What appeared to be privilege could therefore be another expression of exploitation.
For Roque, whose body was allegedly viewed through the lens of reproduction, that possibility is particularly disturbing.
To the people who controlled the estate, he may have represented an unusual form of property.
But to himself, he was something no system of ownership could fully define.
He was a man with memories, relationships, feelings, and experiences.
He possessed an inner life that no plantation record could measure.
We do not know the private conversations he had with other workers. We do not know what he thought about the nickname imposed upon him, or how he understood his own unusual height.
We do not know whether he dreamed of leaving the plantation, reuniting with relatives, owning land, or living somewhere beyond the reach of his owner.
The absence of these details does not mean those experiences did not exist.
