Typhoon And Forced Servitude Analysis

Of Typhoons and Forced Servitude
After Trayvon Martin’s horrific murder in 2012, a campaign christened as Black Lives Matter was established to celebrate the undeniable excellence and importance of the African American community and to pursue total social equality, regardless of past prejudices. Even though the 15th Amendment to the United States’ Constitution makes the discrimination or prohibition of rights on the basis of race criminal, African Americans constantly have to strive to prove themselves in a society dominated by the glorification of European descent. The necessity for overcompensation essentially stems from the era of colonization of the United States, when slavery dictated economic progress. The Slave Ship, painted by British …show more content…
In Turner’s painting, the context behind the piece is the oncoming storm, forcing the ship’s captain to cast the slaves overboard in order to collect insurance money upon the vessel’s return. This impending typhoon ultimately represents the Civil War, occurring soon after The Slave Ship was finished and shown to the public. The recuperation from the damage caused by a typhoon-caliber disaster can take numerous years, after leaving implausible destruction and mortality in its wake. Similarly, the devastation left behind from the Civil War was not fully healed until Rutherford B. Hayes’ Compromise of 1877, signifying the end of the Reconstruction era, over a decade after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union. Both tragic occurrences, typhoons and wars alike, require extensive resources and abundant time to fix, not to mention the inconceivable mortality rate. Principally, the key element of Turner’s work, the ominous typhoon nearing the ship, portrays the American Civil War, transpiring soon after The Slave Ship was unveiled to the …show more content…
M. W. Turner’s painting, The Slave Ship, shows exquisite choice of colors, demonstrating a drastic contrast between the sky and sea. The piece also makes inarguably clear, through both the carnivorous animals and struggling slaves, the general population’s perspective on slaves as disposable. Not only this, but the main focal point of the piece, the oncoming typhoon, illustrates the impending American Civil War, both inducing devastating consequences. Moreover, the totality of the piece’s meaning is sadly still prevalent, as racism, though a decline has appeared, continues to be displayed unceasingly. Though the notion that racial discrimination had been stopped, either by law or protest, is predominant in much of society, the simple reason the Black Lives Matter campaign was initiated is undeniable evidence against this. In addition, the impression that sudden racial equality took place upon the ratification of the 15th amendment is no more valid in the present than in the past. From the commonality of police brutality in the news to race-based animosity towards the President of the United States, the proof of current racism is irrefutable. Neither the publication of a brutally honest painting, published almost 2 centuries ago, nor the atrocious murder of an innocent African American should have to occur in order to bring these issues to the face of