Plot
The story follows the history of the United States from its time as a British province to the beginning of tensions between north and south in the 1850s. It is presented as though the story were being recounted by a retired barrister from Lincolnshire in England to a reporter from the United States.
The story takes place in the county of Shropshire in England, where capitalist Mr. Bull is undergoing a difficult transaction with a large quantity of land his firm has since acquired from various lucrative business deals. His main rival is Don Armado, who owns land near his own, and seeks to steal Bull's land from him.
When Don Armado is placated, Mr. Bull takes his business elsewhere, and the land prospers. However, the two farmers tilling the land are suddenly split over the question of whether the land ought to be tilled by ordinary, ineffective farmhands or by loyal, hardworking slaves.
The land is thus split between the two farmers. The pro-slavery segment becomes the Black Acre Farm, whilst the anti-slavery land becomes the White Acre Farm, with both competing to see which side will be the most prosperous.
Read more about this topic: White Acre Vs. Black Acre
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“Morality for the novelist is expressed not so much in the choice of subject matter as in the plot of the narrative, which is perhaps why in our morally bewildered time novelists have often been timid about plot.”
—Jane Rule (b. 1931)
“If you need a certain vitality you can only supply it yourself, or there comes a point, anyway, when no one’s actions but your own seem dramatically convincing and justifiable in the plot that the number of your days concocts.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)