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“And you can write. If you can write, you need a pencil. I wish I could. What are you going to say, Jim?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell your story,” he said.

This quotation appears in Part One, Chapter 15 when Young George returns to Jim with a pencil that he has stolen from his master. Help obtaining a pencil was Jim’s only request from the group of slaves whom he meets on the shores of Illinois, so he is grateful that Young George succeeded in his mission. Although he does not fully understand its implications at the time, this moment marks a significant turning point in Jim’s personal development. The pencil is a symbol of power, and with it, Jim gains the metaphorical ability to dictate his future. His story is no longer in the hands of his white oppressors but in his own. Young George’s advice to “tell [his] story” may be intended in a literal sense, but Jim comes to embrace the heart of his message by making consequential choices and highlighting his true identity. Especially since many slaves like Young George never have the opportunity to change their fate, Jim’s position is particularly notable. Jim repeatedly references the pencil throughout the remainder of the novel, its steady presence in his pocket reminding him of all he has to lose and everything that he can gain.

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