The Emancipation Act of 1934
The Emancipation Act of 1934 gives an order to enslavers to end slavery. Ironically, slave masters are reluctant to abide by the law, and they come up with new enticing terms to call their slaves. For instance, the sugarcane plantation owner in Barbados calls his slaves apprentices. In reality, they remain enslaved and will continue doing same jobs without pay for the next six years.
The sexual relationship between enslavers and the enslaved
The enslavers are superior people with power, wealth, and influence. They could buy slaves and use them in their plantations. The enslaved people are the minority groups who are considered inferior to white people. Ironically, the same enslavers secretly abuse Black women sexually, and they often impregnate them. The irony is clear because a "superior" person is not expected to have a sexual relationship with a slave woman.
The irony of freedom
When the enslaved people hear the announcement that slavery has ended, all are happy and celebrate because a better future has knocked on their doors. Ironical freedom is just terminology that will not be implemented any sooner. The enslaved people must work for the next six years under similar conditions. The author writes, "six years of cutting and planting and cutting again. Freedom was just another name for the life they had always lived." Therefore, the joy of freedom is short-lived after the enslaved people learn that they still have to work for the next six years to secure their liberty.
