Author's Note Thingy

Okay, for History class, I had an assignment where I had to pretend I was an immigrant in the late 1800's writing a letter back home. To make it more interesting, I pretended I was Nemo from Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

Haha, yeah. So, instead of Slumberland, Nemo's going to Post-Civil War America. This is a letter he wrote back to his parents.

Dear Mother and Father,

Moving with Uncle to America has been enlightening, to say the least. Uncle is a genius, and is involved in the Westinghouse industry, or so he tells me. He also tells me a lot of other things. I've learned that the industry is the place to be, and Uncle is trying to get promoted so that he'll earn more money, and maybe you will be able to move out here sooner. He says he is trying to push his own ideas on the electrical systems forward, but it is hard for his voice to be heard. Uncle predicts that the industries will continue growing, and the cities. There will probably be a lot more jobs available in the future.

The other day, as I was walking to the school for boys I now attend, I saw a girl. She had red hair and dark blue eyes. I tried to talk to her, but she was very proper and said that she shouldn't associate with me. My friend, a frightful fellow that I met the first day I went to school, told me not to bother with her type. He said she was a believer in social Darwinism, and would probably never talk to me. He said that I should stick with him, and that he'd educate me on how to live life in America.

I asked Uncle what exactly social Darwinism was later that night, because Flip talked so much I never had the chance to ask him. Uncle said that social Darwinism was pure rubbish; he said it was the belief that poor people were inferior to the wealthy. I don't think I believe it, either, but now I understand why that girl ignored me.

One night, the boy, (he calls himself Flip,) smuggled me out of the house! Uncle was sleeping, so I figured it would be alright if I snuck out just this once. Besides, the night was clear, and I couldn't sleep, and Flip said that he would show me some fun. He told me to watch out for the dark piles in the streets, and that I didn't want to step in them. It smelled horrible around them. Even though it was dark, quite a few people were still up and about, walking around. A lot of them didn't look so well off, and Flip told me to avoid them; he said they were diseased. At nighttime, the air looked clearer to me, but Flip said that was just because you couldn't see the dust in the air as well when it was dark. I asked Flip where we were going, and he told me we were going to Camille's house. I asked him who Camille was exactly, and he said that I'd find out. Well, we peeked into a window at a certain house after a bit of traveling, and I saw the girl I had met on my walk to school! I gasped, but Flip clapped his hand over my mouth and told me to hush. He tried to break in through her window after showing me the bugs he had collected in his pocket, but I finally convinced him not to, and we ran away fast once a nighttime officer had spotted us. Suddenly, I found I was alone; Flip and I had somehow gotten separated. I heard a distant voice speaking, and I decided to creep towards it, since I had no clear idea where I was. The man speaking had dark skin, and had apparently met with a bunch of other dark-skinned people in a small, quiet section of the city. He kept saying things about the economic plight of farmers, and 'Colored Alliances.' Out of the blue, a hand touched my shoulder, and I yelped and turned around to face Flip. I commanded him to take me home, so he did.

The next day, I couldn't help but ask Uncle about what the black people were doing. Uncle said they were most likely populists, people who were concerned about the farmers who were suffering from the post-Civil War effects. He also said that black people still weren't getting equality as had been expected once the North had won the war, and that many of them were still protesting for their rights. I don't think black people should be treated that way, just like Camille shouldn't treat me as if I'm any less important than she is. I hope she comes around sometime. I'm also not sure I should hang around with Flip anymore; I think he might be troublesome.

I hope you are doing well. I miss you both.

Love,

Nemo