Freedom Crossing

Bert Eastman is Laura’s 13-year-old brother, who, in Laura’s eyes, “changed most of all” (1) since she’s been away. Now that he’s not a younger child, Bert doesn’t let Laura boss him around the way he used to. When he ignores her demands to turn Martin in to the authorities, Laura is shocked. When he tells her to stop bossing her around, she thinks, “It [doesn’t] seem possible this [is] her younger brother talking so impudently” (30). Bert has learned to use his voice to speak up for what he believes in, even to those who are older than him.

Bert is brave and longs to be involved more in the Underground Railroad. His father has not given him a lot of details, leading Bert to think his father doesn’t trust him. Laura assures him that isn’t the case; instead, their father likely wanted to keep Bert safe. By giving Bert information on a need-to-know basis, they are able to do more good for the runaways.

Another key component to Bert’s character is his kindness. He doesn’t hesitate to equip Martin with his own clothes and shoes for the journey, and he is quick to sacrifice his own safety in order to secure Martin’s. At first, Laura mistakes this as a need for adventure, but she soon realizes that it’s his conscience, not thrill-seeking, that drives him to make bold choices.

Martin is the 12-year-old boy from North Carolina whom Laura, Bert, and Joel are charged with helping. When he first arrives at the Eastman home, he is starving and exhausted, having not eaten or rested in over a day. He is polite and patient with the Eastmans, especially Laura, who does not want him there at first. When Laura refuses to give up her room, Martin is quick to adapt and find somewhere else to hide.

The next morning, “Martin look[s] like a different boy […]. Clean, and wearing a pair of Bert’s outgrown pants and one of his old shirts” (34), Martin is cooking griddle cakes for their breakfast. He expresses his gratitude to his hosts by helping with the cooking and cleaning.

One of the things that surprises Laura most about Martin is that he can read. Literacy was both rare for enslaved people at this time and illegal. Education is a huge part of what makes Martin himself, and it is one of the ways he feels connected to his father, who taught him.

However, he does not treat Laura and Bert the same at the beginning of the book. Laura thinks, “He trust[s] Bert. Martin talk[s] to him as freely as—as he’d talk to another black boy. But when he [speaks] to her, he seem[s] to be afraid of displeasing her” (68). Laura has difficulty connecting with Martin as Bert has because Martin is afraid of upsetting her. Eventually, however, the they find common ground and he learns to trust her.

Joel Todd, 17, is one of the main participants in the Underground Railroad in Lewiston. His whole family participates, and they are hiding another fugitive when Martin comes to them. Joel and Laura were playmates before she left for Virginia, and now that they’re older, Laura has taken a fancy to him. She describes him as “a man […] his thick brown hair still loped onto his forehead, but his lean cheeks and jaw were completely unfamiliar” (11). She still hopes that the Joel she knew is in there, but so much has happened in four years that it’s hard for them not to feel like strangers.

Joel is a gift-giver. When he and Laura are fighting, he smooths the conflict with small peace offerings. The first case of this was with the rabbit in the trap, which he had to kill shortly before Laura moved. It had gotten caught in a trap and Joel had to put it out of its misery. “For several days after that,” Laura recalls, “she hadn’t played with Joel. Then he had come to her house with a small, jet-black kitten as a peace offering” (8) and she forgave him. The second time, he sends her a copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and a note to decipher. While Laura thinks the book is intended as an insult, Joel wants Laura to consider the abolitionist view. At the end, when he sees Laura has changed, their relationship is restored and grows to something more.

Walt, one of the slave catchers from the South, is the antagonist of Freedom Crossing. He is described as “a young fellow with a crest of black hair” (54) and is by far the meanest of the slave catchers that is searching for Martin. He is relentless, like a bloodhound, in his pursuit of Martin, and he has no respect for others. He moves through the Eastman house with authority and is surprised when Laura talks back to him.

After his initial visit to the Eastman home, Walt is constantly finding ways to interrogate and menace Laura and Bert. Once, when he stops them on the way to town, Laura realizes just how much Walt resents her. When she looks at him, she sees “the glint of malice in his dark eyes. He [is] determined to get even with her for this morning. She [tells] herself she [doesn’t] care, but she [knows] it had been unwise to make him her enemy” (81). He does not let up the entire time Martin is trying to escape, but ultimately Laura and Martin are brave, smart, and quick enough to escape him.