The mid-term is almost over and I am sure each of you will do your very best. I will have your test scores back by next class. (Remember my comma key is broken so I'm using dashes).
This weeks reading assignments include:
Read and print out Walt Whitman's Poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd". Please bring a copy of this poem to class with you next week. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174748 (Printing hint: If you make two columns in a word document and then cut and paste the poem you can use less paper.)
Please read the following short biography on Francis Watkins Harper: http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/uu_addenda/Frances-Harper.php and write an author's biography on her. Just like Harriet Beecher Stowe's author's bio I had you do last week. This is due next class session- October 29. (Note: It may be necessary to look up more information in order to complete the author profile.)
Please read the following poetry selections by Frances Harper:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/185927
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_Me_in_a_Free_Land
and this piece on her most famous work- Iola Leory
http://www.answers.com/topic/iola-leroy-1
For these selections you should take notes on the topic and any other information regarding the selection that you find interesting. These poems and biographies could show up on the Final Exam in January.
Your blog question for this week: We've read several slave narratives and autobiographies-as well as- Uncle Tom's Cabin. What have you learned about the black experience in America during the 1700's and 1800's that you may not have known before or did not fully understand ? How has the literature you read reinforced-expanded or changed your views on slavery? Give specific examples. (Some of you have big goose eggs on blog entries. Not good!)
A Look Ahead:
In class on the 29th we will finish up UTC and then move on to Thoreau. We will be reading: Resistance to Civil Government and selections from Walden for our main course work. Our next essay will be due on 12/10 instead of before Thanksgiving. The topic will be determined shortly.
Something about Slavery I knew but never quite understood was the way that they lived and what they had to go through. Such as if a master dies they will be counted and sold with the property to a master who could be much worse or better than their previous master. There was never any guarantee that the slaves would stay together. Sometimes they grew up with families than lost it all, These were all things that I knew but never fully understood. Uncle Tom is a prime example. He was taken from his family and friends, freedom inches from his grasp, to be sold to a stranger. The first time he got lucky and was bought by a good family. After Eva died St. Claire promised to give him his freedom but died before he could do so. His hope of freedom was once again shattered. He was than sold to a horrible master who ended up killing him.
ReplyDeleteEm and her mother were sold the same time Tom was and their ultimate fear came true when they were sold to separate masters. The horrible situations I mentioned before have much more impact when it is actual names and characters as opposed to things that happened. They bring the horrors of slavery to life and it is a lot harder to push it from your mind when it isn't facts and figures.
That is totally true. It seems like that is why Uncle Tom's Cabin was so effective. Most people who lived during slavery did not know what slavery meant for blacks. Uncle Tom's Cabin made slavery personal and gave people a compelling reason to oppose it.
DeleteIn a few weeks we will move on to Realism in American Literature. One major catalyst for the movement from Romantics to Realism (time period from Civil War to end of Century) is an actual piece of technology. Can you -based on your answer- figure out what piece of technology would produce a more realistic type of literature? Realism-simple explanation-- is literature that portrays how things really are in everyday life.
DeleteThe Radio?
DeleteI knew most of the facts about slavery in America, but I didn’t understand what those facts really meant – what it was like to be a slave. Uncle Tom’s Cabin brought the slave experience to life – families torn apart, slaves brutally flogged, blacks turned into animals from vicious treatment, and young slave girls at the mercy of their owners.
ReplyDeleteNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass also helped me to realize why slave owners did not want their slaves to be educated. Before, I hadn’t understood that being able to read revealed to slaves that there was more to slavery; there was liberty and opportunity. This knowledge generated a discontented spirit within them, which often led to a break for freedom.
These revelations made me very sad, as I hadn’t been before, that our nation actually maintained such a practice and had to go through a war to abolish it. What’s even sadder, prejudice and discrimination still flourish in America.
Well said. Agreed on all points. good wording and impact. What do you think is a prejudice we have in the US today besides against blacks that we need to move past?
DeleteWell, prejudice is pretty prolific in the United States - not just against blacks, but also against whites, Indians, and various darker-skinned cultures.
DeleteI learned about the importance of education in manifesting freedom for slaves in America. Ignorance and a life of only servitude retard any growth in a person and teach only submission. When a man learns to read, he realizes his potential. Once he reads once, there is no stopping him from reading more, learning that he is inherently free and capable, and desiring freedom.
ReplyDeleteThrough his narrative, Frederick Douglass was a testimony to this fact. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he writes, “If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself ) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master." After learning to read, he read about man's inherent freedom and the evils of slavery, he escaped slavery, and he became an influential abolitionist. Slaves were human, and the black experience in America is exactly what anyone else, including whites, would have felt. When George Harris understood the evils of slavery, he decided to set all of his family's slaves free. A simple education and enlightenment to the truth led slaves and whites to the same action: they worked to end the practice of slavery and set the system right.
Learning this gave me a better perspective of slavery in America. It explains why slaves revolted, why abolitionists fought against slavery, and why the practice eventually ended.
I agree Jared. I always assumed I suppose that not giving slaves an education stemmed from slave owners not valuing them. Instead it seems there was a more sinister motive- keep them uneducated so they do not revolt.
DeleteGratitude. If there's one thing I've learned from reading the Frederick Douglass autobiography, or Uncle Tom's Cabin, it's true gratitude on several levels. First, I realized that the slaves understood the true meaning of gratitude. They knew what it was like to long for freedom, yet never be able to get it. They knew what it was like to truly be thankful to God for their eternal reward, when their Earthly life was so horrible. The slaves understood the true gratitude of freedom, physically and religiously. Also, I learned this trait myself when I think how life is now, and how I wasn't born in that ugly time period. It really helps me realize exactly how important it is that God put me exactly in the time he needs me. I'm meant to read about these times past, and in turn throw myself into doing all the good I can now. Sort of like young "mas'r" George Shelby. I have gratitude that I have the ability to take action against anything wrong, all as a witness, free for God.
ReplyDeleteSam waters
I'm curious Sam- what examples did you see of Gratitude in the selections we read?
DeleteUncle Tom's Cabin gave me a much broader view of slavery. From all of the previous school readings about the horrors of the slave trade, i had never really stopped to think that their might have been "nice" slave owners. I mean, I "knew" that some owners were nice to their slaves, but I had never really processed that thought and actually realized it. So through Uncle Toms Cabin, I was able to see that some slave owners did treat their slaves respectfully.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why America had such a hard time getting rid of slavery? Because those who treated their slaves more kindly than others saw no reason to give them up.
DeleteRyan and Sam- It makes me wonder what things do I personally do that I think are "good and righteous" but am really blind to their true impact. No matter how "nice" a slave owner was -the very act of owning another human being was unacceptable. "Lord let us see all of our actions and thoughts through Your lens".
DeleteYes! I noticed the same thing while watching gone with the wind. Scarlet's slave is reluctant to leave even in the midst of the civil war.
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DeleteThat's a good mindset Mrs. Butler. That would make a good discussion question, "What actions and ideas do we have that we perceive as good and true, yet are not biblically founded?"
DeleteI am really struggling here to find something new about slavery I learned through UTC. although it portrays a Slaves life very well in differing scenarios, I feel as if it is simply another clarification of previously gained knowledge. Don't get me wrong here, UTC and the other documents were great, but they did not lend much knowledge to me specifically. The thing I believe I could pull out of this, is the importance of protection and seeking the truth. Uncle Tom is willing to be sold to protect his family, and this is an act of great courage and I am forced to ask myself would I do the same? In seeking the truth, it must be done objectively, and on facts. The south let their view of their society as perfect blind them from the evil of slavery, and did not pursue the truth. I need to focus on learning the truth, and having a legitimate reason for my opinions. These are what I believe are the two most important things I could learn from these slave stories.
ReplyDeleteGood response Jacob. If you truly gained motivation for continuing to seek truth (even in areas that you are so sure of at the moment) and were inspired by the courage displayed then you get the whole point of reading literature. Reading literature and analyzing stories and poetry is more than just fulfilling a class assignment. A good book has the power to transform-to inspire to greatness- and to change generations. UTC served as a catalyst to END SLAVERY. What books and literature of your generation will perhaps be the catalyst to end abortion? To bring our Nation back to the biblical principles it was found upon?
DeleteIt's a tough question to answer honestly. If I was in their shoes, what would I do? In those days the popular truth was that blacks were slaves and could and should be treated as animals. Many white Christians believed this. Of course, it didn't change the real truth however many people believed it. I was wondering if there's any 'truths' in todays society that we (as Christians) accept as truth, yet that's not the way that God designed it.
DeleteThank you Mrs. Bulter. I guess that was my mistake, when I saw learned I though Empirical facts, but it really is a mindset or conviction that you gain when reading lit..
DeleteAlthough I have studied slavery before, the different books we've been reading have allowed me to understand what it truly meant to be a slave. Realizing what it meant to lose a child and know that they would be abused and mistreated was heart-wrenching. Fore example, the description of Emmeline being taken from her mother was incredibly hard to read, especially considering what happened to her afterward. Another factor that was eye-opening was the idea of unsuspecting slaves being sold or losing children without realizing what was happening. After she had been sold, the woman Tom met on the river boat was unable to believe what had happened. She trustingly left her child alone for a few moments, only to return and find that he had been sold. More than anything else, these novels exposed me to the real experience of being a slave.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easier to pallet if we bought into the line of thinking that they were really just animals and it was no different then selling puppies away from their mothers. But the truth is that they are just as human and felt just as much as any white mother.
DeleteOf course I always knew that I never, ever wanted to be a slave, but I never understood the full extent of evil that went on in our nations past. I guess because I was way too young last time around to understand, I was not aware of the way white masters took advantage of their female slaves like Emmeline in UTC. The most horrible thing was that the fathers of half white children treated their kids almost worse than their other slaves. And if they weren't treated with more severity than they were ignored like Cassie and her children.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing was the reality that "religion" was used as a cover up for all the horrendous practices.
Yes, it very sad to think that the Bible, God's sacred word, was used to support slavery, which went against virtually everything God stands for - family, kindness, chastity, etc.
DeleteKarlyn! :) I got ya!
DeleteAah! Lauren signed into my google account and that last comment published as her! It's really me Mrs butler!!! But I'll sign in as me for my responses so you can tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteObviously one of the things I learned was just how violent slavery could get. Of course I knew it was wrong and could get brutal in some cases, but reading Uncle Tom's Cabin made me realize just how wrong it was. In a lot of cases, many slave owners would treat an annoying pet better than a slave. I knew that some slave-masters with anger issues were known to beat their slave, but little did I know that it was perfectly legal to kill a disobedient slave. It's ironic how today you can get arrested for just beating or abusing a dog and yet back then, the authorities didn't give a second glace to a bloodied slave lying on the side of the road. Another aspect of slavery I found interesting was a 'whipping boy.' A whipping boy was a servant for a child. Whenever the child did wrong, instead of being punished, the 'whipping boy' was disciplined. It was horrible, but yet ironic that the free (self-righteous) whites would actually have someone to take the blunt of the punishment whenever they did wrong. It's much like how they needed Jesus who had taken the punishment for them.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comment Nick. Great insight. I wish we had time in class to really delve into your comment.
DeleteThat's really interesting, never thought of the similarity there,"Jesus died for our transgressions."
DeleteI love your example of the flogging boy, It reminds me of something president Obama said, "I don't want my daughters to be punished with a child for a mistake they made" President Obama was justifying abortion by saying its not fair to punish is daughter with a child, just like the slave holders justified beating the flogging boy so their child would not be punished. Just a though.
DeleteYou bring up a good point. Even though Black slaves were commonly referred to as pets their owners often valued their pets above their slaves.
DeleteMost of the things we've learned thus far concerning slavery I've already vaguely known about, however, diving into these books has really reinforced and brought some real life description to slavery. Some specific things:
ReplyDelete1: I think it's amazing how many truly brilliant slaves there were. The two specific examples I think of are Frederick Douglas and Phillis Wheatley. While in slavery, these two learned to read and write, and even in there circumstances were able to produce amazing works. I find this fascinating and motivating.
2: The reading of these narratives really reinforced the knowledge of the horrors of slavery. The constant whipping, disrespect, flogging, inhumane treatment was just horrific. It made me think of my life and how's there is absolutely no reason for me to complain.
3: It was interesting learning about the fugitive slave act. I never knew about it and therefore didn't realize how hard it was for some of the abolitionists to continue helping. They needed to decide whether it was morally justifiable to break the law and house runaway slaves, in Uncle Tom's Cabin, we saw Mr. and Mrs. Bird believed it was.
Reading these narratives has really boiled the blood inside of me, the treatment of these humans was unbelievable, and I believe it's really good for all of us, though difficult, to become more familiar with the practice.
This is so true! Especially when we consider what it meant for Christians to break the Fugitive Slave Law, you have to wonder what you would have done in a similar situation. I'm sure they had to wrestle with the moral issue of breaking an evil law.
DeleteOne thing I learned about the time period being discussed was the complete inhumane treatment of slaves... Such as in UTC when Ms. Ophelia was attempting to keep Rosa from being sent off to be flogged. I never knew they had specific places to have slaves be sent to for that kind of treatment. Also, the breeding plantations after the importation of slaves was outlawed. When I first learned about slavery in America as a young'un, I thought the most inhumane thing masters would do to their slaves was whip them... Reading the slave narratives and UTC proved my original thought wrong. I was in tears over reading how these humans weren't treated as anything but property that could easily be repurchased.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. This study of slavery has made me realize the truly pervertedness of slavery (at least on the plantations where masters were mean to their slaves). Great analysis Sara.
DeleteThrough out the history of America our country has made many mistakes one of the gravest mistakes has been allowing and encouraging slavery in America. In our study of American History and Literature, we have learned so much about the horror of slavery. The most interesting thing I have learned how slavery effected the everyday citizen. I always thought that slavery was just a small issue. However I have learned that slavery effected almost every aspect of American, life primarily the political, economic, social, and religious areas. This has blown my mind thinking how the average citizen had to deal with slavery all the time.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I learned while reading slave stories and narratives, and what really surprised me, was the amount of indecisiveness on the part of the whites. I guess before reading this book, I had it in my brain that you were either for or against slavery - there was no "middle ground." But I found that I was pretty wrong. While reading UTC, I saw many examples of people who believed one thing and did another, who knew what was right but still did what was wrong, and those who did nothing when they knew that they should have done something. This is evident in the elder Shelbys, the women on the ferry, and especially St. Claire. All were against slavery but still owned slaves! The lack of action in the face of evil was wrong and unjust.
ReplyDeleteHaley, that is so true! It makes me wonder what we would do if we were put in the same situation as the white slave owners. I would hope that we would stand up and act against the evil of slavery, but I wonder if we would have a different perspective in a slave owner's shoes?
Delete“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was so good, it made me laugh and cry and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had studied slavery before, but after reading some more of the literature from that time period I was struck by what the slaves had to go through. I was even more struck by the white characters’ responses to slavery in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Harriet Beecher Stowe painted a picture that actually reminded me a lot of Nazi Germany. In the same way that many Germans were against what Hitler was doing, many white Americans did not agree with slavery. However, the majority of them sat by and did nothing. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Mr. Bird even went so far as to sign and advocate the Fugitive Slave Act, all for the sake of being popular and getting reelected. Slavery was horrendous, but people stood by and let it continue. I greatly admire Harriet Beecher Stowe. She took her feelings about slavery and did something with them. She made an impact. I truly hope that I can have the courage to stand up against the things that are wrong. There are a lot of opportunities in our culture to do so. We can fool ourselves into thinking that we cannot make a difference, or that it is not our job to speak out. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” reminded me that we have a duty to speak out against injustice and that we can do something to help.
ReplyDeleteI have always had a hard time with connecting to historical characters, particularly slaves, because I have never been through anything as horrible as slavery. Uncle Tom's Cabin, as well as the movies we watched, really helped me to see how heinous this period really watched. Uncle Tom was a very relatable character, and his struggles gave me an eye and a heart into the life of a slave. It also opened my eyes to the slaves of today, for the thousands of girls in trafficking who are going through many of the same crimes. Uncle Tom's Cabin is an enlightening book; I enjoyed reading it and I'm glad I did!
ReplyDeleteWho is this? Someone has signed in as someone else and I can't figure it out :)
DeleteThis is mine. I have no idea why it signed it Madie. I think my blogger account was hacked...
DeleteOne thing that UTC and other movies that I've seen this year have helped me to realize about slavery, is the fact that the whites justified their behavior by saying that the slaves weren't human at all. I sort of knew this before, but not to its full extent. In my opinion, the white people didn't, deep down, actually believe that blacks weren't human. But they needed something to hide behind so they could continue with the very economically prosperous practice of slavery. Thinking about that is sickening.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to many Americans, I have had a general understanding of slavery and the effects it had on society. After a detailed study however, I have been introduced to a many more atrocities than I knew existed.
ReplyDeleteOne particularly interesting fact I learned more about, was the division of family that slavery perpetuated. Although I have vaguely known this division occurred, it was interesting to see the real life affects it produced.
The literature I have read has revealed the evil nature of slavery and the vile oppression it perpetuates. These effects are evident in the physical and mental suppression of slaves such as; Fredrick Douglass, Uncle Tom, George Harris, and virtually every other African American in this time period. After learning some of the effects slavery had on family life, I am even further convinced of its evil nature.
The problem of family separation can be found in the character of Emmeline. This young girl was separated from her mother at the auction block in Uncle Tom’s Cabin experienced repercussions as a result. The possibility of separation also caused Eliza Harris to flee from the Shelby’s to Canada.