How were slavers’ life? “Slavery” is the subjects that most of people usually mentions and concerns about. However, people lives in the modern life with fully of happiness, peaceful, and freedom, so they rarely gave the exact answer of how slaves’ lives were. People, in the 18th and 19th century, used the slaves as goods, things, consumers to traded and sold in their daily life. Also, slavery killed millions of people, took away plenty children’s lives, and freedoms. As a human being, many feelings would touch the heart of each person, if people sit down and listen about the slavery stories. There are a lot of stories to talk about slavery, however the common knowledge that the slaves had to face with punishments, non-equally treatments, and …show more content…
It was also including several beating per a day. Walter Calloway was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1848. The first thing Walter remembered is being purchased as a slave by John Calloway. John Calloway took the family to the plantation that was moved ten several miles of Montgomery in Alabama. The life of the family was very hard there; as a boy was ten years old, Walter tried to against the works from their owner, then it caused too much pain for him resulted in a punishment. That was the reason it was better not say any words against the masters. The most punishment for black people were not only whippings and the most terrible things about it was the white masters never did it by themselves but always had another black slaves to do it. In other words, that made one brother whip another brother. Walter Calloway mentions with the painful in his eyes, “He had a big black boy name Mose, mean as de debil …show more content…
G.L Summer. Those masters would not have treated their slave as a human. However, William Ballard was born in Winnsboro in Fairfield County situated in South Carolina, with several other children. His master was Jim Aiken who had a large and many land at Winnsboro at that time. Jim Aiken was a kind and powerful master; he never whipped or treated the slaves badly. His wife was a caring, and sympathetic woman; she was taking care about the slave by all of her heart. William responds: “he was good to us and give us plenty to eat, and good quarters to live in”. William used to work honestly hard for Jim Aiken, because he knew the terrible way that other masters treated their slaves. William shows, “We was allowed three pounds o’meat, one quart o’molasses, grits and other things each week; plenty for us to eat,” he continues by telling when they had freedom, some slaved wanted to stay wit their Jim Aiken, because he provided everything they needed, gave them stability and treated them as man, and not slaves in the first place: “When freedom came, he told us we was free, and if we wanted to stay on with him, he would do the best he could for us. Most of us stayed, and after a few months, he paid wages”. The masters’ relations was not only between the slave and their owner, but it was also between the slave and the masters’ family members. William remembers many horrible
In the same page, he also tells how a woman killed his wife’s cousin in the cruelest way. Afterwards, he talks about the horrible feeling this murder produced throughout the entire community. Douglass also recounts the experience of watching the slaveholder whip his aunt until she was covered in blood and the pleasure the slaveholder seemed to take in it. The graphic description of her abuse makes readers feel the same anger Douglass must have
From the beginning, Douglass’ life was a struggle; especially since his first master, Captain Anthony, and overseer, Mr. Plummer, were both merciless beings. The title “Captain” was thought to have come from Anthony’s time sailing the Chesapeake Bay. Described as “a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding”, Captain Anthony would often take sadistic pleasure in torturing Douglass’s Aunt by tying her up and whipping her until she bled. Mr. Plummer also took part in these heinous acts. He was “a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster.”
8. One thing William talks about during this time period is life as a servant. The author uses great details and really describes how the life of being a slave was in this time period. He talks about how all the servants sleep together and how his master treats him after he was released from prison. The second thing William talks about is how butter is very good but is expensive.
Modern Day Slavery We will never quite understand what it was like to experience slavery. While there are many different types of slavery that exist today, such as forced labor, sex trafficking, and domestic servitude, to name a few, we are lucky to have never experienced or witnessed, the type of slavery that great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass endured. In the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, we as readers encounter an in-depth description of the beatings that Frederick had a testimony for. We genuinely do not realize how much privilege we hold in the 21st century. Douglass saw horrifying, blood drawing, and angry beatings of his loved ones, was unaware of how old he was, was not granted an education, and so much
This happened when Douglass was quite young. The worst part was that the masters took “great pleasure in whipping a slave” (4). Another horrible event that Douglass witnessed was seeing his brother get stomped on by Master Andrew “till the blood gushed from his nose and ears” (49). He also experienced a beating himself when he did not take off his clothes when his master ordered him to. His master “lashed” him “till he had worn out his switches, cutting” him “so savagely as to leave marks visible for a long time after” (62).
My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute” (55)! On the contrary, there were masters who treated their slaves fairly. For example, John Pinney was a
The institution slavery that practiced by both black and white people has huge affected on Augustus’s family life, one of the slaves that worked for Mr. Robbin William. Augustus’s family was a slave that bought by Mr. Robin William. But when Augustus bought his freedom, he still has to buy the freedom of his wife and a son. Augustus is conflicted. He doesn’t want to leave his child or his wife to work as slaves, but he
Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.
Douglass encountered multiple harsh realities of being enslaved. For example, the ex-slave was practically starved to death by his masters on multiple occasions. In fact, “[He was] allowed less than a half of a bushel of corn-meal per week, and very little else... It was not enough for [him] to subsist upon... A great many times [he had] been nearly perishing with hunger” (pg 31).
The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.
Slavery was a long, slow process of dulling. Slaves had the constant fear of physical violence, the threat of losing the ones they love, and endured a life of always being treated as subhuman. One way that slavery dulled those in its grip was the constant fear of physical violence. Their masters could hurt or kill them at any moment and there’s nothing they could do. Dana explains how whippings were
Dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners must occur for slavery to exist. Slavery harms everyone involved, including the slaveholders who superficially seem to profit from the arrangement. Douglass’s narrative acknowledges the damage inflicted on both sides of the institution of slavery, emphasizing that a human being’s personality and disposition form per the laws and socially acceptable practices exhibited within the society. Douglass has an excellent example how he seen with his own eyes how his mistress became demonized when she became an owner of a slave. Douglass became Mrs. Auld's first salve owner and at the begging when they first met “she [was] of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (38).
This shows that the way a Master behaves around a slave can be very influential, and Douglass explains that he was compelled to give all his hard-earned money to Master Hugh because the influence the Master had on him was to give him everything he worked hard for. Next, on page 10 of his Narrative, Douglass proclaims, “They never knew when they were safe from punishment. They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it. Every thing depended upon the looks of the horses,
In most history classes, it is taught to view just the lives of the slaves as victims, and not considering any other point of view. Douglass wrote, My Bondage and My Freedom, to get the point across that slaves were not the only victims. Slaves, slave owners and white working people were all victims of the system. Fedrick Douglass wrote about the things he saw growing up as a slave. He saw each point of view loud and clear.
Through deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion, Frederick Douglass shows the readers what negative effects slavery has on the slaveholders themselves. Douglass successfully shows that slavery makes the slaveholder bitter and brings ultimate sadness into their lives. In addressing the harmful effects of slavery on the slaveholders, he makes one reconsider their moral righteousness and better comprehend the difference between humanity and atrocity. Though there are many other ways that slavery could have been harmful to the slaveholder, Frederick Douglass has shown that these ways given were true and has proven that they were indeed negative effects on the