MDDM Ch. 72 Dixon and the slave driver (Italics)

[jbor]

on 26/8/02 6:05 AM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:

> He says, if the Driver doesn't turn around and face him face to face he
> will have to whip him to death on the back as beasts are whipped.

No, he says:

    " ... Now be a man, face me, and make it easier, or must I rather work
    on *you* from the Back, like a Beast, which will take longer, and
    certainly mean more discomfort for *you*." (699.2-4)

The first three imperatives are in the present tense. Dixon is ordering the
man to turn around. His intention is to whip the man to death, and whipping
him face on will be quicker, will "make it easier" to achieve this aim. The
modal verb ("must") doesn't indicate future tense here either. It's not
framed as a question at all; it is a statement which accompanies Dixon's
action of whipping the man "from the Back".

best