Effects Of Slavery
Jake Newbart and Shawn Lavi
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The “Brutalizing Effects of Slavery upon Both Slave and Slaveholder”
“The warm, red blood came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified and horror stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over”(1942, Douglass). In this passage, a little slave boy experiences the degradation that is slavery, throughout his life this memory haunts him, and while not being haunted, the man who committed this atrocity has become corrupted by the influences of slavery. Through their narratives Douglass and Morrison convey their feelings about the institution of slavery and its degrading influences …show more content…
Schoolteacher taught his students about the inferiority of blacks compared to whites. Racist ideas such as this led to the condonation of violence towards blacks and corruption among whites. For example, the teachings of inferiority led to the beating and milking of Sethe, which indirectly led the death of Beloved. “Those boys came in here and took my milk…Held me down and took it” (Morrrison, 19). After Sethe told Ms. Garner what the boys had done to her Schoolteacher beat her mercilessly. Sethe was treated like a goat while being milked and after asking for compassion received violence instead. This incident led to the rationale for killing Beloved, arguing that “If [she] hadn’t killed her she would’ve died and that [was] something [she] could not bear to happen to her,” (236). The thought of her children experiencing the same horrors that she experienced while in bondage warranted in Sethe’s mind to attempt to kill her children. The story of a slave killing her child as a means of protection from returning to slavery is based in reality and is where Morrison came up with the idea to write Beloved. The thought of a mother killing her child is unthinkable to most but as a result of her experiences in captivity she would do it to protect her child from those horrors. Had Schoolteacher not corrupted his nephews the inhuman treatment of Sethe and the death of beloved could have been avoided. Moreover, the cruelties that blacks experienced at the hands of whites caused them to become rebellious. Paul D attempted to murder his new master after being sold away from Sweet Home, because of the mistreatment that he experienced throughout his life, as a slave. After this incident he was sold to a “chain-gang” in which he experienced the most brutal days of his life. After “eighty-six
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The “Brutalizing Effects of Slavery upon Both Slave and Slaveholder”
“The warm, red blood came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified and horror stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over”(1942, Douglass). In this passage, a little slave boy experiences the degradation that is slavery, throughout his life this memory haunts him, and while not being haunted, the man who committed this atrocity has become corrupted by the influences of slavery. Through their narratives Douglass and Morrison convey their feelings about the institution of slavery and its degrading influences …show more content…
Schoolteacher taught his students about the inferiority of blacks compared to whites. Racist ideas such as this led to the condonation of violence towards blacks and corruption among whites. For example, the teachings of inferiority led to the beating and milking of Sethe, which indirectly led the death of Beloved. “Those boys came in here and took my milk…Held me down and took it” (Morrrison, 19). After Sethe told Ms. Garner what the boys had done to her Schoolteacher beat her mercilessly. Sethe was treated like a goat while being milked and after asking for compassion received violence instead. This incident led to the rationale for killing Beloved, arguing that “If [she] hadn’t killed her she would’ve died and that [was] something [she] could not bear to happen to her,” (236). The thought of her children experiencing the same horrors that she experienced while in bondage warranted in Sethe’s mind to attempt to kill her children. The story of a slave killing her child as a means of protection from returning to slavery is based in reality and is where Morrison came up with the idea to write Beloved. The thought of a mother killing her child is unthinkable to most but as a result of her experiences in captivity she would do it to protect her child from those horrors. Had Schoolteacher not corrupted his nephews the inhuman treatment of Sethe and the death of beloved could have been avoided. Moreover, the cruelties that blacks experienced at the hands of whites caused them to become rebellious. Paul D attempted to murder his new master after being sold away from Sweet Home, because of the mistreatment that he experienced throughout his life, as a slave. After this incident he was sold to a “chain-gang” in which he experienced the most brutal days of his life. After “eighty-six