George Downey
9/16/2014 08:16:52 am
"The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave:"
Reply
Shea Saulino
9/16/2014 10:15:50 am
Loved your quote! Your question also poses a question of my own- If the slave owners did in fact own the ships, how would they be captained? Would a slave be the captain as well?
Reply
Chloe Rice
9/16/2014 10:26:24 am
I would like to know as well
Emily Dingman
9/16/2014 09:36:19 am
" If a horse did not move fast enough, or hold his head high enough, it was owing to some fault of his keepers."
Reply
Shea Saulino
9/16/2014 10:14:40 am
You pose a very thought-provoking question- I do not know why they give slaves responsibility over the animals and then turned around on them... It's worth researching I think, although I wouldn't know where to start.
Reply
Mikayla Kricfalusi
9/16/2014 11:50:00 am
I agree. It seems like a senseless cruelty to punish a slave for something he or she can't control. Surely, the white man wasn't stupid enough to believe that the slave dictated a horse's brain.
Reply
Kevin Stiemke
9/16/2014 12:03:08 pm
I agree it seems pointless to take things out on a slave that had nothing to do with the situation.
Reply
Shea Saulino
9/16/2014 10:10:33 am
"To what dreadful liabilities was he continually subjected! how destitute of friendly counsel and aid, even in his greatest extremities! how heavy was the midnight of woe which shrouded in blackness the last ray of hope, and filled the future with terror and gloom!"
Reply
Kaeli Leoni
9/16/2014 10:56:40 am
I agree that it is a very moving quote and really makes you think about how terrible slavery was.
Reply
Nicole Matteson
9/16/2014 01:21:18 pm
I also find interest in your quote, i'm really glad you pulled it out! He could have been saying he to simplify the whole mass of enslaved men. Its poetic in a sense if he did mean it like that
Reply
Chloe Rice
9/16/2014 10:26:01 am
“Again and again I asserted I was no man’s slave.” This is such an emotional quote, even told in North-ups stoic almost third party like tone. The word choice (As I'm sure Lucas would agree.) is very specif to his feelings and intentions. "I asserted," He says.
Reply
Piper Tompkins
9/16/2014 12:44:48 pm
I really liked then point you are making where this happened back then and it still happens today, slavery still exists and I like that you are bringing light to that.
Reply
Eli Murguia
9/16/2014 01:28:56 pm
Dang, so very true. It must have been unthinkable as to how he felt when he was stripped of his rights as a human being.
Reply
Jenna Welsh
9/16/2014 01:29:39 pm
It is sickening to imagine having your rights ripped away from you. Love your connection to the real-world, especially since it's not something we think about as often.
Reply
Lucas LeVIeux
9/16/2014 01:35:34 pm
Yes. I do agree, although I'm not sure exactly why you mentioned me. That is a sentence that jumped out at me, too, because of it's consiceness. It is able to convey an important feeling through honest words stated simply. It shows his desperation, his last chance at his dignity. His freedom is something that he holds dear, and for his words to mean nothing is hard for him.
Reply
Kayla Feather
9/16/2014 10:35:42 am
Reply
LeVieux
9/16/2014 01:46:19 pm
I agree completely. I love how you phrased your thoughts; the entire response reads like poetry. Your grammar is immaculate and your perspectives are mind blowing.
Reply
Camila Antonorsi
9/16/2014 10:42:49 am
"She was free at last!"
Reply
Kaeli Leoni
9/16/2014 10:54:43 am
I agree how sad it is that the slaves were treated so badly that the thought of death was actually something that they looked forward to in some cases.
Reply
Matt Rose
9/16/2014 01:15:58 pm
I agree If I was in a position like that, being only used for work and nothing else seems worst then death itself.
Reply
Ryan Cormack
9/16/2014 01:53:41 pm
They felt like it was their only option, and I think anyone could understand why.
Reply
Jack Campbell
9/16/2014 02:23:00 pm
Its interesting how many slaves viewed death as being better than slavery and how many of them would prefer to die than to face the harshness of enslavement.
Reply
Kayla Feather
9/16/2014 10:50:38 am
Book: Frederick Douglass
Reply
Sarah Lockhart
9/16/2014 02:16:29 pm
That part tugged at my heartstrings too! The way he wrote it was incredible. I wish I knew how to answer your question, but I can only guess. I'm guessing that in European culture singing was usually used for celebration and not used in as wide of a variety as in Africa. And the slave owners would probably punish slaves for speaking in other languages because they could be saying anything and he wouldn't understand.
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 07:02:23 am
They sang in Africa. :) But, yes they were not permitted to speak in other languages.
Alexis Habib
9/16/2014 02:40:29 pm
I agree with what you said about the singing, but I think that it can be added that when they sung, the slaves did not necessarily need to add lyrics, as emotion can be expressed quite well in the way a hum is sung.
Reply
Kaeli Leoni
9/16/2014 10:52:27 am
Book: The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas
Reply
Mikayla Kricfalusi
9/16/2014 12:33:24 pm
Yeah, first world problems... But there are still places today that wouldn't be shocked by the thought of someone treasuring a pair of pants or shoes.
Reply
Christian Klosterman
9/16/2014 01:15:41 pm
I totally agree! We really don't see how much we actually have until someone puts in into perspective.
Reply
Michele Moua
9/16/2014 01:33:25 pm
Great Insight! I almost feel like our society believes that its invincible and shouldn't have to even think about those less fortunate because, well, its not their problem, but is why things like world poverty, hunger and pollution just remain as a thought in the back of our heads. Because it currently doesn't effect us.
Reply
TJ
9/16/2014 01:56:36 pm
I have to agree with the others and that your insight is very nice and I like how you analyzed ourselves in modern day America and directly compare us to slaves who were barely scraping by with clothes.
Reply
Eddie Herrera
9/16/2014 05:20:21 pm
We do this because like the underwear it is something that everyone has and it is easily accessible to many but to others it may be a different case. It just depends on the person's life and situation it's nothing selfish or anything like that.
Reply
Mikayla Kricfalusi
9/16/2014 11:48:02 am
Book: 12 Years a Slave
Reply
Kevin Stiemke
9/16/2014 11:58:18 am
I agree he was basically making his slaves do tricks.
Reply
Niklas Wenz
9/16/2014 12:45:57 pm
I think everybody he was dealing with knew he was a free man.
Reply
Piper Tompkins
9/16/2014 12:52:04 pm
I really liked your real world example.
Reply
Jenna Welsh
9/16/2014 01:35:56 pm
It breaks my heart how people were treated this way, and it makes me so angry that Epps can have so little regard for humans who have done nothing wrong.
Reply
Kevin Stiemke
9/16/2014 11:50:24 am
Book: The Narrative of Frederick Douglas
Reply
Matt Rose
9/16/2014 01:12:34 pm
I think its because slaves were treated as less then people, they had to be thought sort of as wild animals and who would care to much about a wild animal being murdered?
Reply
Christian Klosterman
9/16/2014 01:18:04 pm
I agree with Matt.
Reply
Michele Moua
9/16/2014 01:28:08 pm
Well like what matt said, they were seen as more like property rather then livestock or servants. And of course there was a loss to killing a slave. But maybe, the slave owner thought that maybe with the run away that it was important to make a statement to the other slaves, displaying consequences to running away or rebellion. Something to scare them and keep them in line. Just a thought.
Reply
Niklas Wenz
9/16/2014 12:39:44 pm
Book: Twelve years a slave
Reply
Piper Tompkins
9/16/2014 12:40:41 pm
Book: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Reply
Nicole Matteson
9/16/2014 01:17:53 pm
I really like your question! i think it made their owners feel better about themselves, as if the slaves by doing this gave them more to brag over and to rub in the other owners faces
Reply
Abby Elliott
9/16/2014 01:19:45 pm
I do not think the slave owners cared about the conflict between slaves. The slave owners had nothing, but hatred in their hearts.
Reply
Hunter Birk
9/16/2014 03:12:37 pm
Do you think that the stratification was put in place by the slaves or masters? It's difficult to imagine fighting over who's the better master.
Reply
Matt Rose
9/16/2014 01:07:28 pm
Quote: "I was now about twelve years old, and the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart" pg 34
Reply
Sarah Lockhart
9/16/2014 02:19:36 pm
I agree with your commentary, Frederick was incredibly resilient! And I think that your question depends on the person and what they've been through, but I know I would have little hope for escape, especially in a place so foreign to me.
Reply
christian Klosterman
9/16/2014 01:14:30 pm
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Reply
Abby Elliott
9/16/2014 01:23:37 pm
I think the masters treated their own children born from a slave mother horrible because they did not want to own up to their doings.
Reply
Rena
9/16/2014 02:23:26 pm
The white people did not want to own up to the fact that they had a baby with a slave. The people that were mixed though, they were treated as if they have no white in them, even if it was just a tiny bit from their great great grandmother or something crazy like that.
Reply
Grant
9/16/2014 03:39:08 pm
I agree with you I think that its a little bit weird that a father would make his son into a slave.
Reply
Abby Elliott
9/16/2014 01:15:07 pm
Quote: “Eliza never after saw or heard of Emily or Randall. Day nor night, however, were they ever absent from her memory. In the cotton field, in the cabin, always, and everywhere, she was talking of them-often to them, as if they were actually present. Only when absorbed in that illusion, or asleep, did she ever have a moment’s comfort afterwards.” (12 Years a Slave page 53)
Reply
Alexis Habib
9/16/2014 02:34:48 pm
I know for a fact that when I am working on something challenging, labor intensive or not, I have to think about something other than the task at hand, and I am not even being treated like slaves were.
Reply
Jenna Welsh
9/16/2014 01:21:45 pm
Book: 12 Years a Slave
Reply
Emily Hayashida
9/16/2014 02:00:33 pm
I just noticed we chose the same quote, and I really like you in-depth analysis. I agree with every statement including the evil deep of Freeman and any slave owner who raped women.
Reply
Michele Moua
9/16/2014 01:24:15 pm
Narrative of the life of Fredrick D.
Reply
Mrs. Xlark
9/20/2014 06:05:25 am
I always love reading your thoughtful analysis. :)
Reply
Eli Murguia
9/16/2014 01:24:48 pm
Book: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
Reply
Rena Dillenbeck
9/16/2014 02:19:06 pm
I agree completely, like I could just imagine myself in his place while reading the book and I honestly do not know what I would do with myself.
Reply
12 Years a Slave
Reply
Emily Hayashida
9/16/2014 02:02:24 pm
Yes the situation seems somewhat fake, the whole set up and plot. But just to point out they obviously weren't his friends if they kidnapped him to sell him in the south.
Reply
Chandler Gaines
9/17/2014 01:11:51 pm
I as well noticed what you did and it was very disappointing as you said.
Reply
Nicole Matteson
9/16/2014 01:32:42 pm
"'You are loosed from our moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave!...I am left in the hottest hell of undeding slavery. O God, save me!...Why am i a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it. Get cought, or get clear, I'll try it.... It may be that my misery in slavery will only increase my happiness when i get free. There is a better day coming.'"
Reply
Morgan King
9/16/2014 02:15:48 pm
I really felt this quote and the passion driving it. It's at times like these that we get a glimpse of the truth. It reminds me of how blandly history has been written, the attempts to erase human nature. My best answer is that if someone had heard him, it varies on whether that character, was good or cruel. He could have been sentenced to death for showing an interest of equality or hopefully shown mercy and that this quote would have lead to a more colorful history book.
Reply
Ryan Cormack
9/16/2014 01:43:23 pm
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Reply
Ryan Cormack
9/16/2014 01:51:40 pm
Question: Why do you think the slave masters cared what the slaves thought of them?
Reply
Kendall Tally
9/16/2014 01:43:53 pm
"Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart."
Reply
TJ
9/16/2014 01:52:58 pm
I have heard of tidbits of information here and there that some slave masters would treat their slaves fairly as if they recognized their hard work. But I can't provide any legitimate sources to prove it.
Reply
TJ
9/16/2014 01:51:58 pm
"Again and again I asserted that I was no man's slave and insisted upon taking off my chains at once. He endeavored to hush me as if he feared my voice would be overheard. But I would not listen and denounced the authors of my imprisonment"
Reply
TJ
9/16/2014 01:59:03 pm
Oops, I forgot my question:
Reply
Emily Hayashida
9/16/2014 01:58:16 pm
Book: 12 Years a Slave
Reply
Dillon Prescott
9/16/2014 02:04:44 pm
B: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
Reply
Nicole King
9/16/2014 02:07:41 pm
Quote: "They made oath to certain facts showing I was a free man. A paper was drawn up and handed us, with the direction to take it to the clerks office. We did so, and the clerk having added something to it, for which he was paid six shillings, we returned again to the custom house."
Reply
Sarah Lockhart
9/16/2014 02:12:58 pm
Book: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Reply
Jack Campbell
9/16/2014 02:20:56 pm
Control over education was crucial in slavery, its interesting how Frederick realized that education was his way out of slavery.
Reply
Chenoa Levy
9/16/2014 05:18:58 pm
I agree education was a major factor in controlling slaves. A slave who was educated had a better chance of surviving if they ran away.
Reply
Rena Dillenbeck
9/16/2014 02:16:09 pm
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Reply
Jack Campbell
9/16/2014 02:17:53 pm
"Learning would spoil the best n----r in the world...If you teach a n----r how to read, there would be no keeping him."
Reply
Hesham
9/16/2014 02:24:55 pm
I agree with you, I don't think many slaves could read and write but they probably knew only how to read simple words.
Reply
Morgan King
9/16/2014 02:35:00 pm
I agree in what you saying, that education is sometime's the most dangerous thing to an oppressor. In today's time, education is important if you wish to go anywhere at all, yet not many people choose to. To answer your question, I believe that an exact number is improbable, because the owners forbade it, and some slaves were brave enough to secretly defy them.
Reply
Chandler Gaines
9/17/2014 01:12:49 pm
I also agree with you and hesham. It seems they could probably use "context clues"
Reply
Hesham Hamed
9/16/2014 02:21:48 pm
Book: Twelve years a slave
Reply
Hunter Birk
9/16/2014 03:07:31 pm
I like how he's standing up no matter the risk, but do you think that the risk is worth it? At what point would he just give in?
Reply
Eddie Herrera
9/16/2014 05:24:23 pm
Like many who tried they have failed, and people are afraid of failure and are afraid of throwing the stone. Unlike the rest Solomon has his motives and has a strong will to do so. He knows that death is at stake but he would rather die for something he cares for then live a life of sorrow.
Reply
Morgan King
9/16/2014 02:29:03 pm
12 Years A Slave
Reply
Alexis Habib
9/16/2014 02:29:22 pm
"Mr. Gore then, without consultation or deliberation with any one, not even giving Demby an additional call, raised his musket to his face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more. His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood."
Reply
Noah Parr
9/16/2014 02:41:10 pm
Book: 12 years a slave
Reply
Jackson Sjogren
9/16/2014 03:05:30 pm
I'm assuming every child. Also probably every person going into slavery from Africa had no idea what was going to happen. Otherwise I would think they would try their best to stay away from America.
Reply
Dylan L
9/16/2014 11:40:42 pm
I feel that all of the children in the beginning had no idea what they were going into since they didn't speak English, and slavery was so new. As time goes on though, I think that they would know what was happening.
Reply
Kane McGrath
9/16/2014 02:50:06 pm
“I have sometimes thought that
Reply
Grant
9/16/2014 03:35:59 pm
I think that they made songs up as they went to help pass time. I also think that they didn't start making songs and singing them at the plantations first. I feel like it started before that because I remember something from class that we read that said they would sing on the boat to help pass time on their way over.
Reply
Jackson Sjogren
9/16/2014 03:02:07 pm
Quote: " When his unrelenting arms grew tired, he stopped and asked if I still insisted I was a free man. I did insist upon it, and then the blows were renewed, faster and more energetically, if possible, than before. When again tired, he would repeat the same question, and receive the same answer"
Reply
Hunter Birk
9/16/2014 03:03:53 pm
Quote: "There I was, entirely alone, in a thick wood, in a place new to me. My cart shattered, my oxen were entangled among the young tress, and there was no one to help me. After a long spell of effort, I succeeded in getting my cart rightend, my oxen detangled, and again yoked to the cart."
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 06:34:01 am
I don't think he wanted to do it alone, he had to fix it or he would be punished. Were you able to get that from the context.
Reply
Justin Reyes
9/16/2014 03:08:54 pm
“Mr. Gore was a grave man, and, though a young man, he indulged in no jokes, said no funny words, seldom smiled. His words were in perfect keeping with his looks, and his looks were in perfect keeping with his words.”
Reply
Tristan Elghoroury
9/16/2014 03:14:34 pm
Maybe it was just the mood they were in.
Reply
Tristan Elghoroury
9/16/2014 03:12:42 pm
"slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamb-like disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness" This qoute was really showing what a beast slavery could turn the kindest-hearted into.It really made me sad because I was really happy that Frederick had finally found a family that I had always hoped there had been more of back then. I remember Mrs. Clark if there were any white people that treated their slaves better than normal, and if they did, how were they looked upon by their white neighbors.Well, I guess that the nice woman was maybe laughed at by her friends for not knowing the ways of slavery and how slaves should 'really' be treatted. This quote answers the question that I had a few days ago in class. Why were city slaves treated better?
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 05:08:12 am
Such great questions Tristan and I am glad some of them are being answered in the text.
Reply
Grant Gagnard
9/16/2014 03:25:34 pm
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 05:22:42 am
Yes, there were definitely some. There is one lady that is talked about in 12 Years...who treats her slaves really well and they all love her. Do you think it makes them better people if they treated them well?
Reply
Lucas LeVieux
9/16/2014 03:50:38 pm
Book: 12 Years a Slave
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 08:01:56 am
Lucas, I think you need to try to view the situation from the perspective of the time. What other choice would she have had other than to trust what was said? In what way would she have been able to change her situation?
Reply
Alexis Miranda
9/16/2014 03:58:05 pm
The Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass
Reply
Dylan L
9/16/2014 11:43:40 pm
I'm not reading this book, but I feel that from your commentary, I feel like there aren't more good masters like Mr. Hopkins. From what we've heard in class, read, and seen, I think that almost all masters were cruel. I do think that there are something around .5% of good masters, though.
Reply
Eddie Herrera
9/16/2014 05:10:45 pm
"My cup of sorrow was full to overflowing".
Reply
Eddie Herrera
9/16/2014 05:13:29 pm
In times of struggle we often forget that we have each other and in many cases our religion. Solomon pleads to God asking for strength and the safety of others. Though stripped from anything he is able keep is morals. My question is what will happen if Mr.Burch where to get caught?
Reply
Chenoa Levy
9/16/2014 05:15:57 pm
"She is never better pleased than when she sees them under the lash, especially when she suspects her husband of showing to his mulatto children favors which he withholds from his black slaves."
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 08:04:15 am
Simply because they had the power to do so.
Reply
Eamonn McGuiness
9/16/2014 11:27:34 pm
Book: 12 Years a slave
Reply
Dylan L
9/16/2014 11:36:35 pm
12 Years a Slave
Reply
mikey
9/17/2014 01:29:59 am
"The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave:"
Reply
Srdja
9/17/2014 01:37:40 am
Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with the much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.
Reply
Mrs. Clark
9/20/2014 06:45:57 am
I appreciate your comment about the prevention from even having family. It's hard to answer the question about a bond because I don't have kids but it's hard to think of another one that is stronger.
Reply
Allison Hopkins
9/17/2014 12:22:58 pm
Quote: "The poor man was then informed by his overseer that, for having found fault with his master, he was now to be sold to a Georgia trader. "
Reply
Chandler Gaines
9/17/2014 01:10:51 pm
" a 'chattel personal,' as mere property, no better, except in value, than his mule or dog."
Reply
Jordan Farrah
9/17/2014 02:03:49 pm
“What difference is there in the color of the soul?”
Reply
Nathan Tomczak
9/18/2014 03:54:37 am
Northup describes his new master as “portly,” “repulsive,” and a drunk who enjoys whipping his slaves “just for the pleasure of hearing them screech and scream.”
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2015
Categories |