CESSATION(the end)

Free? What is free? Back in the day the slaves never really where free.
You can never trust a white man when you where one a slave. So, Now that Linda is “free”, what will she do in her life to ensure that her freedom stays upon, and that she can check on her kids.

Exactly, Linda was never free, as she thinks she is in freedom, she was not. When she want6s the ride the train, she is unable to ride first class, meaning she may have overcome being a slave, but the freedom part was never established. Ellen was given to Mr.Sands relative, ensuring that she would be given her education, but as you can assume this never happened. Similar, to a child’s custody case, you are granted full custody or partial custody. The relative was granted, “full custody”, of Ellen, and ensured that she would receive her education, and not be treated as a meaningless slave. Though, in most cases the person that it is token from is bad for the child, but in this case, the relative is the master and refuses to treat the child respectfully. The child has no clothes and does not receive the education it was promised.

Many things come upon the ending chapters. Linda believes that she is free, but has to worry of her children and their living conditions, Mr.Sands does not keep his word, and she has to run from Dr.Flint again. As she escapes from Dr.Flint everything comes together. She travels from place to place, so that she stays away from the danger of Dr.Flint. This connects to society today because people are running away trying to avoid the dangers of a bad area or get out of a relationship that is harmful to them.

Linda finally escapes from Dr.Flints misery. In the end he dies, and Mrs. Bruce buy’s Linda free. She does not have to be beaten, raped, abused, and pushed to the inconspicuous limit of whether of not she will be treated equally. She is free, FREE AT LAST, but her children are not living with her. She wishes her children were living with her, and free to explore the world. This is similar to the domestic violence case, the person is finally put in jail, and away from abusing the victim again. Also, it connects to the custody case, where the mother of father who has fought for full custody of themselves or the child, has received it.

 

 

REDEMPTION

Linda wants to be free from Dr.Flint’s control, seeing as he will never sell her. Throughout,the beginning of the chapters, Linda is still hidden in the dark attic of her grandmothers home, with the rats and other insects. She misses her children’s actual Christmas and the fact of their faces when they open their presents. She is upset but also relieved that she does not have to deal with Dr.Flint and his friendliness. This connects to parents and how they do not want to miss their children”s Christmas gifts, and to the season we are in today, being the holidays. The parents want to see their child’s face when they open that present, and are amazed and the effort and struggle they went though to make sure that they were happy. Similar to Linda, and ensuring that although her children may end up slaves they are happy in the life they are living now.

Linda wants to redeem her freedom and dignity, and not be so much controlled by a man. When Mr.Sands is elected in Congress, she tries to make her situation less complicated, by begging to let her children have their freedom. She could be a slave but does not want her children to have to deal with the abuse and unjustified livelihood. Similar, to how parents do not want their children to make the same mistakes they did, or not have to live through so much of the struggle.

America is not at redemption with Trump as our president, as he is making these irrational decisions. He wants to ban the Native Americans and return them to their “home”. Where is their home exactly, Trump? Isn’t our world free, isn’t everyone treated equally? This is a stereotype that is wrong, the world is “free”, but its not really free, blacks are still limited to the stereotype that they are bad for the economy and only cause injustice.

Finally, the end of Linda’s misery is over. Mr.Sands ensures that her children are treated with purity and kindness, and she comes out of hiding and sees her children for the last time. Benjamin, works for Ms.Sands, and Ellen, works for one of Mr.Sands relatives. Her children are not slaves they are free from being captured, and free from being abused. Linda only wanted the best for her children and their livelihood. Linda is also free. Free from Dr.Flint, free from slavery, freedom. In connection to a woman who faces abuse, once she escapes she is free, free from abuse, free from hurt, free from everything. Linda’s children are safe, and she does not have to worry of being abused or disrespect because she is on her way to REDEMPTION.

I AM A SLAVE; I AM A MOTHER

Back in this time the slaves that were mothers were taken advantage of and used to please their male masters. Linda has two children and she has to deal with being a slave and also being a mother. In the beginning, her family discovers that she is pregnant, and everyone, even her grandmother is deceitful of her. As the chapters further on, her family is involved in the fact that she needs to maintain her two children, Ellen and Benjamin, while working for Dr.Flint. In chapter 11, Linda goes through the motions of her child, as he was premature and she hoped he died, but also hoped he lived. The text says, “Alas, what mockery it is for a slave mother to try to pray back her dying child to life! Death is better than slavery.” All throughout these chapters, Linda has to deal with handling being a parent and being a slave. She is indecisive and worried of the fact that she is away from her children, and her children may be sold to Mr.Flint’s plantation. The situation connects to today’s society of how many children grow up without a father figure. Dr. Flint wants to know the race of the father of Linda’s children, and since the father was white, he wanted all communication to be done. In connection to our society, the children grow up without a father, and Linda’s children deserve to know who their father is.

Towards the end of the chapters, Linda has escaped and made a run to get away from working at Mr.Flints plantation. She uses her family, mistress, children, and Betty’s connections to ensure that she will not be discovered by Dr.Flint. He is on the lookout for Linda, and tries to use her family as punishment or bait to reveal where Linda is hiding. This directly connects to a domestic violence case, in which the women is not happy in the situation. The woman wants to get away from the situation as she is unhappy, directly relating to how Linda is feeling. Linda actually has to trust the people to keep her secret, and as a slave that is something that she is not used to having. As the story proceeds, the theme of disguise is common. Linda has to mask and hide herself from being noticed and captured. She covers her face with dark charcoal , and uses being a sailor as a disguise to return to her grandmothers house. Overall, the common question that Linda may ask myself is, “How am I a mother, how can I be a slave”?

Chapters 11-20 allow for a connection and getting away from the situation and hiding yourself from abuse or mistreatment. Similarly, to a domestic violence case. Linda has to get away from Dr.Flint as their relationship is getting unhealthy, and she wants to get away before things get out of hand.

I AM A SLAVE

So far, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl has been a very dramatic piece. It shows the perspective of loosing your parents and realizing that you are in fact, a slave. All throughout her life she was not treated as a slave, but was protected from the hurt, and brutality of the masters. This all changed when her father passed away and she and her father had to come to the realization that they were in fact, slaves. Throughout chapters 1-7, Linda  and her brother William face many challenges as they are new to being a slave and have to adapt to the slave life. As I was reading, I asked myself, Why would her parental influences keep this secret from her, either way she was going to find out, it would be the easy way or the hard way?

William and Linda looked up to their grandmother, Marthy who taught them all there was in life. One of the appeals that came upon in the text was Pathos. For example, “On one of these sale days, I saw a mother lead seven children to the auction-block. She knew that some of them would be taken from her; but they took all. I met that mother in the street, and her wild, haggard face lives to-day in my mind. She wrung her hands in anguish, and exclaimed, “Gone! All gone! Why don’t God kill me?” I had no words wherewith to comfort her. Instances of this kind are of daily, yea, of hourly occurrence.” This shows how Linda felt sympathy for the woman as she is losing her children and has no way to win them back, has no idea where they are going, and she may not see them again I can connect this to today’s society in which the men are being taken away from there family for some type of minuscule crime. They have no idea whether or not they will have any chance of being able to hug and hold their children and be happy with their family.  Throughout the text thus far Linda is very obedient and does as the master asks of her, her brother not so much. There was a time in which he had to choose between his mistress and his father, he chose the mistress, but in failure to do what the master asked of him he was whipped. He back-talked to the master, but when it came to boys his own size he was petrified. The text states, ” He continued to discourse on his young master’s meanness; how he whipped the little boys, but was a perfect coward when a tussle ensued between him and white boys of his own size.”It is rather ironic that although the master is almost your age you are not afraid of him, but you are afraid of white boys your own size who can in fact, do nothing to hurt you.  If anything, he should be afraid of the master who determines his fate in being treated semi-okay.

The feminist theory arises in chapter 4 when Linda realizes that her master tries to make her an object. ” When he told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong.” This relates to the feminist theory because Linda is more than just a sex toy and more than just someone that can be violated just because she is in a fact a woman slave. Also, the feminist theory arises in chapter 6, when the name of the chapter is “The Jealous Mistress” . Instead of the women standing together in this chapter, there is a black woman against whit woman scene, the mistress is jealous that the slave is getting all of the attention from the master. “I was an object of her jealousy, and, consequently, of her hatred; and I knew I could not expect kindness or confidence from her under the circumstances in which I was placed. I could not blame her. Slaveholders’ wives feel as other women would under similar circumstances. ” The women should stand together and not be used as sex toys and only to pleasure the men in the society, the women should have stood together no matter who was getting the attention, because Linda was the slave and she as receiving the attention unwillingly. This connects to our society today because many women believe that they need to have sex to feel loved, that they can have sex before they are married, and they come to the realization that it was all the men wanted was sex from them, they did not want anything real. Woman on woman shall stand together and fight the fact that they are not just for the pleasure of our men.She is coming to the realization that “SHE IS A SLAVE”.

How are women so similar, but act so cruel to another? This is the question that emerged as I was reading. We all know that the slave supposedly gets the most attention, but when it comes to Linda, why is Dr.Flint’s mistress jealous. She must obviously know that he feels more affection for Linda than he does for her.