MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver

[s~Z]

>>>Do you see italics somehow communicating the action of Dixon using the
whip, which P doesn't portray in this scene?  If so, how would you support
that supposition?<<<

I really liked that reading by jbor. Saying that the italics 'communicate
that action' is a little too strong, but when I read the passage and
visualize a lash of the whip with each italicized word, the content of the
verbalizations combined with the visual image mesh very well. Then, when the
knowledge we have from the historical record is added to the mix, it doesn't
prove anything (as TRP may be altering history for artistic purposes as you
suggest), but it supports this reading. In my reading, Dixon punched and
whipped the guy, and wanted to kill him. The restraint that is in the text
is restraint from murder, not restraint from punching and whipping.