Who was Alice in Nightjohn?

Nightjohn is a young adult novel by Gary Paulsen. The book is about slavery in the South and is set just before the American Civil War. The book takes place on a plantation, where the protagonist, Sarny, meets a new slave. This new slave, Nightjohn, is older and scarred, and he has a rare skill: he can read. The book follows Sarny and Nightjohn as he teaches her to read. Alice is another young slave girl on the plantation. Characters in the book refer to Alice as being "addled in the head," which means that she is mentally challenged.
Alice is a breeder, a slave who is forcefully used to procreate with male slaves to increase the number of slaves for their master. The horrific breeding process causes Alice to have a mental breakdown. She starts to wander around the plantation aimlessly and gets too close to the master's house. She tries to escape, but the master sends his dogs after her, and she is chained to the side of the house. The master whips her relentlessly. After he is done, he commands Mammy to rub salt in Alice's wounds as torture. After Alice is unchained, Sarny helps Mammy take care of Alice and her wounds. Alice must heal from wounds from the whipping and the dog bites.
Alice serves as a narrative foil to Sarny. She shows Sarny what can happen if she does not follow the rules on the plantation. While Alice's first instinct is to run, Sarny's rebellion leads her to learn more and more.