EXAMPLE ESSAY - HAGAR - 1st PERSON
“An advertisement offering them for sale appeared in the Boston Evening Post. The slaves being sold were skilled tradesmen, including carpenters and sailmakers. During the same period, a black woman named Hagar was a cook in the household of Malachy Salter, a prominent Halifax magistrate and legislator.” (pg. 15)
My name in Hagar and I live in Canada. I am have been owned by white people all of my life. I was brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia and sold to a family named Salter. I live as a slave and that means that I own nothing; my time belongs to others and my body is abused daily. Slavery is the most vicious and indecent institution I know.
Long ago, my people were taken from a place called Africa. I am not sure which country because I have no relatives on my mother's side or my father's so I have no personal stories. I never knew my relatives. I learned that the visit Africa and kidnap Africans and bring them across the ocean. Black people are seen as property, like furniture or animals, and we are sold for many reasons. Therefore, I am never sure if I will be here all of my life. Everyday I expect to leave.
I do have my own family. There was a man once and we had children. One day, the master sold him to another plantation and I have never seen him again. I have a son, Jack, and I love him dearly. The master is getting me a new man so that I can have more children and he can have more slaves to work the fields.
Work in the Salter household lasts for many hours. The Salter family keeps me very busy from early morning to late in the evening. I am an excellent cook and I use my skill to guarantee as much safety as I can. I learned very early in life that if I learned a necessary skill, I could stay on the same plantation. Up till now, I have been lucky. I cook three meals a day and I am responsible for buying all the ingredients kept in the kitchen. when I am not cooking, I must clean the rooms and wash the clothes.
As a black woman in the household of a white family, I face many dangers. Every day I worry about my children's health and safety. I wonder if they will be beaten, sold, or killed. I am often beaten when I try to protect my children. And, many nights I wonder when someone will demand sex from me. Every day I pray for strength as I prepare myself mentally for violence.
I am proud of my African ancestry. I listen carefully to the stories of the elders and I use them to gain strength and perseverence. My life is in danger and so are the lives of the other Africans. As African slaves we are held in a vicious and unrepenting institution.
posted by Denise @ 12:52 AM
20 comments
20 Comments:
I couldn't imagine being sold to someone and then be told what to do. Not only do did Hagar have to do chores for this man, he would make her have babies so he could raise them to work for him in his fields. To me this is very selfish of him and messed up. If you are going to by a slave then thats already messed up as it is, but to make her have children for you is terrible. They way she gets beaten to protect her kids shows me how strong and caring she is. she loves her kids and would do anything for them to to never be in danger.
This is such an amazing story, especially the part how she was the only African American in an all white family, even though she is a slave it still shows me that she is a strong woman, and that nothing will stop her.
This an amazing woman. I can't imagine be a slave and have to pass through all this situation and still be faithful and try to take care of her children. In my opinion this woman is an example, of love and strength.
This story made me think about how sad the situation of slavery was,i think the men that used to buy the slaves were very savage with them. They will make the girls have babies with them an that is really sad.......by the way goos essay...
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It is strange how slavery is being practiced in Canada I thought slavery was only practiced in the US I know that up to date slavery is still going on and stories like these make you want to do something about it for people to be treated equally.
It would be horrible to grow up doing what anyone tells you. When you are a slave, you are treated like an animal, and in some cases, animals are treated better than you are. thank goodness its not happening anymore.
-myles
i cannot imagine having to live day by day, worrying if my children were going to be sold or beaten. this women is a truly strong individual. it's hard to think that this is how slaves were treated just decades ago.
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It's very odd how slavery was happening in Canada because i never have heard stories of Canadians owning slaves. It was very bad how she was kept to work for no pay. They treated her like animals. She was taken from her family and taken to work for many people. She was a good cook so she was a good slave and would be sold a lot.
I thought that it is insane how female slaves must have sex with their masters in order to live without being beaten. It is sad how she must have kids with people she barely knows in order to make more slaves to work at the farm. Without sex the female slaves are useless to the masters.
Every day I pray for strength as I prepare myself mentally for violence... this is very powerful quote that struck me deeply and feel her pain.
I could not even imagine being a minority in a family. Slavery is such a sad thing and thinking about selling people and treating them like they did just amazes me because i dont think i could treat another human like that. She is a very strong woman being able to have the strength to not only take care of herself but to care for others.
Being as treated like a piece of furniture, that's what Hagar went through. Imagine to be treated like an animal, that was what Hagar felt like, that's how she and many other African Slaves were treated like. That is a very sad life, I do not know how people lived daily as a slave. I do know that if it was me, i wouldn't have been able to handle it. Hagar was a very strong woman with a lot of faith, I admire that.
i was really upset by this. She is a very strong woman, and i admire her for her struggles. I hope things went well for her after all of this. It sounds like it was a crazy terrible experience.
waking up in the morning having to pray for strength to get through the day makes me so sad that people have to live like that, i am so sorry. Its horrible you were forced into sex just to not be beaten.
This essay make me think about how difficult to live the situation of slavery was. she is really strong woman and i understand her struggle.
the black female's story has amazed me. I can't imagined how could she alive in this environment. she has to raise her child and lived as slaves to a men. she obey command and she can't change her situation from that place.she has the such strong mind to keep alive.
such a cruel household, the women was lived as a slave for her whole life.she doesn't have any thing for her own. the only thing that she has is her children. she has to worried her children's safety everyday, and she needs to work for the household for the basic salary. I hope she can leave from there early.
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