"Middleness"

Middle Passage by Charles Johnson is not just the title of the novel, but an indicator of the theme. The whole book relies on the idea of the "middle". The concept middle is mainly regarding Rutherford. He is placed in the middle of the two sides on the ship, including Captain Falcon, and the rest of the crew. He plays his cards wisely in order to contribute to both sides, almost like a double agent. He sides with the Allmuseri and their plan to take over Captain Falcon, but shortly after he warns Falcon about their attack. Captain Falcon laughs it off and mentions how no one could ever kill him, he couldn't even kill himself. He awards Calhoun for sharing this information with him, and begins to trust him. It's interesting to see how he can benefit himself from both sides. Another relation to the "middle" theme, is that a major climax occurs in the exact middle of the novel, correlating to the book title. Captain Falcon has captured an African God and stowed him secretly in his mysterious cargo. Yet again the suspense kicks in when he shares his secret with Rutherford, who claims he will keep the information to himself. Will he remain trustworthy or spoil the news to the rest of the crew? Finally, a more ironic explanation of the middle theme, is Rutherford's adventure on a slaver while he is truly a free man. It's interesting to see if he will fall back into the trap of slavery, or become someone who supports it. These twists of opinions and plot events are interesting to me. I am excited to find out where Rutherford ends up, and if he remains alive or not.