Patrick Charfauros
Mr. Canavese (Per. 6)
English 1
20 March 2023
Dehumanization of African Americans in The Underground Railroad John Burns once said, “I am depressed rather at the wave of brutality sweeping over the country.” African Americans throughout history have gone through racial discrimination in America. The police brutality against black people in America can be an example of the great discrimination that black people go through, as John Burns highlights. Similar examples of discrimination can be found throughout Colson Whitehead's novel, along with many other forms of it. Throughout The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, white characters constantly dehumanize black characters through various means, including objectification,
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For example, a quote from the novel states, “Slavery is a sin when whites were put to the yoke, but not the African. All men are created equal, unless we decide you are not a man.” (Whitehead 182) This quote highlights the objectification of black characters by white characters, who use their privilege to justify the oppression of black characters. Deciding someone less than a man shows the objectification recurring throughout the novel. The author continues this line of reasoning when stating, “Ethel thought that a slave was someone who lived in your house like family but was not family. Her father explained the origin of the negro to disabuse her of this colorful idea.” (Whitehead 159) Black slaves were not even considered human; they were not on the same level as free men. These black people were only considered property to be used for labor by white slaveowners. Whitehead highlights the objectification stating, “She was surrounded by men and women who'd been born in Africa, or born in chains, who had freed themselves or escaped. Branded, beaten, raped.” (Whitehead 231) Some black people were born directly into slavery, with their enslavers treating them as property that the enslavers' had to do with as they wished. These slaves were branded, beaten, and raped rather than treated as living beings. To conclude, white characters constantly dehumanize black characters throughout the …show more content…
A character in the novel highlights this stating, “’If [n-words] were supposed to have their freedom, they wouldn't be in chains.’” (Whitehead 70) In the novel, white characters chain black characters, removing their freedom. This highlights one of the many acts of violence throughout the novel. Whitehead continues to show this, stating, “Racial prejudice rotted one's faculties.” (Whitehead 220) This quote highlights how awful and prevalent racial prejudice was then. White people of power and privilege were hostile and violent towards black people. Another example of violence in the novel can be seen in the quote: “But we have all been branded even if you can’t see it, inside if not without—and the wound from Randall’s cane was the very same thing, marking her as his.” (Whitehead 210) Black slaves in the novel were subjected to brutal and painful branding. White slave owners used this extremely violent practice to prove possession. In conclusion, white characters repeatedly use violence to dehumanize black characters in the
At the very beginning of chapter 14, the violence towards people of color was made a prominent issue for the text as it went into the Memphis attacks as celebrating freed slaves were brutally attacked and even killed by ex-Confederates. Its these extreme acts of violence agents people of color depicted in Gordon Under Medical Inspection, and what happened in Memphis that lead to the Republicans of the time to push so greatly for protections to be put in place for the now freed slaves. Unfortunately, as Republicans, as well as the now freed slaves fought to get people of color more protections and rights to prevent further incidents like the Memphis attacks, the people of the south also fought to keep some manner of control over black people so that they could continue to treat them as they wished, even if they weren't their slaves. As these two sides fought progress of reconstruction was stagnated for both sides, causing everyone to suffer because of it, but mostly the now freed slaves who had to try and make a living for themselves in places that didn't want them to be there to begin with. In the end people of color in the south would continue to face violence against them just as it was depicted in Gordon Under Medical Inspection, even after the civil war had ended, with people forgetting that the message of the drawing was that even people of color can be scared by the cruel actions of other people who wish to control
This argument debunked the discriminatory myth of African Americans as a merciless and power-crazy race. It is amazing how the writers as black citizens, who are branded by their enemies(whites) as lowly unruly savages, successfully made their enemies appear as the lawless and savage
Slavery was an institution in which African Americans were broken apart from their families, brutally beaten, and were forced to live in extremely harsh conditions. Booker T. Washington describes this institution by using words such as “miserable” and “uncomfortable.” During the era of slavery, many slaves longed for the day that they would be free and maybe even have political rights. After the civil war, slaves such as Booker T. Washington were finally granted their long deserved freedom. However, there would be a long road to racial equality.
Common forms of segregation of the black community were actions such as having them sit at the back of public buses and designating different drinking fountains as seen in my visual piece. Another quote stated within the court “A white man had been killed during a robbery, and though two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die.” the use of adjectives in this shows the balance of power between the two races and implies that if they robber had been white he would have been convicted differently. The use of the image portraying slavery emphasizes the injustice and little power the black community struggled with. Other examples of this power imbalance is shown consistently throughout the book, for example the quote "I have no idea."
Throughout Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, he recalls the inhumane acts that were thrusted upon him as a slave, but overcame the abuse of the common practice. Specifically, Douglass since childhood worked in a plantation as a slave, but from him learning to read and write, he escapes and teaches the people of the North the hardships of slavery, where he faced deprivation through exploitation, discovered there were more opportunities for slaves as he approaches the North, and gains power to change of his life due to his knowledge. For instance, the slaves were put into lower social positions than their masters through social manipulation, in ways of isolation and deprivation, so they would not leave the plantations. To illustrate, in the plantations many of “the white
”(Griffin 48) This quote ties into the main idea of the novel by describing how black men feel when they are discriminated against and treated unfairly. Griffin explains that they do feel hurt when they are called those terrible
Throughout the novel, we can see the discrimination towards the black race by the
Many slave owners treated African Americans like animals. As an example, they starved their slaves while they gave all the food to their visitors. It is cruel how they didn’t save even a bread for each of their slaves. Not to mention, African Americans had to sleep on a sheet instead of a bed and that is all they had to sleep. The clothing they had was also very little and poor.
Slaves working conditions show how bad they were treated. An example from the text “The Negro Mother” is “Beaten and mistreated for the work that I gave”. This shows they had horrible treatment. More evidence from “The Negro Mother” is ”No safety no love no respect was I due “. This shows that slave owners did not care for the slaves.
This is how Douglass and other slaves destroyed the American slave system. First, along the long road to freedom Douglass and other slaves experienced a lot of physical harm done to them. The text states, “She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise.” This means that the owners thought it was ok to beat their slaves when they are doing most to all their work. Also, the book says, “I was not so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I had myself in a closet.”
Bloody, Cruel, and demeaning are words that represent slavery. Many inhuman acts taken on the slaves included: separating families, treated like property, working for nothing, and abusive beatings. Slaves lived horrible, poorly treated lives. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and told his story. In his writing, he shared all the gruesome sights he encountered through his life as a slave.
In the book Ar’n’t I a women the author, Deborah Gray White, explains how the life was for the slave women in the Southern plantations. She reveals to us how the slave women had to deal with difficulties of racism as well as dealing with sexism. Slave women in these plantations assumed roles within the family as well as the community; these roles were completely different to the roles given to a traditional white female. Deborah Gray White shows us how black women had a different experience from the black men and the struggle they had to maintain their sense of womanhood against all odds, resist sexual oppression, and keep their families together. In the book the author describes two different types of women, “Jezebel” and “Mammy” they
In the contemporary era, the issue of race remains a prevalent topic in public discussion. Thus, Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is meaningful as it explores the legacy of racial injustice in the United States and its consequences in today’s society. In his development of the underground railroad as a literal and physical vehicle to freedom, Whitehead is able to candidly detail the ubiquitous nature of racial prejudice and the horrors associated with it. Over the course of his novel, the author utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices in order to further explore the many hardships that ‘freedom’ inevitably entails.
Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.
In the contemporary era, the issue of race remains a prevalent topic in public discussion. Thus, Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is meaningful as it explores the legacy of racial injustice in the United States and its consequences in today’s society. In his development of the underground railroad as a literal and physical vehicle to freedom, Whitehead is able to candidly detail the ubiquitous nature of racial prejudice and the horrors associated with it. Over the course of his novel, the author utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices in order to further explore the many hardships that ‘freedom’ inevitably entails.