Trevor McLean

English

D Block

February 6, 2017

Just Words, Strong Impact

Back in the 1800s, a four-year war went on that divided the country of

Americas people into two nations. The war was fought over the complicated

topic of slavery and the freedom of blacks in the United States. Many people

have different opinions about how this war was begun and fueled. A lengthy

novel named, Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was published not

too far from the start of the Civil War. Consequently, an old story is told that

the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, asked the author, So you're the

little woman who wrote the book that made this great war! This is a great

example of words being powerful in history. Another example of a piece of

writing being this powerful was a book edited by Bob Blaisdell and Christine

Rudisel called Slave Narratives of the Underground Railroad. The novel Slave

Narratives of the Underground Railroad is an impact portrayal of American

Slavery because of Fredrick Douglass story, the theme of courage, and the

setting of the racist Deep South during this time period.

First, the narrative of Fredrick Douglass is powerful and impactful. In

this concise narrative, he touches on many topics. One of the ideas he talks
about is that fact that he does not know his own age. Douglass explains that

himself, similar to many other slaves, to not know how old they are because

their birth is not documented. He estimates that he is around twenty-seven

to twenty-eight years old based on when he was bought and sold and how

old the masters told him he was at that time. Next, Douglass describes how

one of his masters threaten to whip him after going outside of the city

without asking for his permission. Douglass says that Master Hugh, said he

had a great mind to give me a severe whipping (Rudisel and Blaisdell p. 47).

This is how harsh most slave owners were towards the humans that they

owned. By reading his narrative, Douglass words create a series of strong

images in the readers heads. Just by the use of regular words, he is one of

the few authors to write such an impactful piece about an important time in

American History.

Next, the theme of courage is predominant throughout this book.

Almost every slave in these short narratives demonstrated courage in their

own way. To start with, Alfred S. Thornton was a young slave who was sold by

his master to a trader instead of the neighbors next to him. He was very

upset and divested that his master would do this to him. Because of his

masters actions, he then decided to risk his life and run away. Furthermore,

Eliza Harris was a female slave in the 1800s who had courage. Her story was

that she crossed the frozen Ohio River with her infant child in hand to try to

escape the bondages of slavery. She found that the ice had broken up and

was slowly drifting in large cakes. (Rudisel and Blaisdell p. 96). This brave
action to save her and her child was successful and worked out in the long

run. She took a huge risk and was rewarded for it. Similarly to these two

stories is a narrative about a woman named Margret. The story explains

that Margret was born from a woman in the bondage of slavery on a slave

ship. She was born with no last name and like almost every slave, she has no

idea how old she is. Margret was born into slavery, which she cannot control.

She decides to attempt to escape. However, the story does not end well.

While she is trying to run away, she is hunted down by bloodhounds and

taken back to the plantation where she is badly beaten and put back to work.

Even though not all of these stories end happily, these people still took big

risks to escaping the living hell that was their reality.

Finally, the Deep South during the 1800s is exposed in this book.

Again, Margets story portrays what the South was like back in the 1800s.

She attempts to escape like most slaves in this book. But, she then fails to

find freedom when she is hunted down by bloodhounds and taken back to

the plantation. The narrative says, Having gone a mile or two, she heard

something pursing her; on looking round she saw Watch, the old house dog.

(Rudisel and Blaisdell p. 197). Her story ends in tragedy. Additionally, a story

about three black women in the Deep South adds to this argument. These

women by the names of Mary Frances Melvin, Eliza Henderson, and Nancy

Grantham were all horribly treated by their masters. They were sexually,

physically, and verbally abused by these men. These stories all portray how

racist the South was during the 1800s.

 Fredrick Douglass brief, but powerful story, courage, and the South

during the 1800s, all impact the portrayal of American Slavery because of

the powerfulness they have. The pieces and narratives that were written

during this time were the most powerful in World History. These pieces were

so strong that they divided the country over controversial ideas testing the

countries pride of equality.