Colonel Anderson PWNED by Jourdan.



Oh yes, he did.

 Jourdan Anderson was a monster. Before you shout me down, allow me to clarify- Jourdan Anderson was a literary monster, defeating his foes and bringing his pen to bear on his former master with more force than a firearm. Though a former slave, Jourdan wielded searing wit and principled deference as handily as his master must have wielded a whip.

The letter that Jourdan wrote to his former master, Colonel P. Anderson, is a veritable masterpiece, crafted by an intelligent man who had obviously retained his dignity over and above years spent in slavery under Colonel Anderson. In addition to Jourdans even tone throughout the letter, I am amazed that he even responded to Colonel Anderson at all, considering that the letter Jourdan received prior to his response was an offer to “come back to work” for Anderson, as if they had simply parted ways several years prior over a simple misunderstanding. What gall Anderson had, presuming that Jourdan would come running when he beckoned!

Jourdan is no man's fool- he know when he's being played (as the cool kids say)and crafts a document that deconstructs Andersons contrived notions to the point that I'd wager even Anderson felt guilty after reading the letter. Jourdan is deferential, though not to his detriment, expressing concern that Anderson may have been hurt, and gladness that he had not been. He offers greetings to Andersons family and prays that they have the opportunity to meet again, under more favorable circumstances. After the niceties, Jourdan stretches his literary legs and settles in to responding to “The Offer”. Tests of honesty are suggested, and assurances of safety are requested for Jourdans family. Jourdan uses his text as a two-edged sword, simultaneously addressing the stark contrast between the future, if there were to be one, and the past, invoking the authority of the Apostle Paul: “The workman is worthy of his hire”. His style of writing is very effective as he navigates the minefield of years of emotional and physical pain with the recognition that he is truly free.

Jourdan writes as one who has matured, one who has suffered pain and has not allowed the insidious cancer of bitterness or self-pity to eat away at his dignity; he is a man of independence who will not stoop to Anderson's assumption that Jourdan can do no better than indentured servitude. The discerning reader will observe that there is a plot twisting role reversal- Jourdan, though a slave for years, is the free man by virtue of his ethic of forgiveness; Anderson, though former master, is slave to the Old Ways of the South, and cannot cope without his “#1 slave”. Perhaps freedom is a concept of the mind, and not necessarily of the body; all the goods in the world cannot free one who's mind is held captive. In contrast, though the body may be shackled by force, the mind cannot be ceded to another without consent, and spiritual freedom transcends physical freedom. Anderson is to be pitied, in the end, Jourdan is the better man, and I am all the better for reading his letter.