Personal Narratives: Insights into American Slavery

Personal Accounts of The American Slave System
Have you ever thought about what it feels like to be a slave? Or why slaves feel the way they do? In the American Slave System, authors wrote stories and poems to help us imagine what it’s like to be a slave. In these stories and poems, the authors included ways to help us put ourselves in a slave’s shoes. The stories and poems of Mother to Son, The Life of Harriet Jacobs, and Strange Fruit throw light on the American Slave System through sharing the personal accounts they endured and those experiences formed their positions on slavery.
First, during slavery, the stories made the ways that slaves were treated stand out and come to light. In Mother to Son, the text says “ Don’t you set down on the steps ‘cause you find it’s kinda harder. “ Even though you face

challenges during slavery, don’t give up on trying to make it to where you need to go. In order to be successful, you have to have confidence and not give up on yourself. The slaves go through hard times all the time in slavery. The slaves don’t speak out because they don’t want to known to slave owners as lazy, but they continue to push the theirselves and soon or later they will be great for what they do.
Second, the author’s position of slavery differed from those who defended slavery.

In The Life of Harriet Jacobs, the text says “ Harriet began life unaware of her enslaved status. “ People who are slaves at this present time, weren’t born to be slaves. They didn’t know they would spend their life in slavery. To escape, they fight back or sneak out when they aren’t getting supervised. Slaves don’t want to be in the predicament that they are in right now, they want to be able to be free and not working for slave owners. If they experienced slavery, they would fight back to prevent being treated unfairly.
Finally, the stories and poems that authors wrote helped support their position. In Strange Fruit, the text says “ pastoral scene of the gallant south, the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth. “ The conditions that slaves went through expresses how slaves were frightened by the actions of slave owners. Bulging eyes means the slave’s eyes were bold and surprised. The twisted mouth means the slave couldn’t speak. This helps the readers understand the slave’s position and it inspired empathy towards us. It made me think how I would feel if I were to be a

slave.
In conclusion, the stories and poems of Mother to Son, The Life of Harriet Jacobs, and Strange Fruit throw light on the American Slave System through sharing the personal accounts they endured and those experiences formed their position on slavery. The stories and poems that these authors wrote makes the slaves gain their confidence, makes them think differently about slavery, and informs the readers to put themselves in a slave’s shoes. The stories and poems I used in my essay help us get a better understanding of what it’s like to be a slave. It allows us to deeply connect to the slaves’ hard times and persuades us to imagine how we would feel if we were in slavery.