Novel-"What Slaves Are Taught To Think of the...

[Ms. Knarr]

Please read the chapter here:



www.pagebypagebooks.com/Harriet_Jacobs/Incidents_in_the_Life_of_a_Slave_Girl/What_Slaves_Are_Taught_To_Think_Of_The_North_p1.html

Be sure to read both pages!

[jthimelrick]

1. The meaning behind this chapter of the novel, "What Slaves are Taught to Think of the North" is that the only way the slaveowners could keep their slaves in order, was to lie to them. The slaveowners had to tell them that those slaves who ran away were in the north starving to death, begging to go back to their nice master in the south. But the author knows this isnt true. Those slaves who run away end up getting their freedom, they end up getting an education and becoming true Americans. This chapter tells us that the only way the slaveowners could keep control of their slaves was by lying to them and trying to put them down.
2. I really like this excert from the novel. It seems to give a very good description of what the slave to owner relationship was like, something that maybe other stories dont portray very well. I also like how the author showed how bad slavery was, how it turned good men into ones who are scared and fear for their life. The chapter depicts what life was like for a slave in a very real and scary way.
3. - How did this slave come to get her freedom and learn to read and then return to the south to be with other slaves?
- Do you think this novel was written near the end of slavery, or when it was at its peak in America?
- Do you think slaveowners need to lie to their slaves to keep them in order and in fear?
- Was it right to keep slaves illiterate?

[dougrybczynski]

1. I agree completely with JT with another addition. On the first page in the fourth paragraph, he says that slaves are inferior. I think this shows not only that slaves are taught things about the north but about their whole existence which is saddening to see. I think hidden behind the main meaning of what they are taught is so much about the mentality in the south when slavery was prevalent.

2. I also like this excerpt from the novel because of the point of view on slavery which we almost never get to see. I also enjoyed how readable it was probably due to the nature of how the author learned to read and write.

3. (Question 3) Yes, i believe it was necessary to lie to slaves and keep them misinformed in order to keep them in order and fearful. This is because a slave is just as human as any other person and what would any other person think if they were told the truth about the real world outside of their horrible reality. I should say that while lying is the only way because slavery is a horrible thing and never should have happened.
My question- Would there have been any change in slavery if the slaves all knew the reality of freedom?

[paulabatoon]

1. I agree with both JT and Doug. Also, on the second page in the first paragraph, it describes the rivalry between the North and the South. It also shows how the southern man was two-faced most of the time. The passage says that whenever a southern man went to the north, they are respectful and "are proud to do them honor." However, when a northerner went to the south, they are most certainly not welcome. In addition to showing the readers how the slaveowners lied to their slaves, the passage also tells us of the bitter rivalry between the north and the south at the time.

2. I liked this excerpt of the novel because it explains why most slaves never attempted to run away from their owners. They weren't free, but at least they had a roof over their heads.

3. (In response to Doug's question) Yes, there would have been a change in slavery if the slaves knew what it was truly like to be free. There would have been more runaways and free slaves. However, with more runaways would have come more slave catchers, and the slaves who had gotten caught would have been treated more harshly (more whippings, beatings, etc.). There would have been more slaves living in the north, where they would have faced harsh racism as well. At the time, although the north was slaveless, northerners were still racists. So, if the slaves truly knew about freedom, more of them would have been free, but freedom would have come at a price.
My question: What is the meaning of the last sentence? ("I wish the President was subordinate to Queen Justice.")

[connorjmckeon]

1. I agree with everyone above. This chapter is all about how slaveholders felt the need to lie to their slaves to keep their loyalty, although it was forced. If they could convince the slaves that their living conditions were the best they could get, then the slaves would stay where they are. Luckily, the author was literate and smart enough to realize these lies.
2. I like the chapter for the same reason as Doug; this side of slavery is rarely seen. When we talk or learn about slavery, it's all about the troubles and how some of them worked to escape or end slavery. This piece, however, shows the view of a different group of slaves that were, in essence, hopeless and I liked that change.
3. Response to Paula's question: I think "Queen Justice" isn't a person, but a concept that justice is present throughout the land. So if the President was subordinate to that concept, there would be no slavery, but justice in America. Unfortunately, the President was the highest power so Queen Justice had no rule.
My question: Since the author knew what was really going on, do you think he escaped?

[darbycasey]

1. I also agree with what everyone above has stated. This chapter shows us the reality of how slave owners treated slaves. They lied to them in order to get them to stay around. The reason for these lies is probably because of the rivalry between the North and South. The slave owners knew that by lying to the slaves to get them to stay in the South was overall good for the South. It kept the Southern population up and most important to them kept their plantations running.

2. I like this chapter because it brings out the reality of how slave owners treated their slaves. Sometimes we think that these slave owners didn't mean for slavery to go on and continue it was just their way of life, but here we see a whole other side. These slave owners wanted to keep slavery going and they would do this by any means possible, which, as we see here, included lying to the slaves and instilling some kind of fear in the them. Overall, I think this poem had a strong message to show us what really went on with slaves and their owners and differences in the North and South.

3. In response to Connor's question: I think the author woul have tried to escape since he knew about what was really happening. He knew that the North had plenty of great oppurtunities for him to make a better life for himself. Therefore, I can't imagine why he wouldn't escape unless for some reason he was too afraid of being caught.
My question: How do you think the slave owners felt about lying to the slaves?

[mattteryek]

1. I agree with a everyone's statement above. This chapter proves that slave-owners manipulated the minds of their slaves. For slave-owners, it was a sense of power because slaves were uneducated and what uneducated person would know the truth? I believe it is disappointing that northerners abandoned their true beliefs regarding slavery, upon entering the south. We can see from this chapter that the slave-owners not only lied and manipulated their slaves, but also anyone else who entered the south.

2. I liked this chapter because it shows how abused, mentally and physically, slaves were. Slaves were beaten, and forced to believe that life on the plantation was the only life possible. I also liked it for the same reason Connor and Doug did as well. We rarely see this side of slavery from a knowledgeable woman, who wrote about how the truth was so twisted at the time.

3. In response to Darby's question, I believe that the slave owners didn't care whether or not they lied to their slaves. It is hard to accept that slave owners had any feelings to their actions, considering that southerners believed that God created African Americans to be slaves.

(My Question) Do you think there are still fundamental southerners today that continue to believe in similar tenets slave owners too followed?

[allisoncorchado]

1. I agree with everyone. The meaning of this passage was to show how slaves were deprived of life in every way shape or form. The author does not speak about the brutal beatings or inhumane labor that the slaves had to endure. The author speaks about how the minds of the slaves were cheated. Because of how uneducated they were and how inferior they thought themselves to be they were robbed of a freedom which they couldn't even fathom to begin with. The purpose of the chapter was to show that mind games were what truly stopped the slaves from gaining their freedom. This is displayed when the author says "If those heathen in our Christian land had as much teaching as some Hindoos, they would think otherwise. They would know that liberty is more valuable than life. They would begin to understand their own capabilities, and exert themselves to become men and women." This means that if they were educated enough they would be able to understand the concept that when you are a slave liberty is equal to life.

2. I really liked this chapter because most of the time we never hear about the mind games. When informed about slavery we usually hear about the whips, the rape, the sales, and we never hear about the dirty mind game that these heartless people played on innocent souls. It opened my eyes to realize how people really thought that blacks were so inferior to whites. This chapter made it seem as if the masters treated their grown slaves as children, unable to comprehend what was going on all around them. I really learned a lot from this chapter.

3. Response to Darby's question- I have to agree with Matt I really dont think that they cared at all about lying to their slaves. However, in some cases, where masters were friends with their slaves, i think they became very dependant on them. So although the slave was respected by their master, it is a possibly that the master felt bad about lying because it was just so that they could keep them for selfish needs. My question- If you were a slave would you believe everything your master told you?

[kevinskocypec]

1. I interpreted this chapter along the lines of what JT had said. To have the "best slave," one had to manipulate their slaves and hide them from everyone else to allow them to feel like that is where they belong. They lacked the freedom and the education to fully comprehend their poor life style. The only ones that did were indeed the runaway slaves. They were able to experience first-hand the living conditions of a free American.

2. I felt like this chapter was a bit shocking to me because I always thought slaves were away of their captivity and were unhappy. This passage showed me that they were not happy but thought that this life was normal, because they were manipulated by the whites. I did enjoy reading this and felt it was very informational.

3. In response to Darby's Question: I feel like the slave owners, just as the slaves, thought that this was the normal, status quo. It was just the way society was to manipulate and to lie to the slaves. I am sure there were some whites that understood this was wrong and tried to avoid it, but the majority of whites were probably unaware of the cruelty they were putting the slaves through and were alright with the outcome.

(My Question) Were the slaves that attempted to runaway the only ones who became aware of the true reality of their situations?

[martinwawszkowicz]

1. My interpretation of this chapter is pretty much the same as everyone else's above. The slave owner must lie to the slaves in order to keep them in doubt. By putting the slaves into doubt, that if they run away they will not survive, it makes the slaves not want to run away anymore. It is a good thing that the author knows that the slave owner is not telling the truth, because those that run away are the only ones that truly become free.

2. This chapter was something new to read. I enjoyed reading it because it was something that I did not know before, and we got to see the story from the point of view of the slaves. I also liked that this chapter gave a good description of what slavery really was, and what was going on at during this time.

3. In response to Kevin's question, I believe that it was not only those slaves that attempted to runaway that became aware of their situations. Slaves definitely communicated amongst each other, letting each other know what is going on. If they didn't know about it, then maybe some of them wouldn't have attempted to run away for their freedom.

My Question: Do you think that liberty really is more valuable than life?

[jthimelrick]

1. I like Doug's comments about how the slaves were lied to about everything in their existence. Doug was right when he said how saddening it was to read about how slaves were told they were worthless and are inferior to their owners.

2. (answering Doug's question) I believe that if all slaves knew how freedom was then more of them would have fought for their freedom. Many slaves believed that their freedom would be much more work and that they wouldnt be able to make it in the real world, but if they knew how well they could have done then many more would have escaped and fought for equal rights for all.

my question- How could the history of America have been different if more slaves knew how much they could have succeeded with their freedom?

[adamzaha]

1. I agree with everyone's interpretations of this chapter. I believe that this chapter as about how slave owners would try to lie about the North by saying that whoever went there would become a starving homeless person. There was also mention about how blacks were inferior but because of the slavery the whites imposed on them not because of their race. There was one literary device that caught my eye which was dialect which was used in the spelling of Hindu in the second paragraph where she replaced the "u" with "oo".

2.I liked this reading because it taught me something I never knew which was that the slave owners would make the North sound like a place that was worse then the South. This was also shocking to me because of how the slaves would give up their daughters and wives in order not to be whipped. That showed how terrible the living conditions were because they would sacrifice their loved ones.

3. In response to JT's question- I think the history of america wouldn't have changed as much because even if more slaves tried escape, more slaves would have been caught and would have never make it to the North.
My question- Why do you think she admits that the Black man is inferior?

[deannazaha]

1. I also agree with much of what everyone else has said so far. I believe that this chapter says a lot for what slavery was like in this time period. "What Slaves are Taught to Think of the North" explains exactly what you would imagine it does. It tells us how the slave-owners deceived their slaves in order to prevent them from running away. They told their slaves that the North was not good, and that all those that ran away were unhappy there. Of course, being that practically all the slaves have never been to the North, they would believe what their slave-owners told them. This chapter basically is meant to open our eyes to one of the many cruelties against slaves.

2. I enjoyed reading this chapter because eyewitness history is always interesting. It's very cool to learn about the things that happened in the past. As cruel as slavery was, it intrigues me learn about the many injustices and how they were endured. Many slaves took risks in escaping while the others were left behind wondering if it was worth running away. It's interesting to know that on top of this, the slave-owners would lie to their slaves to decrease their likelihood of running away.

3. In reply to Martin's question, I believe that liberty is equal to the value of life. They are both birthrights of all people- the right to live and be free. In the instance of slaves, they would risk their lives to attain liberty because it is difficult to have one and not the other. Both life and liberty are coexistent. You cannot live fully if you are not free, and you cannot be free of you are not living. My question: In the long run, was it worth it for slaves to risk their lives to reach the North when what they heard of the North was negative? Why or why not?

[maureen]

1. I agree with every ones opinions on this how the point of this chapter was to explain what slave holders would tell their slaves to make it seem like their lives would be worse up north. They wanted to scare their slaves into running away from their masters. The last paragraph was a little confusing, but I think that the author was saying that no single man should be capable to have the power to over look the justice the slaves were being excluded from.

2. This piece was alright. I learned something from it, because I never knew that slave holders would lie about such conditions in the north to scare their slaves. I did not really like it that much, because it was kind of disturbing to hear how men would leave their wives and children for the slave holders to take advantage of. This whole passage was very awakening to how things have changes so much and how lucky we are today to have the freedom that we do.

3. To answer Deanna's question I think that for some slaves if their situation was so horrible and their little sliver of hope was to escape to the north then yes it was worth the risk.

Q: Do you think that in today's society there might be people (black or white) who would lie to other human beings to keep them where they are they are?