Slavery In Walter Johnson's Soul By Soul

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By researching slavery in a different way, Walter Johnson, author of Soul by Soul, hopes to gain insight that has never been examined before. He thinks he can do this by looking into the actual sales of the slaves and the moments leading up to a purchase. By reading this book, the reader can gain knowledge in what it was like to be a slave knowing they were about to get sold, or constantly being threatened of getting traded or sold. Specifically, the first two chapters, The Chattel Principle and Between the Prices, focus on identity of the slaves and slaveholders, as well as the emotions of both slave and master.. Overall, the first two chapters focus on two main arguments: identity and emotions. The chattel principle is defined in the book as “any slave’s identity might be disrupted as easily as a price could be set and a piece of paper passed from one hand to another.” 1 This highlights the mental struggle slaves had to go through. They were often taught how to act according to gender roles and what would make the most profit. They had to leave behind their own identity and conform to their owners to be able to get traded or sold for the best price. However, some slaves used emotions as leverage. Separation of “slavery” from “the market” 2 was a real threat to slaveowners. Many slaveowners emotionally feared being like people in the slave market, where they did not care about splitting up families or properly taking care of slaves, which helped them morally cope and justify the fact of owning their slaves. Although they …show more content…

Through telling stories of the slaves and their masters, enough evidence is provided as support. Diaries and letters show a more personal side of slavery into their identity and emotions, which further supports the main argument of these chapters. Each individual story that is told brings readers into the minds of slaves and how they felt about the

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