Summary Of The Poe's 'Hop-Frog'

1164 Words3 Pages

Poe was very much into the events taking place around him. He learned about the cases surrounding people and if the slaves were classified as property (406). “Hop-Frog” is a story that features people as property. Joan Dayan discusses the idea that Hop-Frog and Tripetta were bought by the King from some made up African island that Poe created for the story. Hop-Frog was a slave that was owned as a possession to the King. Hop-Frog is unable to keep his actual name, he is forced to do as the King says, and is subjected to abuse from his owner. Even after the death of his owner, Hop-Frog could not be sure that he would be set free since that was a case for many slaves at the time. Dayan brings up the case of Crewswell’s Executor v. Walker which states that a slave owner could not give the slave a choice of freedom after the death of the master, but instead it was decided by someone else. Hop-Frog killed the king and his followers that at the time the …show more content…

Tripetta is attractive, and the king enjoyed her beauty even if she was an uncivilized person. Tripetta is also never said to have been given a new name or a slave name. The slave owners and his sons would often sleep with the slave women, and if that woman was to have a child that slave owner would treat his slave family with a little more respect (412). Tripetta is in that situation, but once the wine was spilt on her, she had enough of the situation. Hop-Frog may also have a reason to kill the king out of jealousy since he was stealing Tripetta away from him just like the slave owner’s wives would sell or kill her husband’s slave family. Poe studied the cases of those oppressed, and incorporated these cases into his stories to warn people about the rise of the abolitionists (406). These cases can be applied to the storyline within “Hop-Frog” and how his lack of human rights led him to

Open Document