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Valeria Padilla-Moreno

HIST 1218

Dr. Douglas Dodd

19 April 2017

Being A Slave

The sun is rising and you must rise with it to advance as much as possible the days work.

Your master keeps a keen eye on you at all times to ensure there is not one moment of leisure to

be taken advantage of, and at any fault, you are flogged and punished; whether your master had

motiveor not. Slavery, (a term known all too well in American history and a word that defines

many past generations of African Americans) characterized the lives of men, women, and

children who were dehumanized by the entitled immigrant inhabitants of the newly acquired

American soil (or more concisely known as the white folk) because they were different. Even

with all these descriptive narratives, one cannot entirely comprehend the level of suffering

African American slaves were forced to endure daily nor will an individual truly understand the

horrendous situations slaves were forced into. The narratives of Henry Bibb, Solomon

Northup, and Harriet Jacobs give a unique perspective of the life of a slave whilst being a

man and being a woman, but also the different reactions each person has when dealing

with the abuse of their masters.

Henry Bibb constantly refers to himself as a possession of his master most likely because

he has been trained to go unnoticed and enlightened by his masters of his inferiority.

Consequently, even after all the abuse and whippings that Bibb goes through, instead of feeling

hatred and vindictive towards his previous master, in the letter he wrote addressed to him, he is
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forgiving of the cruel treatment he received while under his supervision (source 1). Normally one

would believe that after being degraded and treated worse than an animal, the slave would lash

out and curse his or her previous owner for all the sins and wrong doings committed onto him,

that as soon as he or she was free from the chains of tyranny and had the possibility of

confronting his or her aggressor, the once slave would make it known to his old master how he

would rue the day he oppressed him. Nevertheless, Bibb withstood every beating until the day he

became a free man and forgave his master.

On the other hand, Solomon Northup, risked his life and fought back, unmercifully

beating his master John M. Tibeats not allowing a chance to even lift a finger against him (source

2). A reaction that was close to costing him his life, a reaction that was rare due to the level of

danger it implied. These men where physically and mentally abused, and Harriet Jacobs, (besides

also being mentally and physically abused), was continually preyed upon like a deer during

hunting season by her master.

Though not directly stated, in her narrative she implies that indeed she was sexually

abused by her master numerous times, according to her; even while visiting her mothers grave

(source 3). Unlike Bibb and Northup, Jacobs confronted her master in conversation, constantly

denying his approaches. Furthermore, she had more verbal interactions with her master than

Bibb and Northup, which could be due to the fact the whether she wanted to or not, she had a

more intimate relationship with her master.

Each of these previous slaves all reacted differently to the hardships they had to endure.

Both Jacobs and Bibbs resistance appeared to be more passive than the reaction of Northup, who

demonstrated a lot of aggression and resentment. Bibbs ran away from the problem, Northup
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confronted the problem, and Jacobs dealt with it. After analyzing all of their reactions, one must

acknowledge the fear many slaves felt towards their owners, similar to Bibb and Jacobs, and

even with that fear towering over them, peering over their shoulder constantly, some slaves like

Northup choose to fight back and resist domination. All three dealt with the situation they were

in with different techniques, with whatever method they believed would lessen their pain, at least

until the next day. Now the sun has set and for a few hours of the night, you are engulfed in

darkness, where no master is watching your every move. According to all three figures from the

narratives, it was in these moments where they could rest for a few hoursuntil the sun once

again rose and you rose with it.