Slavery In Marriah Hines: The Story Of Slaves

Imagine that it is the late nineteenth to early twentieth century in the American South. Imagine a work environment where the only reward for hard labor and back breaking tasks is not being beaten that day. Imagine barely getting enough to meet even one’s most basic needs, and that the only way out of this cruel cycle is by death or an almost impossible escape. This is the world in which Marriah Hines lives. Luckily for her, she only witnesses such atrocities; she never has to endure them as most slaves did during her lifetime and for hundreds of years before her. How is this possible? The compassion of one man, her master, saves her from the worst aspects of slavery. Her master is not the stereotypically cruel slave owner that dominates

The title hints at this fact, but her story delves much deeper into this powerful idea. Hines first indicates this by the way she identifies her master, James Pressman. Throughout her interview, she always has something to say about him. She even mentions him more often than her own family members. She recalls him “strutting down the field like a big turkey gobbler” as he inspects the fields and slaves at work (Hines). Her use of this southern simile casts him as a man who she sees as one with great authority and power. Pressman is first and foremost Hines 's owner; but to her fellow slaves and her, he means much more than that. She attests to this affection: “Dat’s why we loved and respected Master, ‘cause he was so good to us.”

Even Hines acknowledges that “there was plenty of ‘em that didn’t fare as we did.” (Hines) Furthermore, she touches on this when she recalls how other white people refer to Pressman as a “nigger lover” (Hines). Hines views him more as a leader than an owner. From a slave 's perspective, 'owner ' has an extremely negative connotation. Slaves usually fear their masters and overseers; they do not love and respect their master like Hines loves and respects Pressman. This is because she views him as a leader, a man worthy of admiration. Throughout the interview, Hines shows respect to Pressman by referring to him as Master, which she uses almost like an intimate family name. She could just as easily have referred to him as Master Pressman, Master James, or just master. However, her choice of capitalization clearly shows the great amount of respect she has for him. Legally he does own her, but she believes that there is more to their relationship aside from ownership. In a way, he is a part of her family; he is the patriarchal figure of her overarching plantation