Journal 7 Response to Peer Blog

            In response to Mimi Heald’s blog on Frances E. W. Harper’s poem “The Slave Mother.” The Imagery in Frances Harper's "The Slave mother" is extremely vivid, and the reader is able to easily see this because in every short stanza Harper makes sure that there is an image of something relating to an nonbiological slave mother and her son. Harper uses imagery to appeal to the readers’ pathos. As Mimi states “a non-biological mother” it is clear that this is a form of dehumanizing slaves, and immediately sets a scene of unhappiness and unjustness. It is annotated at the bottom of the page that depending on if you were born free or not dictated if you were considered free. I believe this imagery appeals to our pathos because it is emotionally compelling. For any slave mother, not being able to claim kinship with your son “He is not hers, although she bore” is emotionally draining for non-freed blacks. Harper’s message throughout her poem is to fight for the abolitionist cause and create a realm of realism about the hardships of slavery. I agree with Mimi that her stanzas are short and concise to make strengthen her impact. For example, Harper describes a mother trying to hide her son under her dress because he is trembling in terror clinging to her for safety. "Her boy clings to her side, And in her kirlte vainly tries, His trembling form to hide". Harper uses this stanza to describe a scared child because everyone can relate to that kind of fear, and has felt it not only as a child but in their adult lives as well. As an abolitionist writer who is trying to persuade the audience, she makes a smart choice to use this imagery because it allows the audience to grasp how fearful the child is, which obviously has something to do with him being a slave. Mimi makes a strong point saying that the child’s fear stems directly from being a slave. However, I also believe that Harper uses this imagery to further explain her first stanza “it seemed as if a burden’s heart was breaking in despair.” I think that Harper uses the child to show that slavery affect all ages. Additionally, I think she uses the child to explore the possibility that slaves were never safe. The hear breaking in despair could signify that the mother and son were about to be separated. I believe that the fear of not knowing what will happen in the future and losing your mother, or protector, is what really makes the fear relatable. Once more Harper appeals to our pathos. Also, at the beginning of the poem there is a stanza in which Harper describes the slave mother in grief who is praying "Saw you those hands so sadly clasped-- The bowed and feeble head-- The shuddering of that fragile form-- That look of grief and dread?" Harper uses this imagery well and it allows the reader to feel the sadness of a poor mother praying for her child. This is good imagery as well because all mothers (black or white) are always concerned about their children and it is natural that a white mother who is reading this would be able to relate to a slave mother who feels sadness and love for their children. This stanza also, I believe is used, to convince her slave holding audience because even though slaves do not have rights, does not mean that they do not possess emotion. I believe Harper wants people to think further about the similarities and characteristics that whites and blacks and slaves have.  This hopefully was able to give a strong impact on white mothers during the time of publishing because it allowed white women to realize the pain and dread that so many slave mothers went through during slavery--even children that weren't biologically related! Also, Harper's explanation of this slaves love for her child also show all whites the aspect that slaves WERE human and were capable of having feelings of love and sorrow and all other emotions. Finally I believe that Harper wrote this poem to show that the slave mothers were mothers, regardless of their color. “She is a mother, and her heart is breaking in despair.” I believe that it was intelligent in appealing to a mother’s ethos because no matter where you live, a mother’s love was the same regardless if they were from the north or south. Additionally, using children in her poem makes slavery seem crueler. At this time, the importance of children began to change. They were considered to be fragile and young and needing protection. Because slavery is affecting this child first hand, I believe that it compels Harper’s audience to see the unjust of slavery and that slavery affected enslaved blacks of all age. 

(My response and other thoughts are red, and Mimi's blog is black and italicized)

Chapter 10

Jacobs’ intended audience was intended to be women. I believe that she wrote to women because they more easily empathized with her and by empathizing could understand that this is embarrassing and something difficult for her to express. I believe that she thought white women would empathize because for northern women, although they were not forced into slavery, did not have rights as citizens of countries, additionally, I think southern women may empathize with the story because of what Dr. Flint’s wife had to go through. Her tone and language in chapter ten describes her dilemma and dictates her actions. At the time she was only a teenager and she felt obligated and had no choices in what would happen in her future. She uses a melancholy and frustrated tone telling us as readers that she felt trapped under the wrath of the Flint family and that she had nobody who understood her. “I wanted to confess to her that I was no longer worth of her love; but I could not utter the dreaded words.” I think this quote exemplifies that she is stuck. I do not believe that Jacobs’ knew how to protect herself. Whites had so much power in the south that she was stuck between please Dr. Flint and his wife. She was afraid to please one or the other because both acts were shameful. She was afraid of being killed or losing her family, so she did her best to follow Dr. Flint’s degrading and forceful sex and acts and stay as far away from his wife to live.

Because you can feel and see the pain that Jacobs’ goes through I believe that women understood and felt her torment and torture that slavery put her through. I think this allows us to see slavery as not only sad but lonely. Even though slaves worked with other slaves and looked out for each other as best they could, at the end of the day women were left to fen for themselves. When Jacobs’ grandmother forsakes her, she had no place to turn. I feel like this also related to women, because for example women’s rights advocates often had nobody to relate to or confide in. Not everyone wanted women’s rights and like Jacobs’ women were sometimes left alone and did not have anyone to confide in. 

Class and Slaves

During the slavery era social class dictated the respect and rights you had as a person. This not only pertained to the slaves on a given plantation, but to everyone living in the Southern states. Social class indicates wealth, intelligence, and most importantly respect within the community. Because Jacobs’ was born into slavery and her lover and grandmother were never able to buy her out the lifestyle she was considered to be the lowest type of person on the totem pole. It affects her choices because it dictates the ways of communication between who has power and who is powerless. Who is respected and who is ignored. Who has freedom and privilege and who is considered property? Jacobs’ starts off saying that the original owner promised that they would be taken care of and that they would not face the cruelties of the world. Secondly, social class affects the way that Dr. Flint’s treats the slaves because they are his property. Also, it makes Linda fearful of Dr. Flint’s wife and Dr. Flint. She knows that in her society owners have the power to control her life. “No one of her children escaped the auction block.” Although this quote does not reflect what happened to Linda, it shows that slave families were fearful of white slave owners because they had the power to tear apart families.

In her autobiography, Harriet Jacobs’ social class affects the way that her master treats her, Northerners, Southern neighbors and emancipated or free blacks. Jacobs’ or Linda is born into slavery without really knowing what it was, but as she gets older she realizes that she is a piece of property and because she is property, she has no rights to her mind, body, or soul. Ultimately, her lack of rights contributes to her failures as a young woman but additionally allows her to fight for her freedom. 

“Linda” is caught between three worlds while she lives in the slavery of the Southern states. I believe she has three worlds because there are blacks, mulattos, and whites. Depending on the group she is viewed differently and economics come into play. First, two people try to buy Linda. Her first lover asks Dr. Flint if he could pay for her but he does not allow it. Even though they are both black, I believe that there is a separation between them because he is able to earn wages for her work and she is not. Even though he does not look down upon her or treat her as property, he still has more economic power and thus more power in the relationship. And even she longs to become free and be okay with being black but I think she knows that being black means you are not free and that even if you have been emancipated you are looked down as being the lowest caste within American society. This is shown because although both her lover and grandmother were able to pay for, they do not have to power or persuasion to allow her to become free. Even once Jacobs’ is able to escape to the north where slavery is not tolerated, she still works for a white family with low wages. Even though they pay for her emancipation, it takes them a while to emancipate her. I believe that this is an example about how class plays a role in the slavery system because they were clearly of high status for the wife not to have to work and to be able to pay for work, yet they did not immediately free her. Overall, I think her story makes me think that even in the North, you may be respected and have tolerance, but you were not completely accepted into the white society.

Point of View

After reading the biography on Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, her short story "The Tenth of January," is put into much more context which allows the reader to understand the historical elements of the time and how they affect the writers point of view. Because the story is told from a third person point of view we are able to understand the hardships that Asenath and Del endure while being factory workers. Not only the hardships and the long hours that they work but also romantically. The girls dream of making a better life for themselves with a dutiful husband and an honest days work. However, because Asenath or Sene is a cripple she believes that she will never belong and that nobody will ever love her or see her as beautiful as Del. However, none of this is important once the tragedy at the mill happens. However, I think it is important that the point of view is not either Asenath or Del because we are better able to see their work conditions and daily struggles. Marriage was a very important issue for girls in the 1850s. Since women still had few to no rights, legally and socially, they needed to be married to use their husbands voice and to make sure that they were taken care of. We would not have been able to see Asenath accept her disability and see her budding romance with Dick had she wrote the story. Lastly, we would not have been able to understand and see her act of heroism to save Del's life. Asenath had everything to live for, a recent engagement, an acceptance to being labeled crippled, and a resolved issue with her father. However, I believe that she had come to accept who she was and knew that Del had not. Although she knew she did not want to die, she sacrificed herself because she I think that she knew that she was a strong enough person to endure a tragic and painful death. Lastly, I believe that Phelps wrote in a third person point of view because she is able to bring up the idea of social inequality and the conditions that women were forced to work in. The contractors knew that the work environment was not safe, but at the time there was nobody around to stand up for women or laws that would protect them, so they were forced to work long, laborious hours of go without a job.

The American Women

In Irving's "The Wife," I believe that he describes the wife in the American household as stability. No matter what a man does, whether good or bad, she is dependable and will stand by him. In the story, the man is scared to tell his wife about the misfortunes that she would judge him or not love him or no longer feel secure in her decision of marriage. But opposite to what he believes she embraces him and does not feel wronged by him. I think this suggests that American values are rooted in the idea that even if you do something wrong confronting your problems and finding the best way to deal with them will eventually lead you back to a path of happiness. I think this also says volumes about the American women. When they first settle in the colonies the women, although performing domestic jobs, learns that she needs to be stronger and less sensitive. She takes the front of all emotional problems that her children or the men in her life have. She allows them to confront her and essentially she alleviates any stress that could be there. I think that even in modern day America the rules still apply. I think that the wife is the foundation of the house and even though storms may pass through and bad things may happen, she is able to stand strong and confident. I believe because wives in the American colonies were able to wear such a strong face that it gave the men courage to survive and to carry on.