Understanding Slavery Essay Example for Free

Understanding buckle downry experimentA poignantly moving tale of a womans courage and determination in the face of beingly insurmountable odds, Incidents in the Life of a buckle down young woman undoubtedly serves as an inspiration for those who endeavor to rise beyond their initial station in support on the panache to achieving ones dreams. Though the author claims it to be a historical account, it could easily pass mop up for a work of fiction in the tradition of the historical novel a romanticizing American liveness and history with its tale of noble suffering, heroic daring and unwavering zeal. Perhaps more significantly, its merit lies in offering the reader the painful truth of the slave experience through the eyes of an African-American slave girl. As Jacobs narrates, she was born a slave but she never knew it until six years of happy childhood had passed away (Jacobs, p. 1). Though they were all slaves in the family, she was so fondly shielded from that fact and they appear to prevail lived normal lives that she never dreamed she was a piece of merchandise trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be demanded of them at any moment (Jacobs, p.1). That is, until her mother died and her life took a turn for the worse, experiencing first hand what it meant to be a slave in those days. Because of the way she was raised, it would appear that Linda brant goose is exceptional for a woman of her well-disposed stature. Having received the rudiments of a basic education at the men of her familys original owners, she is earn dealing and possesses a keen intellect.Not surprisingly, she was able to transcend the limitations of race, class and gender and grasp the candor that women, regardless of color, race and stature, share the common experience of victimization at the hands of a male-dominated, old society. Moreover, by virtue of the loving relationships she had established early on with her family and immediate community, she is quit e capable of empathy. Her initial understanding of the nature of thrall, though nonetheless negative, did not prevent her from maintaining a positive outlook towards life, nevertheless her position in the social hierarchy.This however has been severely challenged throughout the years of her ordeal. Due to the many an(prenominal) betrayals she had undergo in her lifetime, she learns to distrust people, and even though this is gradually tempered by the formation of positive relationships, she retains her hesitant, unemotional approach to life. The maintains main strength lies in its rich narratives, the vivid portrayal of the female person slave experience, and its use of the female point of view in the narration of her tale. In terms of limitations, the book would have problems in its illustration of the slave experience as representative of the big Africa-America black community.Linda Brent and her family could be considered among the lucky few fate seemed to have favored amo ng the millions more of their kind, who, though some powerfulness have endeavored to attain their freedom were faced with more dire, less relenting circumstances which made freedom delay a dream for them. A cursory glance at historical accounts of slavery would reveal that many have attempted to escape from their know, with a considerable number dying in the attempt. In Jacobs situation tale, the experience of women in bondage is illuminated. all the same more than a narration of physical infliction of pain, aberration and misery the very much-told tale of American slavery what is striking is how she makes the reader comprehend that the most devastating excrescence endured and inflicted upon female slaves is that of the continuing existence of a system recognizing, even illicitly sanctioning concubinage and licentiousness among etiolated males, the double standard of the times which make it doubly hard for women, most especially slaves, to live a decent, dignified existenc e wherein they could realize their true worth as individuals.For the slaves in Americas colonial past, every day was deplorable. Suffering in its various forms physical, mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual was common-day remotee subject to the wiles and dispositions of their get the hang. For both men and women, manual labor, e. g. working the fields in the plantations of the South, was a large component of the day. As Jacobs (p. 12) illustrates On a farm, they work until the corn and cotton are laid. They then have two holidays. Some masters give them a good dinner under the trees.This over, they work until Christmas Eve. If no heavy charges are retardation brought against them, they are given four or five holidays, whichever the master or overseer may think proper. For the women, this was often aggravated by (more often than not) unwarranted sexual advances, if not from their masters, the other male members of the household, or among fellow slaves. New Years Day was a terribly appalling affair, for hiring day at the South took place every first of January. To the slave mother, New Years Day comes laden with risible sorrowsShe sits on her cold cabin floor, watching the children who may all be torn from her the next dayspring and often does she wish that she and they might die before the day dawns. She may be an ignorant creature, debauched by the system that has brutalized her from childhood but she has a mothers instincts, and is capable of feeling a mothers agonies (Jacobs, p. 13). Children born as slaves were sold off at the auction block, for they belonged to their master just as their parents did, for him to do with as he pleases. For is that not the nature of property?Slaves were treated as such, not regarded as human beings, but sooner little more than animals to be set to labor upon the fields, to assist in the keeping of the household, to run errands and answer manual labor deemed unworthy of the white masters unsoiled hands. Th ose same white hands were quick with the whip for every transgression committed by an erring slave, and a mouth which mute the foulest of words to further degrade the slave and instill in his/her consciousness his/her lack of worth, how inferior and far beneath their master they were.The ensuing slave consciousness formed from this inhuman treatment, nourished throughout a life of bondage and suffering, is bitter and bleak, their minds ignorant and uncultured, deprived of the conditions which give human existence its dignity, the individual his self-worth (Fowler and Fowler, p. 2). Yet in this condition of bondage, in their shared experience of misery, pain and wretchedness, they became increasingly aware of their sorry plight, and wise to(p) to yearn for freedom (Genovese, p. 114). The first stirrings of rebelliousness began to beat in their hearts yearning for a life free from bondage and servitude.In this shared experience, the slave community developed a culture clearly its ow n, reverberating with the influence of their African origins infused with their newfound material conditions in American soil. It is the experience of a particular(prenominal) slave girl by the name of Linda Brent which we shall explore in detail. Jacobs work, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, utilizes the literary form of the slave narrative, a form of autobiography with a unique twist and distinctive themes tracing the narrators path form slavery to freedom.It traces the narrators move around from poverty to freedom as her determination to overcome societal and self-imposed limitations leads her on to prevail disrespect her harrowing circumstances. It is quite a moving and inspiring tale, and the author succeeds in painting a trained picture of the real-life suffering of men and women in bondage who were born, raised and died as slaves at the hands of their masters in the sprawling plantations of the South.Though the slave narrative is recognized as a powerful literary f orm with obvious merits as a tool for anti-slavery and human rights causes as it compellingly illustrates how individuals could rise above the depths of their desperation and overcome seemingly impossible odds, it too has its flaws as a resource for fully understanding the tortuous institution of slavery.At one point, it perpetuates the myth that individuals can overcome established social structures and societal features negative to marginalized groups, e. g. racism against colored peoples, through sheer determination, will power, a never-say-die attitude, and a perpetually rose-cheeked outlook in life that things could only get better. In actual truth, for most slaves the matter of loving ones freedom is a whole lot more complicated than what most narratives seem to suggest in their advantage stories. The abolition of slavery was not simply a case of licentiousness a centuries-old institution due to the influence of writers who decided to go public with their personal accoun ts of the evils of slavery.In a way, the slave narrative is deceptive in its promise of deliverance (giving a sense of false hope) to blacks period reinforcing the notions of a superiority complex of whites over other colored peoples as they could always say that those who miss to break down societys barriers, e. g. racial boundaries and the gap between rich and poor, to achieve triumph have only themselves to blame for their failures. It thus becomes a case of If others cant do it, why cant I? Yet the situation is inherently more complex than this.In analyzing slavery one has to consider the larger macro factors economics, political institutions, cultural norms, ideology, etc. as shaping the little ones. That is, in the case of the slave narrative one needs to situate the personal accounts in the larger social context of the period, the interplay between the personal and the historical, personal troubles and public issues, the intertwining of biography and history. Moreover, one could also arrest a feminist reading in Jacobs text for as Linda laments the birth of her daughter Ellen, she remarks how slavery is grave for men but it is far more terrible for women (Jacobs, p. ).Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl illustrates how slavery proved to be a more wretched state for women who had to endure the same dehumanizing inhuman treatment and brutality inflicted on men, as well as the torment of sexual abuse at the hands of their male masters and the anguish of being taken away from their children. Their pain and degradation were further heighten as they suffered being used as vessels of lust for their masters, breeding bastards to add to their masters pains but denied a mothers right to care for her children.The children born from such unions, Linda chillingly points out, was more often than not sold to protect the honor of the slave owners wife faced with the incontestable living testimony to her husbands lust. Addressing the issue of human bondag e from a womans perspective, Jacobs attempts to get through to her readers, particularly the women of the Northern states, to make them aware of their responsibility to make their voices heard in protesting against slavery for their silence would be in support of the perpetuation of slavery as an institution.Her tale emphasizes the clamber of a particular woman (herself) to protect her family, in the process learning to fight for her freedom to be an independent individual in control of her own life, and enticing her own family and community to join in the struggle for the emancipation and liberation of slaves. All said, in its own way Jacobs work has significantly contributed to the success of the movement to abolish slavery in the United States of America, and for that her efforts have been well-rewarded with the renewed scholarly interest in her work. Works Cited Andrews, William L.Classic African American Womens Narratives. United Kingdom Oxford University Press, 2003. Bell, El la Louise. Myths, Stereotypes and Realities of Black Women. The Journal of employ Behavioral Science, Vol. 40, No. 2, 146-159, 2004. Fowler, Lois J. and David H. Fowler, eds. Revelations of Self American Women in Autobiography. New York SUNY Press. Gates, Henry Louis Jr. The Classic Slave Narratives. Signet Classic, 2003. Genovese, Eugee. Roll, Jordan, Roll The World the Slaves Made. New York Pantheon Press, 1974. Gronniosaw, James Albert, Olaudah Equiano, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, William W.Brown, Henry Bibb, Sojourner Truth, William and Ellen Craft, Harriet A. Jacobs and Jacob Green. Slave Narratives. Library of America, 2002. Jacobs, Harriet Ann. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. United Kingdom Oxford University Press, 1988. Mccaskill, Barbara. Yours very truly Ellen Craft the fugitive as Text and Artifact. African American Review, Vol. 28, 1994. Randle, Gloria T. Between the Rock and the Hard Place Mediating spaces in Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. African America Review, Vol. 33, 1999. Yetman, Norman R. ed. Voices from Slavery 100 Authentic Slave Narratives. Courier Dover Publications