Hannah Crafts, the author and narrator, confesses to the reader that she has never been trained or educated and that she’s not inherently talented. No one cared about her until she was able to work, at which point she began doing chores. She doesn’t know her family, but she quickly learns that the “African blood in [her] veins would forever exclude [her] from the higher walks of life” (66), even though she has a light complexion. At the risk of punishment, she prioritizes her self-education.

Hannah is enslaved in the house. As a child, a white woman from Hannah’s enslaver’s house decides to teach Hannah to read. The woman, Aunt Hetty, explains that, because she is from the North, she is not prejudiced. Aunt Hetty and her husband, Uncle Siah, lost their money due to “misfortunes” and lean on their Christian faith. Aunt Hetty can’t buy Hannah, but she teaches her to read and introduces her to Christianity.

One evening, as Hannah is reading the Bible in Aunt Hetty’s house, the overseer of the enslaver’s estate enters. He shouts, and Hannah flees; while she escapes punishment, the old couple must leave their home. Hannah is distraught and blames herself.