Taking A Stand

To take a stand means to make a declaration for or against something. Many groups/ organization are taking a stand nowadays. A few examples would be: people for or against homosexuality, immigration, and many other social issues faced by this nation. In my opinion Tom Robinson takes a stand for himself when he is at court and tells the truth about Mayella wanting him. He was defending himself and thus, taking a stand. However I do not believe Tom Robinson took a stand for himself when he tried to scape prison. He was not making a point with his actions. All he was doing was trying to get himself killed. By trying to climb the jail's fence to freedom he was not stating his innocence. I believe Tom already knew he was done for and that he had no chance of winning the trial, so he dicides to get it over with and he basically commits suicide. Tom had one alternative, he could have waited for the jury's final decision, which most likely convicted him. If He hadn't run the outcome would have still been the same. Tom would have been killed either way. There was really no way for Tom to take a stand for himself. He would have died one way or another.

Incidents Blog Post 4

For the last blog post on Harriet Jacobs’ book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” I would like to touch the concept of mental/ sexual abuse. This is a topic that is discussed a lot throughout the book because it is a major part of how slaves were abused and mistreated. Now the reason why I have decided to talk about both mental and physical abuse in the same post is because I think the both of them are very closely related. Sexual abuse is a major cause of mental pain which we get to witness through the experiences of Harriet Jacobs. In the following quote she explains the time when she was sexually abused by her master, Dr. Flint: “And now, reader, I come to a period in my unhappy life, which I would gladly forget If I could…For years my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy the pure principles inculcated by my grandmother, and the good mistress of my childhood” (Jacobs 54). The description Harriet Jacobs gives us implies her suffering and torment caused because of Dr. Flint’s abuse. The suffering she goes through is mostly mental. In the given quote she states that Dr. Flint tried to “pollute” her mind. Being held against one’s will and having their way with one, will of course cause some sort of mental distress. Just the bare thought of the event would cause one an uncomfortable feeling. The pain Jacobs must have gone through cannot be emphasized enough and cannot be described in a way to make the reader understand just how bad it was. If I could ask Jacobs a few questions they would be: How was your experience post-abuse? What were the effects of the abuse on you? How long did they stay with you? I feel the answers to these questions would give us a better understanding of her pain, unlike the book, which does not stress her pain to the reader enough.

Incidents Blog Post #3

 In this blog post I would like to talk about slavery's affect on family life. Slavery has a tendency to break up families due to auctions and the selling of slaves. This happened often if not always during the time period of slavery. Being separated from blood-related people in your life can cause much emotional pain. It is unhealthy for the mind to have to grieve over the loss of a loved one and in the book Jacobs gives us many examples of families being separated. Most of the time the separation occurred because the individuals are sold to different owners; and the same happens with Jacobs’ family. One case in particular is that when Jacobs’ grandmother receives news from William's master, Mr. Sands, saying that William did not return with him from their journeys and that the abolitionists had taken him away. The news of course devastated Jacobs’ grandmother. Jacobs explains her grandmother’s grief in the following quote: “If you had seen the tears, and heard the sobs, you would have thought the messenger had brought tidings of death instead of freedom” (Jacobs 136). One would think that Jacobs’ grandmother would be happy to hear William was free, however, she thought she would never see William again. Jacobs explains the reason for her sadness in the quote: “Poor old grandmother felt that she should never see her darling boy again” (Jacobs 136). Most of us would indeed feel depressed if we knew we wouldn’t see a loved one again, even if we know that it is for their own good. The breaking of the bond causes us to feel sad instead of joy. If only we learned to always look at the bright side, the world would be a happier place.

Incidents Blog Post 2

In this blog post I am going to talk about the laws/rules of the time period Harriet Jacobs lived in. Many of the laws mentioned in the book appeared very bizarre to me. Many of those laws were directed towards slavery and the responsibilities of slaves. The law which really struck me was the law that Jacobs states in the following quote: "She had forgotten that it was a crime for a slave to tell who was the father of her child."(Jacobs 12) The law is very strange to me living in the time period we're in. We now have certain rights which cannot be taken away from us by the government or anyone else. One of these rights is the freedom of speech; which is exactly the one that is violated in the law stated by Jacobs. This law was put in place to stop slaves (specially women) from speaking of their master's( the men) injustice. Overall, this specific law gave white men no fear of having their way with their slaves; knowing that the poor victim could not speak about the act of injustice.

Incidents Blog Post 1

The book titled "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is a slave narrative about the life of Harriet Jacobs. In the book Jacobs uses the character of Linda Brent to explain her life without giving her real name away. The book certainly has some elements which struck me. The first one of all, and the one that's noticed right away, is Jacobs' tone in the book. In the book Jacobs talks about problems in a way which we are not used to. When Jacobs speaks about her mistress' death, she uses a tone which doesn't show much emotion. Jacobs says "When I was nearly twelve years old, my kind mistress sickened and died." (Jacobs 5) Jacobs tone in this sentence is very calm, which strikes me very much. She loved her mistress and her death was most likely a very painful experience for Jacobs. However she doesn't express her grief very well in the book. Another thing which shocks me about Jacobs' writing is how Jacobs switch from subject to subject very quickly. One minute she was talking about her happy days as a child and the next she talks about the death of her mistress. What gets me the most about her transitions is how she does it in the calmest manner, even if she's referring to something tragic. If I could ask Jacobs a few questions, after reading the first few chapters, they would be: Why do you use such a different tone then most authors do? Do you want us to draw our own feelings from the events?

Reality vs. Ideal

Today school is a place for learning and socializing. Many people go to school for the reason of seeing their friends. Others go to be educated. Schools have many rules. Some rules work while others don't. One example of a rule that works is the no dress code rules. Schools are based on what the students want. They want to express their feelings, which cannot be done if they have to wear an specific set of clothing. School is pretty much ran like a government runs a nation. Administrators keep the school in order. Parents are the force to make the student do their duties. Teachers must educate the students. The students are to school like civilians are to a city. The education process always demands for proof of the child's academic advancement. The proof is given in the form of tests and homework. Writing is a big concern in school. Depending on a student's writing that's how the teachers determine his/her academic level. Discipline is also a concern. Most of the time students act out. If the teachers cannot control them that's when parent involvement comes in. Most of the time school's do a pretty good job keeping the students under control.

My idea of a perfect school is a school in which there is balance between each group. A place where administrators have power but yet students have the freedom of speaking out their ideas of how the school should be run. These ideas would be listened to and put into practice, if within reason. The parents would also have a say in the way the school is managed and they can be a little more informed of what occurs in school. The teachers can be more available to help out and given a little incentive for it. The perfect school is where we can all work together to make it balanced.