The Land

Paul's father is a white plantation owner and former slave owner who makes good-faith efforts to be fair to the blacks who live on his land. He has a particularly liberal attitude toward his black family. He raises his black children on an equal footing with his white children, although he takes care not to overturn custom completely: his black children read, but they do not attend school; his black children eat at his table, but they eat in the kitchen when company arrives. Edward tries to prepare his black children for the lives they will lead off the plantation, and consequently, he begins to hold them accountable for their actions as blacks and not necessarily as equals in his household. To some extent, this is difficult for the fair-minded Mr. Logan. At the same time, he is a product of the mores of his times: he did not hesitate to enter into a sexual relationship with Paul's mother, his black slave. Mr. Logan also displays racist tendencies at a horse fair in east Texas, when he does not acknowledge Paul as the son of his blood. Paul's father wants what is best for his son, and on his deathbed he only finds peace after he sees Paul once again.