Death Is Better Than Slavery

Death is better than slavery- Harriet Ann Jacobs
African Americans were treated like property and forced to work against their will. They were treated like animals beaten, sold, and raped for no reason at all. Slavery was hell on earth; many slaves would rather die than continue to live. Working in the heat for hours on hours with no water or food was torture. But they had no choices, for example they were unable to learn how to read and write they had no choice if they could get their son or daughter that they just gave birth to. They were punished or even killed was trying to run away. They couldn’t even speak their native language. Slavery was immortal, inhuman, and enduring.
Imagine not having a voice for yourself; imagine not being able make decisions. That’s exactly how these African Americans felt being enslaved. The worse feeling had to be for the woman seeing their child sold and knowing that they would never be able to see them again. Being separate from their families had to be an extremely harsh experience that played a role in their mental condition. On top of that they had no sense of literacy. Confusing had to be part of their day to day life. African Americans had no choice but to do what the white man said, slaves were punished for varies of things resisting slavery, not working hard enough, talking too much, or trying to run away. Punishments included being chained to the ground, being whipped, or being hung to die.
Dolen Perkins Valdez gave me insight on just how cruel and manipulative these white men were to take these helpless women and trick them into thinking they were just as important as their wives. The author shows Lizzie although she is a slave; she is treated very well by Drayle. She deeply cares for him and experiences a small amount of freedom, but she is not free she still has to work and still gets punished for disobeying him. She is so brainwashed that when she had the chance to leave she didn’t take it. She also gave me