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)
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