I couldn’t imagine being beaten with a whip, hung for sport, or molested every night. Not too long ago, our beloved country stood red handed in the face of discrimination and the buy and purchase of human beings. Liberties that should be granted to all men were denied to others solely based on their color of skin. This shameful era in American his story has been documented by many people in many different forms, and all conclude that the life of the African in America was devastating and something must be done about it. In the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, author, Harriet Jacobs explains the implications of injustice to the slaves in the antebellum era in America. Through imagery, direct quotes, pathos, and ethos, Harriet Jacobs
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She wants the reader to connect to the slave emotionally as they were treated inhumanely and as mere chattel. One example she uses to convey the poor treatment of slaves is by directly quoting her slave master. He said, “If I find out any of my niggers…I’ll give ‘em five hundred lashes” (Jacobs 82). Referencing her slave master’s words verbatim gives the reader a more surreal experience to the treatment of black slave to white slave masters. Analyzing his words, we can concur that disciplinary acts as extreme as whip lashes is proof of the inhumane treatment of slaves. This is also proof that the slaves have no human rights during this …show more content…
Jacobs speaks on this topic to touch on the reader’s emotional appeal by describing the long hours and hard work to purchase the freedom of themselves of their family and how easily the slave master will not allow the purchase. She is pleading for at least sympathy for the hard work that went in vain because of the lack of protection of human rights. She also expresses to the reader to be alarmed of the ethical injustice that takes place in self or family purchase. America was built on the foundation of hard work and dreams. The idea that you can even work you hardest, as a slave, you won’t achieve your dreams. In this case, buying freedom is a dream slaves were not allowed, even despite all the money in the world. To advocate her argument, she uses her own experience, say that she knows they will never sill her or her kids to “any body”. The separation of the words “any” and “body” stresses her understanding of the rules in the antebellum era (Jacobs 81). Saying any body refers to black or white, meaning her slave master will not sell her or her to anyone is another classification of injustices practiced in America during the antebellum
She wants the reader to connect to the slave emotionally as they were treated inhumanely and as mere chattel. One example she uses to convey the poor treatment of slaves is by directly quoting her slave master. He said, “If I find out any of my niggers…I’ll give ‘em five hundred lashes” (Jacobs 82). Referencing her slave master’s words verbatim gives the reader a more surreal experience to the treatment of black slave to white slave masters. Analyzing his words, we can concur that disciplinary acts as extreme as whip lashes is proof of the inhumane treatment of slaves. This is also proof that the slaves have no human rights during this …show more content…
Jacobs speaks on this topic to touch on the reader’s emotional appeal by describing the long hours and hard work to purchase the freedom of themselves of their family and how easily the slave master will not allow the purchase. She is pleading for at least sympathy for the hard work that went in vain because of the lack of protection of human rights. She also expresses to the reader to be alarmed of the ethical injustice that takes place in self or family purchase. America was built on the foundation of hard work and dreams. The idea that you can even work you hardest, as a slave, you won’t achieve your dreams. In this case, buying freedom is a dream slaves were not allowed, even despite all the money in the world. To advocate her argument, she uses her own experience, say that she knows they will never sill her or her kids to “any body”. The separation of the words “any” and “body” stresses her understanding of the rules in the antebellum era (Jacobs 81). Saying any body refers to black or white, meaning her slave master will not sell her or her to anyone is another classification of injustices practiced in America during the antebellum