Grandmother Douglass

I know other people have written about the worth of slaves as people rather than just property and I wanted to share my view too. I want to bring us back to Douglass’s grandmother and how her masters treated her. When Andrew died and all his possessions and slaves were divvied up, we all know that Douglass’s grandmother was built a small hut and was sent to live out in the woods. This is the ultimate disrespect coming from a family that she basically raised while also being a slave. “She had served my old master faithfully from youth to old age. She had been the source of all his wealth; she has peopled his plantation with slaves; she had become a great grandmother in his service. She had rocked him in infancy, attended him in childhood, served him through life, and at his death wiped from his icy brow the cold death-sweat, and closed his eyes forever…without being gratified with the small privilege of a single word, as to their or her own destiny” (39). I know I just read this quote out loud in class last time but this is still just so powerful. Look at all the things that she did for generations of this family: birthed and raised children, worked the land, cared for her master as a child and on his death bed. These aren’t things that would go unnoticed in today’s world. Grandmothers today are respected for all that they do because it isn’t easy. But she was never thanked, never shown any gratitude and that is not only frustrating but heartbreaking because I’m sure she raised children that were not her own that never cared for her the way that she did for them. This is racism and sexism at its finest and at least Douglass brought that to light if no one else was going to.

The Hierarchy of Slavery

Slavery was more than simply hierarchy based on races- most slave owners cared little about the actually well-being of their slaves, and just saw slaves as a way to make money; therefore dehumanizing slaves into just simply “property”. They were several ways slave owners did this, including forbidding slaves to learn to read and write, whipping them to near death, and participating in slave trading, without any second thought to splitting families. We see all these examples of social hierarchy in Fredrick Douglass’s personal narrative of his life as a plantation slave. One specific example of white’s treatment of slaves is in the relationship between Master Hugh’s Wife and Douglass.

Douglass’s Master Hugh wife was at first a kind, gentle lady. In fact, Douglass himself describes her upon first meeting her: “In the simplicity of her soul, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat one another,” (37). Douglass is so surprised by the mistress’s kindness and the fact that she treating Douglass like a human being that he goes out of his way to describe her warm heart. This also alludes to how badly Douglass was treated by previous owners, since he is so gracious just for someone’s kindness and treating him like an equal. The mistress even began to teach Douglass to read and write, before being discovered by her husband, and therefore, the becoming knowledgeable in the treatment of slaves: “Under its [slavery] influence, the tender heart [of the mistress] became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness,”(37). Once Hugh’s wife understands the hierarchy of slavery, she treats slaves in the common degrading way. In fact, Douglass points out that it was, “to her satisfaction that education and slavery were incompatible with each other,” (38). This exemplifies the popular idea at the time that since slaves were for profit only, there is no reason they need to be, or should be, educated.

Through the characterization of Master’s Hugh’s wife, we understand the influence of slavery on both the dominate and the inferior race. Whites learned how to treat saves through social norms. For whites, it was socially acceptable to punish a slave for trying to learn literacy, or whip a slave to near death for being for no particular reason, or as punishment for being unable to complete harsh standards of work. It was also common to view slaves as property, and therefore splitting up families if it produced profit was acceptable. In fact, not only were these actions social acceptable, they were the social standard, and to treat as slave as an equal was seen as weakness among superior whites. 

Writing has become robotic. Since middle school, the same essay formats has been drilled into student’s heads over and over. You start with an intro paragraph to introduce your topic. The last sentence of this paragraph becomes your thesis, which is your main idea throughout the paper. Then, in the following paragraphs comes the concrete details. They are direct quotes, and the following 2-3 sentence is your analysis on how it relates to your main idea. Why do students, from elementary school to college hate writing? I think it’s because writing has become simple finding pieces that fit into a given predecided organizer, causing writing to lack variance and personality.

Think about it. How many earlier writing experiences for students spent filling out the same graphic organizer repeatedly? While this does help many students organize their thoughts, it has taught us one single way of writing with no personal thought.  Writing has become robotic- students simply find a lists of facts and spit them verbatim in their essay, and then use evidence from a resource to prove their point. A graphic organizer is the perfect example of this. It literally tells students what to write, and all they have to do is find the correct piece of the puzzle. As an example, students will say my essay is about how power corrupts. With no personal thought into the matter, find evidence that supports this and then analyze it in the next few sentences. They repeat this action constantly for each piece of evidence, until there conclusion, where they sum up there evidence and explain how it all relates back to the main idea. No variance from the exact same format. It’s like working in a factory, where each person has one specific job every day. The product may change- yesterday you made pants, today you’re making shirts, tomorrow you’ll make shorts- but that person stitches the same stitches over and over. Over and Over. Just produce the same thing. The only way you’re guaranteed a good final product, is if you stay with the same stitches. Over and Over. It’s no wonder factory jobs are some of the most tedious jobs around.

I often tell myself, I hate writing, or I’m not good at writing. I always reminded of how I can sit in front of a computer for hours, and the cursor will be the only thing on the entire screen to whole time. I love reading and keep a journal of my own personally writings, yet dread any literature class- especially if we have to read any stories, no matter how good the actually book may be. Even before the teacher’s instruction, I highlight important quotes, ideas, and characters as I read. These actions have been drilled into my head, with no personal though or questioning. I am a reading robot working in factory. Repeat the same steps over and over. This is how I’ve been schooled. Repeat. Over and Over. This is why I chose to write my first blog as a personal piece, so today my writing feels like an actual person- not a robot. 

There are several ways a leader has authority (here meaning one who gives the orders that everyone obeys by). There’s Divine Right, or birth right, where one is born into their authoritative role. Yet one can also gain authority though the use of fear and elicit punishment. In Melville’s story, we see both types of authoritative figures exemplified in Benito Cerano, sea captain of the Bachelor’s Delight, and Babo, a former slave. Where authority is simply given to Cerano, for some, like Babo, authority is the only way to survive.  

Babo true identity is first shown when Cerano asks Delano about his ship. As Cerano asks about what supplies and how many deckhands the Bachelor’s Delight has, Babo pays unexpected attention to Delano’s replies. Afterwards, as Cerano and Babo quietly converse, Delano comments that Cerano must have high trust in Babo. Babo immediately glows at the praise, while Cerano seems to stumble at the thought, before quickly correcting himself and reluctantly agreeing (209). Babo’s power is again demonstrated when giving Cerano a shave. Upon Delano’s asking how a few days voyage for him took Cerano’s team over two months, Babo cuts Cerano’s skin; “See master- you shook so- here’s Babo’s first blood,” (215). Even though Delano takes Babo’s comment literally, Babo is actually threatening Cerano, referring to Cerano’s mistake as shaking and reminding Cerano there are punishments for costly mistakes.  

By hiding under his cover as a servant, Babo is able to remain as the authoritative figure, and therefore, more importantly, live. However, as soon as true identity is revealed, he is stripped of any power. In fact, he true identity is regarded as so important by the superior race that, by the time of his trial, Babo doesn’t even get the chance to give his testimony in court before he is sentenced the death penalty. Was Babo’s behavior was acceptable since it was literally his life line? It is evident that unlike Cerano and Delano, Babo earned his way to the top. However, yet the reader can’t help questioning if Babo’s actions were necessary to survive. The story leaves it readers questioning whether the cost of someone else’s life is just able for one’s personal life.

Slavery and Power

In the 19^th century, slavery had been legal and a very clear social hierarchy had been in place. Slaves were looked down upon by masters because of their race and these actions were politically and socially justified. Examples of the relationship between the two are displayed in Frederick Douglass’s narrative. The treatment of the slaves in the narrative described the relationships that were on the plantations as relationships of power. The slaved were used as housekeepers, nannies and, frequently, as mothers to the slaveholder’s illegitimate children. These relationships speak volumes about the power that the slaveholders had over the slaves and the abuse of such power that had happened.

The harsh treatment of slaves was attempt of slaveholders to maintain power. When a slave would misbehave, an overseer would put him or her straight back into his or her place by means of violence. Whipping or torturing, there was no defined line. The slaveholders were allowed to get away with what they wanted because the slaves were “property”. The conditions were so under-regulated that they would fall just short of killing them because that would be losing money. In most cases, not all, this would happen. In the narrative, Frederick mentions the account of Demby and Mr. Gore. Mr. Gore was the overseer of the plantation and was the one who was supposed to punish Demby by whipping him. When Demby was unable to handle the pain, he jumped into the nearby creek and wouldn’t budge when Mr. Gore had given him multiple warnings to get out of the water. Demby did not listen so Mr. Gore shot him dead (Douglass 23). This scene would be a common occurrence on plantations because the masters and overseers needed to be seen as the ones in charge, and to give a slave the power to decide would be too much.

The treatment of the female slaves wasn’t much better. They were just as susceptible to the treatments of slaves as the men were. They were whipped and punished just like everyone else. Douglass recalls seeing his aunt get whipped because she disobeyed her master’s order of not seeing the neighbor’s slave that liked her. The master that Douglass remembers was “a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding” (Douglass 14). He took pleasure in making sure the slaves knew he was in charge. For example, when punishing Frederick’s aunt, “the louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest” (Douglass 15). The vicious actions of the Master that Douglass described are typical of the slaveholders at the time. During the 1850s, the Fugitive Slave Act was written to allow anyone to return an escaped slave to the owner where the slave could then be brought to do whatever would be needed. This could lead to severe punishment for an escape attempt; punishment that wouldn’t be too far from death. The cruelty that Douglass and the other slaves had to suffer through was an unimaginable fate that no one should have been put through.

Standards of Beauty

The standards of beauty that we know today are at the extremes. You’re either a size 2 and perfect or anything else and flawed. Girls start to develop eating disorders at younger and younger ages. Their self esteem is even lower than before. The need to be perfect in the society we live in is even more prevalent due to the developments of television and printed advertisements shaming girls into going on “that diet”. In “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Aylmer, obsesses over the potential perfection that is his wife. He desires to make her perfect by removing the birthmark that everyone else seems to find charming. Why he couldn’t have just been content with the way she was is mind boggling, but as a man of science, he has a hard time not accepting perfection. Ultimately, his need for the best cost him his wife’s life, taking her away from him forever.

Georgiana, Aylmer’s wife, was born with a birthmark that could only be seen if she had gone pale, which would be described as, “a crimson stain upon the snow” (Hawthorne 85). When she was frightened or sick, it could be seen, but when she was flattered, it would disappear. There could be the assumption that the reason that he hates the mark so much is that he sees it so often, and, if that is the case, he could be trying to hide it from himself. No one wants to know that they’ve truly hurt someone, so when his wife is pale because of his actions, it could have been pretty devastating. Aylmer also likes to ask if Georgiana wants the birthmark gone, since he does see it as a sign of sin in a way. Georgiana finally breaks down and agrees to let him try, which shows that she is a very loyal wife, which Hawthorne seems to like to write about. Georgiana displays her loyalty when Aylmer finally pushes her over the edge. “’If there be the remotest possibility of it,’ continued Georgiana, ‘let the attempt be made at whatever risk…’” (Hawthorne 88) Her dedication to her husband cost her life, but maybe she knew that it would happen from the start.

Aylmer’s need for perfection is a reflection of society and its desire to perfect anything that it can. It is important to recognize this because Aylmer ends up losing his wife because of his ignorance and the fact that he is oblivious to her wants and safety. Society tells women that they need to be perfect for everyone else, but only rarely do women get told to be the best for themselves. In Hawthorne’s time, women needed to be completely loyal to their husbands, be the perfect housewife and support their man. Georgiana fits this description almost perfectly. She allows him to attempt to remove the birthmark, while shortly after, discovering all of his failed attempts at the elixir that would do so. Ultimately losing her life, Georgiana played the perfect wife role through the story, permitting her husband to do as he pleased.

It is hard to kill true beauty, and when humans try to make anything perfect, it usually ends up dying from either the procedure or the complications that would come afterward. Society’s need for perfection is shown through Aylmer’s need for his wife’s birthmark to disappear. As Aylmer decides to “play God”, he loses the thing that is closest to him. Perfection is just a perception based on one’s own opinions and should be seen as having many different requirements rather than a single model to base one’s self off. 

Claudia Rankine and "Accidental Racism"

In most cases it is easy for people to empathize with victims of racism because we like to think that we know the difference between right and wrong and that racism is—for lack of a better phrase—black and white. It’s clear when reading Claudia Rankine’s poems who is the aggressor and who is the victim, who is the racist and who is simply living their life. When it gets complicated is when you come across accidental racism, as the student called it. What really struck a chord with me was a student in the audience at the Claudia Rankine reading who had a question, or really more of a statement that she wanted validated: The student grew up in an almost totally white-neighborhood. She said that she felt somewhat sheltered and that there was only one or two African-American families in her town. Obviously she was taught growing up to treat everyone the way you would want to be treated and she was aware of racism around her. So aware, in fact, that she could feel herself becoming hyper-aware of everything she said so as not to offend anyone and to not say something that could be construed as racism when she was trying her hardest to do the opposite. What I really identified with with this student was that she felt that in being overly-careful to not offend, she was, in fact, being racist.

The story seemed all too familiar since I am also from a neighborhood where there was maybe one or two African-American families in my school district and everyone knew them by name. Being Mexican-American, I am fully aware of small, backhanded comments that slip every now and then that most people think are normal but when you think about it, are actually not entirely okay to say to another person. I try to be open-minded and accepting when I talk to other people of color that, like the student at the reading, I worry that I am being racist just by trying so hard not to be.

The real question being asked here is: if we are hyper-aware of our “non-racism” is that racism in itself? It sounds silly at first but makes sense the more you think about it. Of course Claudia took it in stride and laughed and told the student that clearly she meant no harm, that anyone who cared that much was obviously a kind, and thoughtful person who was just being too careful. Hearing another person, whom I had never met, ask a question that I had asked myself once or twice was a kind of relief that I wasn't alone in my accidental hyper-sensitivity. I think that it is important that we have these discussions when reading provoking work such as Citizen because while you may not always speak your mind, someone else might be thinking the exact same thing.

Coltan Kissler

Professor Oster

2/3/2015

Blog Post 2

Georgiana’s Imperfection

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark takes readers on an emotional journey through the lives of a married couple, Aylmer and Georgiana. Georgiana’s beauty has swept away numerous men in her past; however, in the eyes of her husband she has a major flaw. Georgiana was born with a birthmark on her cheek in the shape of a hand, which stunts her perfection. “Some fairy at her birth hour had laid her a tiny hand upon the infants cheek, and left this impress there in a token of the magic endowments that were to give her in such sway over all hearts. Many a desperate swain would have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the mysterious hand.” (Hawthorne, Page 85). With this passage, Hawthorne’s description of the birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek gives the impression that Aylmer does not appreciate her to the potential that he should despite the flaw he sees. 

            An interesting point that was brought up during class was how Aylmer has a quite interesting view on Georgiana and her magnificence. Aylmer is interested in the perfections of life and his wife is no excuse to that theory. Georgiana is considered to be perfect all down to the mark on her cheek. That is where Aylmer has his differences set. With this in mind Aylmer then changes his whole mentality on how he views his wife. He loves her but she does not feel she is good enough for him. Aylmer constantly speaks about how immortality is needed and that there is nothing that science can’t change.

            Georgiana comes to a realization in the chapter that she must change so that her husband will only see the beauty that she holds. She understands that her imperfection is something that can be changed.  Aylmer brings Georgiana to a room where she is able to read through Aylmer’s books where he keeps his experiment records. She has realized that Aylmer has had many experiments that have not gone according to plan and have failed. From this moment on I feel she is extremely hesitant of what will happen next. Shortly after, Georgiana is given a potion from Aylmer that will either kill her or change her into his idea of a perfect woman by removing her birthmark. Unfortunately, Aylmer’s plan failed once again and Georgiana passes away.

            This reading makes it extremely clear that the idea of perfection only exists in ones mind. No one lives without flaws and when one tries to create the “perfect” person, it fails. Aylmer has an image of perfection in his mind and by altering something that is already flawless in the eyes of many, he kills her. I think that this is an important story because it relates to society in my generation.