When her first child, Benjamin (Benny), is born, she curses the institution of slavery for making her wish her son would die instead of remaining in slavery. She discusses how difficult it was knowing that he could be taken away from her at any moment. Harriet moves from these situations to the topic of the hypocrisy of white Christians in the South and how slaves pushed for access to reading and writing so they could learn Christianity, but their wishes were denied. Harriet worries about her son's future, knowing that the doctor might hunt her son down. When he discovers that she is pregnant again he is even more enraged and mad, insulting and beating her. When Harriet's second child is born and she discovers that it is a girl, she is melancholy, knowing that her daughter will be inevitable.