The horrifying stories of slavery have long been documented in school text books as well as in films. However, the WPA project took story telling to new heights through the perspectives of those who survived slavery and lived to tell the story in The Slave Narratives. According to Jeff Strickland, “the WPA slave interviews offer an innovative approach to engage students with the history of slavery in the United States” (Strickland, 41). The Slave Narratives documents the different experiences slaves endured. Each story is unique in its own way and told from different points of view. Some experiences are better or worse than others. The essence of each story is captured in the natural dialect of the person telling the story through words and
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They were both given away by their original slave owners as wedding gifts to other members of the family. However, at the age of fourteen, Betty, was separated from her family after her master’s store business went bankrupt and the bank was out to seize his slaves in order to resolve the money he owed. She was sent to Louisiana from Texas to a slave auction. Upon arrival, she cried, “I los’ my people and ain’t never going to see dem no more in dis world, and I never did” (Simmons, 21). Abram Sells on the other hand was fortunate enough to see his family occasionally. As a young boy, Abram grew up always having his grandfather around who looked after him and the other small children including the white kids. Betty Simmons later got married and had several children, about fourteen, seven of which were still alive at the time of the interview though she’s not entirely sure how many children she actually had. “I don’t know how many chillen I’s have, and sometimes I sits and tries to count ‘em” (Simmons, 22). Most of her children were sold off as soon as they were able to pick cotton or do any other household chores. One can only imagine the amount of times her heart has been ripped from her chest from losing her children never to be seen again. Her husband also later died when a tree fell on his and she never remarried. In terms of separation, Betty suffered more which makes their stories
They were both given away by their original slave owners as wedding gifts to other members of the family. However, at the age of fourteen, Betty, was separated from her family after her master’s store business went bankrupt and the bank was out to seize his slaves in order to resolve the money he owed. She was sent to Louisiana from Texas to a slave auction. Upon arrival, she cried, “I los’ my people and ain’t never going to see dem no more in dis world, and I never did” (Simmons, 21). Abram Sells on the other hand was fortunate enough to see his family occasionally. As a young boy, Abram grew up always having his grandfather around who looked after him and the other small children including the white kids. Betty Simmons later got married and had several children, about fourteen, seven of which were still alive at the time of the interview though she’s not entirely sure how many children she actually had. “I don’t know how many chillen I’s have, and sometimes I sits and tries to count ‘em” (Simmons, 22). Most of her children were sold off as soon as they were able to pick cotton or do any other household chores. One can only imagine the amount of times her heart has been ripped from her chest from losing her children never to be seen again. Her husband also later died when a tree fell on his and she never remarried. In terms of separation, Betty suffered more which makes their stories