Richard Frethorne Letter To His Parents

1021 Words3 Pages

In my report, I will discussing one of the three letters in which an indentured servant had sent to his parents. This servant name is Richard Frethorne, a young Englishmen who had came to settled down near Virginia. Few months after he came to Jamestown in 1623, he writes this letter to his parents discussing the poor life he is living now, and comparing to life in England.. Frethorne had hope to plead with his parents to redeem his indenture, buying him out of his contract. Other than this letter, there is little historical records about his life. However, this letter provides a first-hand experience of the hardships an indentured servant has suffered in the seventeenth century. Jamestown was first founded in 1607, when the Englishmen …show more content…

The reader knows this because the letter opens with the statement, “Loving and kind father and mother,” and ends with, “Your loving son.” He also refers to his father in various occasion, as he writes “good father,” and “I your child,” among other references which convince the readers that Frethorne’s parents were his primarily audience. However, this always isn’t the case, as Frethorne knows that the chances of this letter reaches to them is very slim, stating “that the answer of this letter will be life or death to me.” Thus, I believe that the letter was also intended for another audience. The sentence, “I never ate anything but peas, and loblollie,” suggests that he was desperate for food and drink, and was hoping for anyone who reads this letter to send help. T also seems that Frethorne almost wanted his second audience to be the English, as he sometimes mentions England in his letter. “I am not half a quarter so strong as I was in England,” and “People cry out day and night-Oh! That they were in England without their limbs-and would not care to lose any limb to be England again.” Frethorne writes of England this way, in order to convince the people to aid him. He’s comparing how life in Jamestown is far more terrible than it is in England. Frethorne hopes to appeal to the English’s charitable nature, in hopes they will send help to

Show More
Related

  • Understanding Slavery: Its Impact on American Psyche and Economy

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    This makes for a very interesting read. Johnson’s personal writing style does not shine through much due to the way he chose to build narrative around historical sources, but nevertheless he tells an interesting, cohesive story that draws the reader in and exposes some of the insidious history surrounding the trade of slaves in our history. The book is divided into seven sections, ten including the introduction and epilogue, as well as a section dedicated to illustrations of historical documents alluded to in the text. Johnson also includes a section entitled “Notes,” where he has compiled his sources. The “Notes” section is not a straight bibliography. It also includes helpful author notes describing the context of sources that did not fit in the main narrative, and references for those wanting to do their own research. For example, one note includes information on a book by Tadman which contains information on the number of slaves traded. The author includes a summary, including migration numbers and the percentage of those numbers directly related to the trade. This section is helpfully divided and labeled, with the notes referred to in each part of the book labeled by section. Each notation and illustration is referenced within the text by numbers, which coincide with each note or illustration offering more

    Read More

  • Paul Revere's Letter To Jeremy Belknap

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    Paul Revere’s great ride through the night to save the americans from the huge british force was a big piece of American history during that time. Many have written about Paul Revere but longfellow doesn't tell the whole story. Longfellow's poem doesn't tell the whole story but Paul’s letter does.

    Read More

  • Summary Of William Moraley's 'The Infortunate'

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Moraley’s presentation of his time spent in colonial America, as he conveyed in his autobiography The Infortunate, depicts his experiences as an indentured servant. Moraley faced arduous tasks throughout his time as a laborer only to have no opportunities as soon he becomes free. Through Moraley’s autobiography, a deeper context is shown of what most American colonist’s life consisted of since a majority of migrants who traveled to the colonies were in a similar situation. These bound servants and poor laborers were accustomed to harsh restrictions by the beneficiaries of their labor and were mitigated of any chance to acquire land or a stable occupation in Colonial America because of the social and political standings of the upper

    Read More

  • Slavery and Servants in 1800s Pennsylvania

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    By the 18th century, Pennsylvania was becoming home for American Development. Many people that were drawn to Pennsylvania were servants whether, for sometimes 4 years or however long, it took to pay off debt for their travel across the Atlantic. If they weren’t servant, they were slaves who almost had no chance of freedom. Servants had a chance to become free after paying off their debts with work, but not the same for slaves.

    Read More

  • Indentured Servitude and Slavery in the New World

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Complaint of an Indentured Servant, Sprig writes a letter to her father back home telling him about the poor living conditions and treatment she was receiving. Elizabeth Sprig, however, didn’t have a strong relationship with her father during this time, it was actually far from that. She begins by asking her father for forgiveness because she feels like she might never leave from the torment. She tells him that the treatment she and the other English indentured servant suffer is beyond the comprehension of those back in England. Sprig begins to talk about how little they had to eat and how little they had to wear. She tells her father about the scarce amount of Indian corn and salt for their meals, and how they were almost naked because of the lack of clothes they received. The indentured servant had no shoes, nor stockings to wear and also no place to sleep. They were lucky to get offered a blanket to wrap up in on the ground. If they did something against owners, they were tied up and beaten as if they were animals. Elizabeth Sprig begs for some compassion from her father by asking him to simply sending her some clothes and a letter back. She even goes as far as telling him how to send these items over by ships. This was the treatment that almost every woman received when arriving in the new world. Women who found

    Read More

  • Richard Tyre Hero Story Essay

    2020 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper examines the argument and theory proposed by Richard H. Tyre of the six basic movements of a plot in a hero story. Although Tyre’s theory does seem too narrow focused, fixed and direct to fit with the plot structure of all hero stories, he makes a great point and provides adequate evidence to support his statement.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of John Downe's Letter To His Wife

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The letter starts off in a storytelling manner. Downe recounts a time when a farmer took him into the country, and though this may seem like a fond memory he simply wants to share with his wife, there is hidden intent. His story serves as a means to ease into the argument. It is also slyly painting the picture of Americans being full of hospitality, as he mentions the farmer who helped him “...would not have a farthing, and told me that I

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Mary Prince And Olaudah Equiano

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries consisted of brutal and completely unjust treatment of African-Americans. Africans were pulled from their families and forced to work for cruel masters under horrendous conditions, oceans away from their homes. While it cannot be denied that slavery everywhere was horrible, the conditions varied greatly and some slaves lived a much more tolerable life than others. Examples of these life styles are vividly depicted in the personal narratives of Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince. The diversity of slave treatment and conditions was dependent on many different factors that affected a slave’s future. Mary Prince and Olaudah Equiano both faced similar challenges, but their conditions and life styles

    Read More

  • What did freedom mean to harriet jacobs

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Crevecoeur's Letters From An American Farmer

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first section of the letter, Crevecoeur mainly appeals to pathos and logos. By appealing to pathos, Crevecoeur evokes emotion, specifically evoking a sense of pride. He also appeals to logos in order to show his reasoning and thoughts about why America is a better place to live than England. In the middle of the section, Crevecoeur says, “Can a wretch who wanders about, who works and starves, whose life is a continual scene of sore affliction or pinching penury; can that man call England or any other kingdom his country?”.

    Read More

  • Indentured Servants In America

    214 Words  | 1 Pages

    The typical life of an indentured servant was not a convenient one. Their journeys to the Americas were miserable. The servants were packed into large ships carrying thousands of people as well as, tools, food, etc. Not only were the people densely packed, there were various diseases flooding the ships, and many people would die from them. “I witnessed . . .

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Frederick Douglass And David Walker

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite each individual having different circumstances in which they experienced regarding the institution of slavery, both were inspired to take part in the abolitionist movement due to the injustices they witnessed. The result is two very compelling and diverse works that attack the institution of slavery and argue against the reasons the pro-slavery individuals use to justify the slavery

    Read More

  • Runaway Slave Advertisements

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery and indentured servitude was the backbone of the Virginia economy. Slaves were considered an investment in the planter’s business and a necessity for success. The treatment of slaves was much the same as owning a piece of property or equipment. Slaves were not viewed as fellow human beings, quite the opposite they were of lesser status. Slaves and indentured servants grew tired of their treatment and responded with acts of rebellion. One such act was for the slaves and servants to run away. Indentured servants and slaves both made the incredibly brave decision to risk fleeing and capture in the hope of finding a free and better life, as opposed to continue living in their oppressed conditions. Runaway slave advertisements became commonplace in newspapers in Virginia and across the south. The advertisements represented the increasing resistance on the part of both indentured servants and slaves of their poor treatment. The advertisements were the slave owner’s resource in the return of their property. When analyzing the advertisements, it is clear the attitudes towards the servants and slaves were more of a piece of property than that of a human being. The slave owners list thing such as physical descriptions, special skills, rewards for their capture and return. This paper will compare and contrast the advertisements of indentured servant and slave runaways.

    Read More

  • Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl And Frederick Douglass

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick

    Read More

  • Analysis of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this book, Douglass narrated the life of a slave in the United States into finer details. This paper will give a description of life a slave in the United States was living, as narrated through the experiences of Fredrick Douglass.

    Read More

More about Richard Frethorne Letter To His Parents

Open Document