Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom · Chapter
Epigraph explained
The epigraph quotes William Cowper's poem, asserting that slaves who breathe English air are instantly free, establishing the theme of freedom through English soil.
What happens
The epigraph quotes William Cowper's poem, asserting that slaves who breathe English air are instantly free, establishing the theme of freedom through English soil.
Themes in this chapter
Freedom and Liberty
The epigraph declares that breathing English air instantly frees slaves, framing freedom as an inherent right tied to English soil.
Key passages
“Slaves cannot breathe in England: if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free; They touch our country, and their shackles fall.”
Enslaved people cannot exist in England; the moment they inhale English air, they become free, and their chains drop away.
The epigraph sets the thematic foundation for the narrative, linking physical arrival in England with liberation.