Life of a Slave Girl Essay Example for Free

Life of a Slave Girl Essay Harriet A. Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography written under the name of Linda Brent. This autobiography is a detailed account of her life or lack thereof. I use the term lack thereof because Harriet Jacobs was raised by her grandmother due to her mother dying at a young age. Harriet was taught to read and write as a young slave girl by her mistress. Harriet’s grandmother was a well-respected older slave woman who gained her freedom in the last will and testament of her mistress. Jacobs is determined not to be raped or surrender all her rights to anyone. Jacobs didn’t know she was a slave until she was almost a teenager. Her mother had passed away and the sad reality of her life as a slave sunk in. Harriet was raised to possess great moral character and virtue. During this time in history black women were â€Å"slaves of a slave† (Beal p.13).Frances Beal made that observation due to black women being subservient and degraded by their slave owners and their black men. Not all slave owners allowed their slaves to marry. With that in mind black women often were used and misused by their own race and their masters. Jacobs displays great determination to remain true to chastity despite constant stalking and demeaning remarks by Dr. Flint. In 1842 Harriet Jacobs escapes to freedom, this was at a great price she gave herself willing to the unmarried lawyer next door and bore him two children. Jacobs hid in a 3foot crawl space at her grandmother’s home for seven years. There was no light or room for her to stand up in that small space. Mice and insects crawled on her body and she hid there to avoid Dr. Flint. Jacobs’s story is a testament to what determination and a strong will can produce. Jacobs’s construction of black female empowerment was openly displayed throughout her story. She did not allow intimidation to prohibit her from believing in the hope that she was more than a slave. Harriet displayed this attitude in all that she did she stayed one step ahead of Dr. Flint. To talk of the brutality that was perpetrated by slave owners on slave girls and women was taboo. Not only was it taboo but it was also unheard of. Harriet Jacobs was given a strong will and mind by God. She added to what God gave her by taking the advice of her grandmother. During this time in history black women were raped, molested, tortured, degraded and exploited economically. Black women worked on plantations picking cotton, cooking and cleaning their homes and nursing the mistress babies while most times their children were neglected. There was no possible way you had a right because you were property and property can’t own property (Jacobs). Dr. Flint told Harriet she was made for his use, made to obey his command in everything; that she was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his (Jacobs). Harriet would not accept those words. Harriet would not accept that sentence he pronounced on her life. Jacobs knew she had a brain and could think for herself and despite what society had dictated to her race and to black women she would help to free other black women. The United States grew on the backs of slaves male and female. Yes our men suffered great injustices. However, our black women suffered also. There is yet a debate for some as to who suffered the most during slavery. I will say this as a people we have suffered tremendously. There are no words that can replace the separation of families. The loss of parents and children who would die trying to purchase a child that God had allowed them to birth. If you birth a child isn’t that child yours? According to slave rules and regulations slaves were nothing and if a slave girl gave birth to a child that was the master’s she could not tell a soul. Not even the black man who she tried to make believe that he fathered the child. If the slave told that the child was the master’s she could be killed, sold or imprisoned (Jacobs). Certain black men are maintaining that they have been castrated by society but that black women somehow escaped this persecution and even contributed to this emasculation. The black woman had no protector and was used and in some cases, as the scapegoat for the evils this horrendous system has perpetrated on black men (Rubenstein). This statement rings true now as we look at the single parent homes of today. Today black women are yet subverting societal convention. We are yet rising above our current economic and socioeconomic status. In spite of great disadvantages and struggles black women are innovators. The black woman’s physical image has been distorted for societies view. We were called ‘mammies† From slavery through the Jim Crow era, the mammy image served the political, social, and economic interests of mainstream white America. During slavery, the mammy caricature was posted as proof that blacks in this case, black women were contented, even happy, as slaves. Her wide grin, hearty laugher, and loyal servitude were offered as evidence of the supposed humanity of the institution of slavery (Ferris). The mammy caricature was deliberately constructed to suggest ugliness. Mammy was portrayed as dark-skinned; often pitch black, in a society that regarded black skin as ugly, tainted. She was obese, sometimes morbidly overweight. Moreover, she was often portrayed as old, or at least middle-aged. The attempt was to desexualize mammy. The implicit assumption was this: No reasonable white man would choose a fat, elderly black woman instead of the idealized white woman. The black mammy was portrayed as lacking all sexual and sensual qualities (Ferris). This was a well calculated plan executed by the white slave owners. This was done to provide a false sense of security to the white woman. Mammy was some bogus reassurance that their ideal life style was not in danger of being destroyed. Harriet was able to expose this injustice through her writings. Jacobs’s writings were shared with whites and blacks. Exposing the dark pit of slavery and his secrets is what Harriet Jacobs and several other noteworthy African American literary abolitionists did. Their writing was productive and powerful. Their writings provided hope to other black people who dared to even dream of freedom. African American women suffered hardships of oppression and yet while being oppressed and depressed black women were inspired to write. They were compelled to share their story with others. Although, the recollection of the events that shaped their lives was not pleasant memories; they knew they could not remain silent. They knew that they had to tell the story in hopes and saving their race. My people perish for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4).Knowledge of what was exactly going on in the deep dark south would hopefully and eventually save lives. Spreading the truth about slavery would expedite freedom for the black race. During slavery it was also believed that black slave girls were promiscuous this undoubtedly was another untruth placed upon the black race. However, this untruth was widely used as an excuse to sexually exploit the black female. This is what was used as the carte blanche to allow more evils upon the black slave girl. Black women continued to be oppressed for many years because society would not see black women as citizens. The de-eroticism of mammy meant that the white wife and by extension, the white family was safe. The sexual exploitation of black women by white

Childhood Obesity Essay -- essays research papers

It is a shame that so many children are obese. I am shocked that 2 million deaths each year can be contributed to physical inactivity (Wharry, 2002). The "How we Grew so Big" article is about the evolutionary reasons behind obesity. I worked in a factory this past summer where there was very physical labour. I ate way more food than I had before I started working there but was a lot slimmer by the end of my contract. Even though the sudden increase in activity in my life reduced my body fat, most of the other workers there were overweight. This leads me to believe that obesity is more of a societal issue than an evolutionary issue. I've had friends who were morbidly obese; one of whom would tell me "I know when I'm full because it gets hard to breathe". Last time I checked, that means you're over full! I have personally struggled with body image issues and am now exactly the correct and healthy BMI, yet by many people's standards would be considered "festivel y plump". I think that conflicting messages sent to people through media and healthcare providers over what "healthy weight" is, is a cause of obesity. Part of esteem in our society has to do with power, possessions and high luxury. Part of luxury is being catered to, having food made for you. It is hard to achieve this luxurious life style of drinking, partying and eating out all the time when we are also crash dieting so to meet the unattainable standards set out by advertisements and celebrities. If our lives are filled with inactivity and overeating, why are our pets so fat too? "Twenty-five % of cats of dogs are heavier that they should be" (Lenonick, 2004). It seems to me that if one is so lethargic as to not play with their pet, to the point that said animal is overweight, there is more than an evolutionary explanation to obesity. Though it may seem Marxist of me to write, people would be happier and probably slimmer if they were more connected to their places of work and community and had some kind of tangible association with the food they were putting into their mouth. The move from farms to urban areas in industrialized nations has reduced physical labour and also changed the way we relate to food. Lenonick, Michael D. 06/04/04 (Online). How we grew So Big. TIME magazine. Available at: http://www3.open.uoguelph.ca/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.... ...ar accidents which is 16 in 100 000 (Harte 2002). I couldn’t believe that! I have a higher risk of dieing from a tummy tuck then getting hit and killed by a car, yet millions or people walk the streets everyday. The fact about it is that the greater the volume of fat and tissue fluids, including plasma, that are sucked out, the greater the chance of severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances (Greeley 2000). Daniel Morello, M.D., president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery points out that liposuction is not for weight loss but for contouring of the body. "It is designed for removing localized areas of fatty tissues--not as a substitute for proper dietary management and exercise."(Greeley 2000). So either way we look at it we still have to exercise to maintain a fit body. I guess if you have the money, anything is possible or pretty close to being possible. Harte, J. 2002 May. Tumescent Liposuction. Available from: http://www.health.state.mn.us/htac/lipo.htm Accessed 2005 Feb 20. Greenly,A . 2000. Planning To Look Flab-u-less? Know the Facts About Liposuction. Available from: http://www.fitnessmba.com/childrens_fitness.html Accessed 2005 Feb 20.

Plastic Bags Good or Bad

People have argued about the use of plastic bags for a long time. The arguments for both sides seem to have more and more reasons every time. I believe that plastic bags are great for many reasons. Plastic bags convenient and take up less space in landfills than a paper bag. Plastic bags are an inelastic good. Replacing it would not be easy to do. Plastic bags are super convenient. They have many good things about them. They are light weight so it is easy to transport them and carry them. They are also cheap so we can afford to have all of them. They may be wasteful to some, but they are more helpful then they are wasteful.We can switch to a more expensive, less durable, product, or we can use plastic, an item that is extremely convenient that boast of heavy benefits. Another key feature of plastic bags is the fact that they take up less space in landfills than a paper bag. People complain about how plastic bags take up so much space and we should stop using them and switch to paper. But the facts show that a plastic bag takes up a lot less space. Official sources have stated so. If it takes up less space in landfills than the other main type of bag, why would we want to switch to something that takes up more space? It just seems totally pointless to do so.Plastic bags are here to stay. They are convenient and pollute a lot less than other bags so this makes them an inelastic good because we simply cannot find a more suitable replacement. They say to stop using plastic and to switch to other products, but I think it is a truly wonderful material. It is used to make things cheaper, lighter, and more durable. It is a staple in America, being used in everything from my surfboards to the very computer I am using to type this. The price and the uses of plastic is just too great to get rid of, so I believe that deserves to be the dominate material in society.

Standardized Tests Are Not A Fair - 1709 Words

Essay One Standardized tests have been around for a very long time, and they are probably going to be around for a long time to come. Testing students does provide information about a school district, student, and teacher, but it is definitely not the entire picture. Everyone would probably agree that the results of one test would not be a fair evaluation of the student. In order to fairly evaluate a student, grades, tests scores, and progress should all be considered. Teachers should be evaluated in the same way as the students, through student’s progress, grades and tests scores. There is no way to fairly evaluate a teacher if you are solely or mainly counting test scores. Standardized tests are not a fair way to evaluate a teacher. Due to the industrial revolution, school aged laborers returned to school. The schools needed to know where to place these children academically. Standardized tests were given to be able to determine what knowledge these children had. In the mid-1800’s Boston used standardized tests to compare and judge each school. Boston’s policies were adopted by school systems nationwide. Skipping ahead to 1983 when President Ronald Regan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education released the report, â€Å"A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform.† This report drew great criticism to our educational system. Politicians and citizens demanded reform. They wanted teachers and schools held to a higher level of accountability.Show MoreRelatedThe Disadvantages of Standardized Testing Essay1487 Words   |  6 Pages Standardized tests are exams that are supposed to measure a child’s academic knowledge but have long been a controversial subject of discussion. Although it is one method to see how a child is performing, is it the best method? Standardized testing can be biased or unfair, inhibit both the teacher’s and the children’s creativity and flex ibility, affect funding for schools, cause untested subjects to be eliminated from the curriculum, and cause anxiety for children and teachers. StandardizedRead MoreStandardized Testing Is Not Be Completely Honest I Do Not Know About Standardized Test1151 Words   |  5 Pagesdo not know much about standardized test. I remember having to take them as a student in elementary and junior high. I knew that I would not be receiving a letter grade on these test. I remember never stressing about taking the test. To be honest if I did not understand the question I was the kid that just made a design on the answer sheet. I absolutely was not aware of the reasoning or purpose of test. As a parent, I see my kids stress out about taking the standardize test. 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Many laws have been passed over the years, requiring countless standardized tests throughout a student’s educational career for every student.This educational norm has been implemented for the past eighty years for the purpose of allowing comparisons to be made among schools in regards to student achievementRead MoreArgument Essay: Standardized Testing925 Words   |  4 PagesStandardized Testing: Good or Bad? If someone was to ask you â€Å"how do you define student achievement?† what would your answer be? Would you say student achievement is measured by state achievement tests? Or would you say that student achievement is too complex a subject to be objectively measured? There are many important skills students must be taught, and we need a way to effectively measure if they are in fact learning those skills. However, standardized tests cannot effectively show the learningRead MoreShould Standardized Testing Truly Measures The Academic Capability Of Students Or Not?1544 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen a debate regarding if standardized testing truly measures the academic capability of students or not. A standardized test is any form of an exam that requires all test takers to answer the same questions and that is scored in a consistent manner. Every student throughout his or her high school career will have to take at least one. A lot of the time people have the feeling that they are m uch smarter than what the test scores display, and many believe that the tests don’t represent any sort of