Phillis was born in Senegal, Africa. She was kidnapped by a neighboring tribe and sold for seventy-two cowry shells, the shells "that serve as currency in the slave trade"(p. 3). In 1761, when Phillis is about seven, the Wheatley family of Boston purchases her. She is well-treated and, significantly called a servant rather than a slave. Nathaniel, her master's son, teaches Phillis to read and write, and tutors her in other areas as well. Things change when Phillis begins to write poetry. She is excused from her chores and fussed over.
In most Rinaldi books, the protagonist falls in love with someone who loves her. Phillis, however, secretly loves Nathaniel. Nathaniel's feelings for her are never fully revealed; maybe he felt something for her but knew that in that era, their relationship could never be. Maybe he loved her only as an older brother loves a sister. In any event, Nathaniel marries Mary Enderby. Phillis marries a character with a low profile who appears near the end of the book. This bothered me. After a whole book through Phillis' eyes, loving Nathaniel, I found it difficult to adjust to a new character with such an important role.
Phillis' feelings towards Nathaniel at the end of the book appear to be feelings of regret. She longs for what she refers to as "the old Nathaniel"(p. 303). Once a kind inspiration and teacher, Nathaniel seems to have been turned bitter by the years. Phillis, in a rage, shouts at Nathaniel, "'I'm nothing,' I flung at him. 'I'm a Negro slave. My skin is dark. I'm skinny and ugly. My hair is like wire. People pay me mind right now because I'm an amusement for them. And they are bored these Londoners, looking for more amusements every night'"(p. 238). Phillis offers a negative view of herself, a view rarely held by Rinaldi characters. This makes Phillis seem more real, like the teenager with ambivalent feelings about appearance that she is. This outburst heightens our awareness of what is really inside the Phillis that Rinaldi has created.
Phillis' comment about being an amusement rings somewhat true, and her feelings about Nathaniel's change may also be about her own changing self as she leaves her childhood. Sometime around 1773, her master frees her. Phillis treasures this freedom. In the "Author's Note," however, Rinaldi implies that perhaps the Wheatleys spoiled Phillis too much and did not prepare her for adulthood. Her husband did not support her well, and she soon became poor. Her children died and Phillis, too, dies young. I almost wish I did not know what happened when she grew up; her childhood was far more pleasant.
It is important to remember that the book focuses on Phillis' childhood, and it is historically somewhat factual. Therefore, Rinaldi did not have as much freedom as in other books. In spite of this, she forms definite relationships between characters: Phillis always has a witty response ready for Nathaniel; Sulie, another slave, resents the attention Phillis receives; Mary, Nathaniel's twin sister, is cruel towards Phillis as a child. There is some tendency in reading this book to wonder what Phillis was really like, how she really felt about those who were in contact with her. In spite of this, it is such relationships, such in-depth characters, that make Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons the powerful, involving book that it is.