Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
"Middle Passage" by Charles Johnson is a novel that follows the journey of Rutherford Calhoun, a twenty-two-year-old man recently freed from slavery, as he navigates life in New Orleans. Initially living a life of debauchery, Calhoun finds himself in a precarious situation due to his gambling debts. In a desperate bid to escape, he stows away on the slave ship Republic, only to discover that it is on a journey to transport enslaved Allmuseri people from Africa to America. As he confronts the brutal realities of the slave trade and the moral complexities of his actions, Calhoun undergoes a profound transformation.
Throughout the voyage, he develops a connection with the Allmuseri, particularly Ngonyama, and begins to understand the spiritual and cultural significance of their beliefs. The narrative explores themes of identity, compassion, and the interconnectedness of humanity as Calhoun evolves from a self-serving individual to someone who values the humanity of others. The story culminates in a rebellion aboard the ship, leading to a chaotic struggle for survival that ultimately reshapes Calhoun's understanding of love and home. Through this harrowing journey, the novel presents a reflective exploration of freedom, responsibility, and the quest for redemption.
Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
First published: 1990
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Bildungsroman, historical, and adventure
Time of plot: 1830
Locale: New Orleans, Louisiana; at sea
Principal Characters
Rutherford Calhoun , a freed slaveIsadora Bailey , a teacherPapa Zeringue , a gangsterEbenezer Falcon , ship captainNgonyama , an Allmuseri tribesmanBaleka , a slave childJosiah Squibb , ship’s cookPeter Cringle , ship first-mate
The Story
Rutherford Calhoun, twenty-two years old and newly freed from slavery by an Illinois farmer on his deathbed, is enjoying life in the wicked city of New Orleans, Louisiana. His former master had educated young Rutherford in the classics and the Bible. However, for Calhoun, freedom means living the dissolute life of a petty thief, gambler, and womanizer. He has run up a debt of fifty thousand francs, owed to a black gangster, Papa Zeringue.
Calhoun has been keeping company with Isadora Bailey, a free black schoolteacher with impeccable morals and ambitions to reform him. She loves him, but he does not have marriage in mind. Zeringue, acting as Isadora’s protector, has agreed to forgive Calhoun’s debts if he will marry her.
The night before the wedding, Calhoun, after an orgy of drinking in a seaside tavern, steals the identity papers of drunken sailor Josiah Squibb, a cook on the ship Republic, and sneaks aboard as a stowaway. When he awakes with a hangover, he discovers that the ship, a wreck constantly needing repair, has a crew of malformed, incompetent misfits. An exception is Peter Cringle, the first mate, who is a New England gentleman. Captain Ebenezer Falcon is a pederast who rapes young Tom, the cabin boy. Squibb is permanently drunk, and Calhoun must take over the galley. He soon confirms his suspicion that the ship is a slaver and is bound for Guinea to pick up forty Allmuseri, who are members of a tribe of mysterious wizards. With the slaves aboard, the Republic begins its homeward journey through the Middle Passage from Africa to the United States.
Calhoun is highly educated and is knowledgeable of Latin, Greek mythology, and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He is something of a mystic—homeless and on a quest to discover the truth of his identity. When the ship reaches Africa, he scavenges the cabin of Captain Falcon while the crew is ashore and steals some money. He is discovered by Falcon, but instead of being punished, Calhoun is taken into Falcon’s confidence and agrees to spy on the crew. The captain’s cabin is filled with illegal plunder from his other voyages. His latest acquisition is a huge, mysterious crate that is installed in the ship’s hold; it terrifies the crew.
As he observes the brutal treatment of the slaves, Calhoun begins to move beyond his self-concern to develop compassion for their plight. He seeks the company of the mysterious Ngonyama, one of the Allmuseri, whom the captain has assigned to oversee the slaves. Ngonyama is silent and cunning with strange powers such as the ability to carve a roast pig without touching bone, as if he could see the invisible parts of the animal. Calhoun begins to teach him English; Calhoun in turn begins to learn the Allmuseri language. Calhoun also becomes the protector of the eight-year-old slave Baleka, with whom he shares his food.
In a fierce storm, several sailors and slaves are swept away to their deaths. Ngonyama appears on deck, entirely dry, and the storm ceases. Fearful that Captain Falcon is leading them to certain death at sea, the crew, led by Cringle, plans a mutiny. Calhoun acts in his own best interests and changes loyalties several times. He admires Cringle’s stern New England morality, agrees to support the rebels, and breaks into the captain’s cabin to disarm his weapons. When Falcon discovers him, however, Calhoun reveals the plans for mutiny. Falcon agrees to be merciful to the rebellious crew and promises to double Calhoun’s share of the profit from the voyage, which then makes him complicit in the transport and sale of the slaves.
Falcon, a mad genius as well as a criminal, tells Calhoun that the mysterious crate contains the god of the Allmuseri, a creature without a name or image. Like the god of the Old Testament, it converses with humans, including Falcon himself.
Calhoun reveals to Squibb the story of his former master, the Reverend Chandler, who on his deathbed made Calhoun and his brother Jackson his heirs. Jackson generously divided the property in a massive act of reparation for all slaves. Rutherford inherited forty dollars, a Bible, a bedpan, and an unforgiving rage at his brother for depriving him of his inheritance.
Life on the Republic, Calhoun learns, has strange powers to transform its passengers. The slaves seem caught between two worlds—no longer entirely African but not yet American. Calhoun himself undergoes a powerful change of heart and acknowledges the evil deeds he has committed. In yet another reversal of his loyalties, he steals the key to the slaves’ chains and gives it to Ngonyama, enabling the Africans to take over the ship. Only fifteen Africans survive the takeover; they kill all but four of the crew. Rutherford convinces Ngonyama to treat Falcon as a slave and to spare Cringle’s life because only he can navigate the ship, which the Allmuseri intend to sail back to Africa.
Rutherford now begins to identify with the humane spirituality of the Allmuseri, who, as believers in the unity of all beings, see the killing of the crew as an evil that must be expiated by the ritual cleansing of the ship, lest they be haunted by sins that will become a part of their nature. He meets the Allmuseri god, a shape-shifter who takes the form of Calhoun’s father. Calhoun, who had blamed his father for abandoning him, learns the truth: His father was killed by white men during an escape attempt.
The Republic, circling aimlessly in the Atlantic, headed neither for Africa nor America, descends into chaos. The remaining crew and slaves undergo a period of trial, with horrifying illnesses, an instance of cannibalism, and the suicide of Captain Falcon. Only Calhoun remains healthy and devotes himself to caring for the others. In a fortuitous coincidence, the survivors of the Republic are rescued by the ship Juno. Squibb, Calhoun, and three Allmuseri children survive, including Baleka, who sees Calhoun as a father figure.
Aboard the rescue ship are Papa Zeringue and Isadora, who are about to be married. Calhoun, now transformed, confronts Zeringue, threatening him with blackmail for illegally transporting slaves. With his new spiritual insight, Calhoun realizes that he loves Isadora. Calhoun and Isadora reconcile in a final scene in which they discover a spiritual love that transcends sexual desire. They will care for the three surviving Allmuseri children and return to Illinois to reunite with Calhoun’s brother, Jackson. Calhoun’s voyage into chaos, his symbolic “middle passage,” has convinced him of the connectedness of all human life and has given him the promise of a true home.
Bibliography
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