Throughout the early 1850s to early 1900s, slavery was a controversial issue that divided the nation into two parts: The North and South. Slaveowners of this time would dehumanize people of color and create them into their own properties. The novel, Celia, A Slave, by Melton McLaurin, follows the life of a fourteen year old slave named Celia who was viscously raped for several years by her master, Robert Newsom. After the death of his wife, Newsom searched for a slave that could fulfill his sexual needs.He also did know about the Missouri was going through several debates about slavery. Celia had feelings for another Slave that was on Newsom’s farm named George. Because of this, Celia killed Newsom as a result of warning him to stop having
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The white patriarch dominated and controlled not just african american slaves, but white women as well. Even a married white women could not refuse sexual relations with their husbands. In a study about women both free and enslaved by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, she discusses how slaves found every chance they could get to resent their masters. African American women did not have the choice but to follow their master’s orders or their would be consequences. In Celia’s case, Newsom found the moral ambiguity of owning slaves as a reward for his years of working and his achievements of his status. The slave masters had all the power which makes them make moral decisions about the natural of slavery as a whole. In the mist of slavery debates, southerners could not argue or defend that they have seen moral restraints within their own institutions. In conclusion, slavery was one the most gruesome and tragic period that American has faced. It made states question the religious, legal and moral boundaries of the mistreating of African Americans. Celia’s case started the reformation of the abolishment of slavery. In the book Celia, A Slave, McLaurin put in perspective that southerners ignored the brutal treatment of slaves with their own personal values and beliefs. In Celia’s story, the readers can only imagine the amount of emotional and physical stress that she had faced during this
The white patriarch dominated and controlled not just african american slaves, but white women as well. Even a married white women could not refuse sexual relations with their husbands. In a study about women both free and enslaved by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, she discusses how slaves found every chance they could get to resent their masters. African American women did not have the choice but to follow their master’s orders or their would be consequences. In Celia’s case, Newsom found the moral ambiguity of owning slaves as a reward for his years of working and his achievements of his status. The slave masters had all the power which makes them make moral decisions about the natural of slavery as a whole. In the mist of slavery debates, southerners could not argue or defend that they have seen moral restraints within their own institutions. In conclusion, slavery was one the most gruesome and tragic period that American has faced. It made states question the religious, legal and moral boundaries of the mistreating of African Americans. Celia’s case started the reformation of the abolishment of slavery. In the book Celia, A Slave, McLaurin put in perspective that southerners ignored the brutal treatment of slaves with their own personal values and beliefs. In Celia’s story, the readers can only imagine the amount of emotional and physical stress that she had faced during this