The Trials of Girlhood
- New year, new troubles.
- Now that Linda is fifteen, Mr. Flint is getting ideas. He whispers dirty suggestions in her ear and threatens to kill her if she tells anyone.
- It's the end of innocence.
- Here's a little anecdote to illustrate how different Linda's life is from that of a white teenager:
- She once saw two young girls playing together, one a free white child and the other a black slave.
- The girls seem like BFFs right now, but not for long.
- The white child will grow up free and protected, while the slave girl will only know sin and misery.
- Linda asks a pointed question: knowing all this, why are Northern men and women so silent on the question of slavery?