Although “From Letters from an American Farmer” and “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” are essays about the American racism, in “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man,” William Apess directs his essays towards mostly whites, who are dominant society at the time, and points his finger to the white society’s face. He writes about religion, racism and its injustice, whereas, J. Hector St. John De Crevecoueur, who graphically shows the atrocity of the slave’s punishment, analyzes the elements of coming face to face with the terrors of slavery in “From Letters from an American Farmer.” In order to bring persuasive effects to their essays, Apess uses more rhetorical questions and anaphora, while Crevecoeur concentrates more on pathos for emotions of the audience. the white man not only to experience themselves, but even too brutal for the white race to look at. He does not display his opinion but evidences, in order to call for people’s empathy, compassion and affliction, whereas Apess’s anaphora is tough and aggressive, that establish a strong argumentative speech. Crevecoeur graphically shows the extremely wicked act of the slave’s punishment. He says, for example, “I shudder when I recollect that the birds had already picked out his eyes, his cheek bones were bare; his arms had been attacked in several places, and his body seemed covered with a multitude of wounds” (Crevecoeur 22). The slave begs for something to drink and explains that he wants to die “The living spectre though deprived of his eyes, could still distinctly hear, and in his uncouth dialect begged me to give him some water to allay his thirst” (Crevecoeur 23). At this point of life, Crevecoueur uses pathos to show t... ... middle of paper ... ...emotions; on the other hand, “An Indian’s looking-glass for the white man” is rougher, it makes audience stressful because of the sharp accusation. In my opinion, protest essays supposed to have effective argument and strong words, in order to make readers/ audiences conscious about the current situation. Because if everyone consciousness goes on the right way, the slaves in general and Indians in particular will not be tortured and treated unfairly. Protest essays, which play the important role to call for people’ alertness, should have sharp and acute persuasions. For that reason, using only pathos for emotions of the audiences is not enough for a protest essay. Works Cited Trodd, Zoe, John Stauffer, and Howard Zinn. American Protest Literature. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.
In the book Bad Indians, Miranda talks about the many issues Indigenous People go through. Miranda talks about the struggles Indigenous people go through; however, she talks about them in the perspective of Native Americans. Many people learn about Indigenous People through classrooms and textbooks, in the perspective of White people. In Bad Indians, Miranda uses different literary devices to show her perspective of the way Indigenous People were treated, the issues that arose from missionization, as well as the violence that followed through such issues. Bad Indians is an excellent example that shows how different history is told in different perspectives.
no voice of his own, but all accounts affirm to the reader that he is
The killings made by the slaves are saddening, too. Mutilating the whites and leaving their bodies lying is inhumane. It is such a shocking story. This book was meant to teach the reader on the inhumanity of slavery. It also gives us the image of what happened during the past years when slavery was practised.
According to Douglass, the treatment of a slave was worse than that of an animal. Not only were they valued as an animal, fed like an animal, and beaten like an animal, but also a slave was reduced to an animal when he was just as much of a man as his master. The open mentality a slave had was ...
To understand the desperation of wanting to obtain freedom at any cost, it is necessary to take a look into what the conditions and lives were like of slaves. It is no secret that African-American slaves received cruel and inhumane treatment. Although she wrote of the horrific afflictions experienced by slaves, Linda Brent said, “No pen can give adequate description of the all-pervading corruption produced by slavery." The life of a slave was never a satisfactory one, but it all depended on the plantation that one lived on and the mast...
Slavery consisted of numerous inhumane horrors completed to make its victims feel desolated and helpless. Many inescapable of these horrors of slavery are conveyed in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The entire prospect of the duration of the story is to plan an escape from the excruciating conditions awaiting Douglass as a slave. When his escape is finally executed, unpredictable emotions and thoughts overwhelm him. Within the conclusion of his narrative (shown in the given passage), Frederick Douglass uses figurative language, diction, and syntax to portray such states of mind he felt after escaping slavery: relief, loneliness, and paranoia.
I found that, to make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision,and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right, and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man.* (315)
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
«Indians can run fast. Indians can endure pain. Indians have quick reflexes. Indians don’t talk much. Indians have good eyesight. Indians have agile bodies. These are all Indian gifts … Whites are patient. Whites are spiritual. Whites are cognitive. Whites are philosophical. Whites are sophisticated. Whites are sensitive. These are all white gifts, says Nasty Bumppo.
Growing up on a reservation where failing was welcomed and even somewhat encouraged, Alexie was pressured to conform to the stereotype and be just another average Indian. Instead, he refused to listen to anyone telling him how to act, and pursued his own interests in reading and writing at a young age. He looks back on his childhood, explaining about himself, “If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity” (17). Alexie compares the life and treatment of an Indian to life as a more privileged child. This side-by-side comparison furthers his point that
Many people do not realize that Indian people are around us everyday. They could be our neighbors, our bus driver, or anyone that we see on a daily bases. In Thomas King’s essay “You’re not the Indian I Had in Mind,” and his video “I’m not the Indian You Had in Mind,” he exemplifies the stereotype that many people make about Indians. King mentions in his essay that people always would say to him, “you’re not the Indian I had in mind,” because he did not look like the stereotypical Indian. Through King’s essay and video, I have been educated about this stereotype that I was unaware of. Since I now have an understanding of how unrealistic this stereotype is, I now can educate friends and family members on this issue.
Douglass's humiliating anecdotes about slavery create sympathy for people held in bondage. Slaves were punished by whipping, hanging, branding, beating, or burning. Punishment was most often dole out in response to disobedience or perceived error. Since the government allowed it, slaves suffered dramatic physical abuse during and outside of work. One of the most common instruments used against a slave was the whip. Slaves were punished for a number of reasons: breaking a rule, working too casually, or leaving the plantation without permission. Most states did not allow slaves from holding religious activities for fear that these meetings could facilitate communication and later lead to rebellion. Frederick Douglass (1995), states, “Our food was coarse corn meal boiled, which was called mush. It was put into a large wooden tray or trough, and set down upon the ground. The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigs they would come and devour the mush; some with oyster-shells, others with pieces of shingle, some with naked hands, and none with spoons. He that ate fastest got most; he that was strongest secured the best place; and few left the trough satisfied" (Chapter 5, page 1). This clearly indicates how children were treated like animals and their inability to act in the presence of a normal educated child. Douglass states, "I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, and the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!" (Chapter 10) Douglass makes it clear that slavery weakens a man, and makes him surrender his manhood. Accor...
Slaves are not inherently dangerous until they have come to understand and acknowledge the evils of slavery. It is only when they are educated and made aware of the situation that they were forced into, that they loathe the concept of being enslaved. Further, this enlightenment threatens the entire foundation of slavery as the enslaved have the mental capability to rebel against their master, although a majorit...
According to Deloria, there are many misconceptions pertaining to the Indians. He amusingly tells of the common White practice of ...
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.