A Slave Auction Described by a Slave was written by Solomon Northup in 1841. He begins the rather brief piece by explaining what the slaves endured before and during a slave auction. The men often wearing a new, cheap suit and cleanly shaven and women also finely dressed with frocks. Slaves were then arranged from tallest to shortest and separated by gender; men on one half of the room and the women on the other. They were taught to act like someone who wanted to be purchased, “exhorted us to appear smart and lively...he exercised us in the art of ‘looking smart,’ and of moving to our places with exact precision” (435).
Not only were the slaves examined on how they worked, but their physical conditions were also inspected. Buyers would, “feel of our hands and arms and bodies, turn us about, ask us what we could do, make us open our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which is about to barter for or purchase” (436). And if that wasn’t degrading enough, they were also taken and stripped for further examination; if scars upon a slave’s back were numerous it was considered proof of an unruly slave which in turn hurt the slave’s chances of being bought. (436)
This specific writing intertwines with the part of Uncle Tom’s Cabin when Eliza, among many other slaves, is being sold. Solomon spoke about families being separated and about Eliza’s separation from Randall. This piece added more emotion to the already heart-breaking scene when he describes her reactions, “Eliza was crying aloud, and wringing her hands. She besought the man not to buy him, unless he also bought herself and Emily” (436). Not only did she fight for her son against a white man, but she bargained with him. When her master tried to put her in her place, “Eliza shrunk before him, and tried to wipe away her tears, but it was all in vain. All the frowns and threats of Freeman, could not wholly silence the afflicted mother” (436).
Northup also wrote this piece in a way that makes the reader feel compassion, anger, and sadness with them. He writes with such precise sentiments that it feels like one could be there at the auction watching the events take place. Within the scene of it all, he describes the moments when Randall is separated from Eliza, which he describes as, “It was a mournful scene indeed. I would have cried myself if I had dared” (437).
Reading accounts like this makes my mind reel. It’s unreal how poorly slaves were treated at that time in history because I was raised to treat everyone with equality. My grandpa use to tell me to greet and treat a janitor the same way I would a CEO of a successful company -- with respect. To read about how white men inspected black men like they were an animal to be purchased was disgusting, and so was the separation of families. I cannot imagine being torn from my family because the slave owner did not have enough money or because they were not good enough. Scratch that, I cannot imagine even being a slave. Slavery was a disgusting part of history and I hope that’s where it stays, in the past. Northup's account of the slave trade helped me to put myself in that situation. From Stowe's account, it's more romanticized that how Northup describes it. When he describes the way they were touched and prodded, I tried to put myself in that state of mind. Reading it made me angry, which wasn't completely done when comparing it to Stowe's account of the auctions.
Not only were the slaves examined on how they worked, but their physical conditions were also inspected. Buyers would, “feel of our hands and arms and bodies, turn us about, ask us what we could do, make us open our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which is about to barter for or purchase” (436). And if that wasn’t degrading enough, they were also taken and stripped for further examination; if scars upon a slave’s back were numerous it was considered proof of an unruly slave which in turn hurt the slave’s chances of being bought. (436)
This specific writing intertwines with the part of Uncle Tom’s Cabin when Eliza, among many other slaves, is being sold. Solomon spoke about families being separated and about Eliza’s separation from Randall. This piece added more emotion to the already heart-breaking scene when he describes her reactions, “Eliza was crying aloud, and wringing her hands. She besought the man not to buy him, unless he also bought herself and Emily” (436). Not only did she fight for her son against a white man, but she bargained with him. When her master tried to put her in her place, “Eliza shrunk before him, and tried to wipe away her tears, but it was all in vain. All the frowns and threats of Freeman, could not wholly silence the afflicted mother” (436).
Northup also wrote this piece in a way that makes the reader feel compassion, anger, and sadness with them. He writes with such precise sentiments that it feels like one could be there at the auction watching the events take place. Within the scene of it all, he describes the moments when Randall is separated from Eliza, which he describes as, “It was a mournful scene indeed. I would have cried myself if I had dared” (437).
Reading accounts like this makes my mind reel. It’s unreal how poorly slaves were treated at that time in history because I was raised to treat everyone with equality. My grandpa use to tell me to greet and treat a janitor the same way I would a CEO of a successful company -- with respect. To read about how white men inspected black men like they were an animal to be purchased was disgusting, and so was the separation of families. I cannot imagine being torn from my family because the slave owner did not have enough money or because they were not good enough. Scratch that, I cannot imagine even being a slave. Slavery was a disgusting part of history and I hope that’s where it stays, in the past. Northup's account of the slave trade helped me to put myself in that situation. From Stowe's account, it's more romanticized that how Northup describes it. When he describes the way they were touched and prodded, I tried to put myself in that state of mind. Reading it made me angry, which wasn't completely done when comparing it to Stowe's account of the auctions.
It is very strange and it just seems wrong that slaves for sale had to "act like they wanted to be purchased". How are people suppose to act this way when they are being torn away from their families and treated like animals?
ReplyDeleteI read this for my textual background as well. It was so sad reading about the woman having her son taken away from her and then having the narrator essentially say that she never saw him again. This really showed how realistic Eliza's feelings were in the book when she realized that her son was going to be sold.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this piece really helped glue the emotions together. I found it beneficial to the scene, as well as the book as a whole, since we get some more background on the auction.
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