A Call to Action

Compelling, vivid, and rather violent images of despair and mistreatment were the calls to action that abolitionist authors like John Whittier and Frances Harper incorporated in their poems during the antislavery crusade. Most memorable were the images in "The Slave Mother" by Harper, in which the author portrayed the separation of mother in a tormenting fashion: "He is not hers, although she bore for him a mother's pains; He is not hers, although her blood is coursing through his veins" (17-20). In modern days and in the past, it is assumed that the relationship between mother and child quintessential to development - a relationship that should not be tampered with. Yet, when a slave master is described as standing in the way of that bond, the reader must feel immense sympathy for the situation and is therefore called to action to improve standards in the racially divided United States. Likewise, in her other poem entitled "Ethiopia," the image of laughing children to startle readers. The only difference, though, is that the image of children in "Ethiopia" is a more positive one, as "'Neath sheltering vines and stately palms shall laughing children play, and aged sires with joyous psalms shall gladden every day" represents the fact that, although slave children are stuck in an oppressive state, the redress of God will bring light to the lives of the children (17-20). Although this perspective may not startle readers because it does not physically torment, it shows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and with the work of crusaders, that redress of God will show through sooner. Lastly, in "The Farewell of a Virginia Slave Mother to Her Daughters" by Whittier, daughters are "sold and gone" to dark, lonesome, gloomy homes where "There no mother's eye is near them, there no mother's ear can hear them; Never, when the torturing lash seams their back with many a gash, shall their mother's kindness bless them, or a mother's arms caress them" (15-20). Not only does the whipping images startle a reader, but the fact that these children in despair are left suffering without the loving touch of a mother is the one image a reader needs to realize that the antislavery crusade is something that everyone should join, and, fortunately for the success of the United States, that abolition crusade finally worked many years later.

"It's Not What You Say, But How You Say It"

Growing up, my mom always pressed the concept of saying things the way they are meant to mean. For the longest time, I didn't understand what she meant, but looking back on the past, Harriet Jacobs wrote "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" with that motto in mind. Jacobs' intent wasn't to scream at the women reading her novel or even the white men and women soaking in her words. Her intent was to tell a story and hope that her readers would respond to her experience and try to make a change. Jacobs summed up her intent in her preface, where she mentioned "I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant for me to have been silent about my own history. Neither do I care to excite sympathy for my own sufferings." Instead of reading a book, you are almost talking to the woman herself. She speaks to her audience directly, and in my personal opinion, she reached out to her audience more directly that way. Firstly, Jacobs decided to directly address white women or African American women not involved in slavery directly, "But, O, ye happy women, whose purity has been sheltered from childhood, who have been free to choose the objects of your affection...If slavery had been abolished, I, also, could have married the man of my choice; I could have had a home shielded by the laws, and I should have been spared the painful task of confessing what I am now about to relate." Jacobs is not flirting with big words or hiding her main intent: she is putting into comprehensible words her view on the world, and hoping that her experience and view on slavery will light the fire in free and enslaved women to fight for freedom from oppression. "But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse." In sum, Jacobs wasn't claiming superiority by saying her situation represented the entire population and that she was screaming for a change. Jacobs' easy-going, relatable language choices and diction add a conversational touch to "Incidents" that make it a truly meaningful read. (EXTRA CREDIT)

A Plight for Freedom

During a time of immense struggle for independence and abolition, women of the 1860’s like Linda, the main character in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, employed the power of voice and reason to spread the message of slavery across the Free States and Slave States alike. Although Linda was thrown into slavery at a young age, she chose to speak up to her master regardless of the beatings that ensued, and also chose to run away and fight for her freedom regardless of the search parties her master was gathering. “When separations come by the hand of death, the pious soul can bow in resignation...but when the ruthless hand of man strikes the blow, regardless of the misery he causes, it is hard to be submissive” (Jacobs, Pg. 772). Because Linda is an African American woman whose mother was also a slave, she is forced be sold into slavery and from then on she battled several social contexts. Starting with race and culture, her mixed racial skin tone, known as “mulatto,” contributed to the lack of prospects for her to “lead a better life.” The entire problem of slavery came about in the 1860’s because of the culture clash between African Americans and the social hierarchy and class structure of the White folks. For example, when Linda fell in love with a free black man, she mentioned she could never marry him or leave her slave because “the husband of a slave has no power to protect her.” Therefore, African American men were still considered lower in gender roles to the White man, and the African American slave woman was the lowest in social classes. Although society says that African American woman must be the housekeepers, the slaves, the cleaners, Linda resists those roles completely - which is why the reader connects so strongly to her plight for freedom. When her master hits her for the first time, Linda speaks her mind and says, “You have tried to kill me, and I wish you had; but you have no right to do as you like with me.” African American slave women speaking up in such a way at that time was nonexistent, which is one of the reasons why Jacobs was trying to teach women in her situation to escape. Also, Linda is willing to speak up about her race and her love with her husband, as her master calls them puppies and she responds, “If he is a puppy, I am a puppy, for we are both of the negro race. It is right and honorable for us to love each other. The man you call a puppy never insulted me, sir; and he would not love me if he did not believe me to be a virtuous woman” (Jacobs, Pg. 774). The painful memories of Linda’s past makes my heart ache in sadness for the hardships African American woman had to endure because of the color of their skin, yet it inspires me that we have a culture today that, for the most part, provides equal treatment and happiness for all. 

1 John 4:21

Mary Brave Bird, a famous Native American, once said “The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies.” “An Indian’s Looking Glass for the White Man” and “Indian Names,” both written in the late 1800’s, magnify a central theme of Native American mistreatment in the United States by the white man and focuses more importantly on the unnoticed gifts that the Native Americans prized America. Apess highlights the fact that “Christian” white men are mistreating the “red-faced” Native Americans because they are following the guidelines of the Bible, yet the Native Americans “cannot enjoy their rights and privileges as the whites do, they are not protected in their persons and property...are disenfranchised from all their rights just because their skin is not white.” Had I been a white person reading this in the late 1800’s, I would have been utterly shocked by the point that Apess makes in his writing. He is not blaming the white’s nor “raising his voice” in an argumentative manner, he is “not speaking for office, but merely placing before you the black inconsistency that you have placed before me.” In sum, Apess addresses the injustice toward Native Americans by white Christians despite the fact that “men of a different skin are so despised, and the white’s are acting so contrary to the Gospel.” Similarly, in the writing by Sigourney, she addresses the same aspect of mistreatment toward Native Americans in a different light. Instead, she implies that the Native Americans that are being killed and mistreated in the United States are the reason why the United States is ultimately so successful. Like we have studied previously, Native Americans were the first people on our land and learned how to cultivate and survive on that land. Sigourney writes, “That ‘mid the forests where they roamed/These rings no hunter’s shout; But their name is on your waters/Ye may not wash it out...Your mountains build their monument/Though ye destroy their dust.” Therefore, the message in this poem is that, although you are destroying the lives and land of the Native Americans, their name, hard work, and dedication marked the territory of the United States. White Christians may have been “following the word of God” and putting themselves above Native Americans hierarchically, but there were still “fellow citizens, who advocate our cause daily” (Apess). 

Through The Looking Glass

For most people and fictional characters, looking into glass, and in particular mirrors, symbolizes a feeling of encouragement and inner beauty. Symbolism, as defined in the Writing about Literature book, are words or ideas up for interpretation that stand for something much more complex and prominent in the story. In upbeat, positive stories in the world of Disney, glass mirrors are dream-like symbols in which physically appealing princesses look toward the the magical future or admire makeup and designer clothes. Yet, in "The Tenth of January," the main character Senath finds herself looking into glass mirrors and seeing the exact opposite in reflection. The word glass is mentioned several times in the story, and more often than not the images are negatively portrayed by brokenness and ugliness, for example "she sat out in the snow-drifts through terror of her home...she would wake up with a little cracked glass upon the opposite wall; of creeping out and up to it in her night-dress; of the ghastly twisted thing that looked back at her" (Phelps, Pg. 3). Later on in the story, after readers realize Senath is unhappy in her marriage and merging on a depressive state, she "put her elbows on the table and her chin into her hands, and so, for a motionless half-hour, studied the unrounded, uncolored, unlightened face that stared back at her...her breath dimming the outline of its repulsive mouth" (Pg. 10) While interpreting symbolism is a daunting and annoying task for readers, most writers pick and choose their words carefully display a certain emotion or enhance a character. In this story, Phelps may have chosen glass and mirror symbolism and the way the main character sees herself in those objects to enhance the darkness and gloom of the story and the plot in the end.

The "American Dream" Gone Awry

The “American Dream” is an image of economic success, blissful family life, abundant opportunities, and opulent lifestyle -- but what happens when that image is obstructed? “Those disasters which break down the spirit of a man...while treading the prosperous paths of life...[those men] who behold a female who can be the comforter and supporter of her husband under misfortune” (Irving, 526). Considering the grave recession the United States is weighted under, the message Washington Irving sends in his work “The Wife” is one that connects to the modern day family. Yet comparing his plot to the realistic situations families find themselves in today, “The Wife” could actually be a work to draw inspiration from. In times of crisis, families should come together instead of break apart and love unconditionally rather than fight out of emotions. In this story, a man is afraid to tell his wife that he has been “reduced to almost penury” by an economic crisis. His good friend advises him to tell his wife, but the husband is afraid she cannot bear the poverty when she has been growing up with “all the refinements of opulence.” Following his friends advice, he tells his wife about his economic troubles, and instead of breaking the marriage, she responded “like an angel...she threw her arms around my neck, and asked if this was all that had lately made me unhappy.” In the end, the husband “has never experienced a moment of such unutterable felicity” when he learns that his wife loves him despite his economic situation in “a home destitute of everything elegant...exhausted and spiritless over a prospect of future poverty.” Irving describes a life that is not male-dominated, a life in which the union of marriage is strong and can withstand all obstacles, a life that can make many twists and turns but is nevertheless satisfying because the United States offers life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.