost perfect narrator, because she will have little bias towards either issue. Especially with Cast Two Shadows being placed in the South, I expected more racism towards the slaves, but Caroline has African heritage. This makes her conscious of everyone’s hurts and needs and helps the reader sympathize with their plights. After Caroline defended Isom, Rawdon points this out and says, “Your true nature. You’re half negra, after all, remember? Blood will out. You protected your own” (242).
The prologue of the story clearly states that she has no love for the British. They shot and hung two of her best friends, and showed little mercy towards them. Not even a day passes before her father is taken as well, because he is the leading rebel of the area. Even though she has little desire to fight for the British cause, she does not voice her opinion for the sake of her family. “I’m not anything, I just don’t believe in Rawdon’s promises” (12). She only decides to be a Patriot when Rawdon refuses to help and continues to hurt her family. Surprisingly, Caroline’s character was not biased for either side, and only chose sides when evidence was presented to her.
Caroline was the perfect person to narrate so that the story, Cast Two Shadows, had no bias in it. The readers get to see both sides of the revolutionary war, Loyalists and Rebels. Readers are also able to empathize with slaves and slave owners because of her mixed heritage. Rinaldi purposely placed Caroline in the middle of these two conflicts, and this made for a story that was fair to all sides of the story.
2nd
Point of view is very important to the story of Cast Two Shadows. In my earlier essay, I explained the importance of Ann Rinaldi’s choice for an unbiased view of everything. By changing who narrates the story, at least one side’s view will be lost by using a different person.
If anyone else was to be chosen to narrate the story, either the slaves, British, or the rebels actions and views could be distorted. If Rawdon told the story, he would be patronizing towards Caroline’s family, and he would pay no care to others needs outside of the army. Readers would see slaves not as people, but as tools to the British advantage. Rebels would be the antagonists no matter what. In other words, it would be biased for the British side.
If written from Miz Melindy’s point of view, the reader would have more insight on the slave’s views on the war. Readers would see the dislike towards Caroline’s dad and the British, popinjays. They would also see more of the slaves, and that there is a barrier between white and black people. There would be problems presenting all of the points of the story, because of Miz Melindy’s isolation. She would also be limited in her interactions because of the way that slaves were treated during that time. Miz Melindy’s point of view would be very limited compared to Caroline’s.
Changing the point of view in Rinaldi’s book, Cast Two Shadows, would change the perspective of the book dramatically. Either way, major points of the story would be lost by changing the narrator. History is biased, towards whoever is writing it, yet Rinaldi was able to create a character that did not exclude any party.
3rd
I took away two things from Ann Rinaldi’s Cast Two Shadows: how to live with loss and relations on slave plantations. They are completely different, but I can explain. The former one speaks to me, because the people inside Caroline were those she had lost, but not necessarily because of death. The other was surprising because I never considered something like Caroline’s situation could actually happen.
When Caroline refers to the people hanging inside of her, I first thought it was deaths that she felt responsible for, but on page 218 she says that Johnny was there, even though he wasn’t dead. This leads me to believe that she is referring to the loss of that person in general and what she learned from that. Melindy says, “You come to know you kin learn from ‘em. Those people you got hangin’ inside, they make diff’rent. Better. You see” (208). These are great words from the wiser, and I believe that’s what I got from Caroline’s inner struggle. I learned that with every loss, you learn something.
My other point, is important because of the understanding I gained about how the South worked. I always assumed that they were racist to the point of not having those kind of close relations. I know that it was inevitable to not form bonds with certain slaves, especially those who raised the children. Caroline is in a unique situation because her skin is unnaturally white, even whiter than Georgia-Anne’s skin. Even if she has white skin, people didn’t speak of her past, because of the obvious taboo. Caroline’s real family was torn from her, and then her second family was torn apart by it. I know that slave families are torn apart by being sold, but I believe Caroline had it worse. She believed that she was responsible for her mother being sold and she can’t spend time with her blood family when they are so close.
By reading Cast Two Shadows, I was able to gain insight on loss and slave relations. I believe Rinaldi did an excellent job in describing Caroline’s inner turmoil. I am also glad that I was able to gain more knowledge on relations between slaves and their owners. I am glad that I read Cast Two Shadows, by Ann Rinaldi, for I would not have read it otherwise.