Analysis Of Cr�vecoeur's Letters From An American Farmer

543 Words2 Pages

Slavery in America has been a great issue dating back hundreds of years ago. African Americans have been abused and forced into hard physical labor to benefit whites. In Michel- Guillaume-Jean de Crèvecoeur’s writing Letters From an American Farmer, Crèvecoeur describes in detail slavery he has witnessed in Letter IX. The setting of this passage is Charleston, South Carolina and in this writing, Crèvecoeur describes in detail the problems African Americans had to endure under the rule and supervision of White folks. According to the passage, Blacks had to go through an immense amount of torture and beatings by their masters: “ … those showers of sweat and of tears… The cracks of the whip…” By writing and describing the sweat and tears they shed while engaging in hard labor, we can infer that the Blacks were being overworked and made to work in strenuous environments. Crèvecoeur also states in his writing that they are …show more content…

He is trying to reveal to the readers the evilness of slavery. The tone is more evident in the excerpt when he describes the workers as “miserable beings” and they have to engage in “excessive labor” in which they have the chance of being whipped. They should not be treated this way, by using phrases such as those, he is showing how bad life is for the slaves. Based on the passage, the author is focusing on how miserable the African Americans are and how the Whites are privileged. While their workers are out all day in the hot sun having to suffer all day, the Whites are living happily not having to do anything physical. This also ties into the author’s purpose of the passage which is to demonstrate and get across to the reader the hardships and struggles of growing up Black. Crèvecoeur also describes how Whites are considered superior to Blacks by demoralizing them and forcing them into exhausting

Open Document