Slave Narrative Project
Slave Narrative Project
(1) The use of natural dialect can be seen throughout the slave narrative interviews through words and phrases used that were common during the period of slavery, but are not used today. One example can be seen in the dialect used by former slave Mama Duck, “Battlin stick, like dis. You doan know what a battling stick is? Well, dis here is one.” Through incomplete sentences and unknown words the natural dialect of the time can be seen. Unfamiliar words such as shin-plasters, meaning a piece of paper currency or a promissory note regarded as having little or no value. Also, geechees, used to describe a class of Negroes who spoke Gullah. Many examples can be seen throughout the “Slave Narratives” giving the reader of a true sense of the time period and allowing the reader to step back in time and clearly hear the true nature of speech for a slave. (2) Slaves lived, worked, and survived together on many plantations throughout slavery. This would lead most to believe that a common bond was shared among the slaves and no strong distinction could be made between them. However, throughout the “Slave Narratives” a distinction can clearly be seen between the house slaves and field slaves of the plantations. House slaves were the select group of slaves chosen to serve their masters in the “big house”, as many slaves referred to the plantation home. Often they were described as slaves not strong enough for hard labor and consisted of more women and children than men. One account given by former slave, Rebecca Hooks, describes the house slaves as quite often being mulattoes, or a person of mixed white and black ancestry, because there was a general belief among slave owners that mulattoes could not stand as much laborious work as pure blooded Negro slaves. Field slaves were those who conducted the hard manual labor in the fields of plantations. They worked from dusk to dawn planting and picking crops in the harsh conditions brought
(1) The use of natural dialect can be seen throughout the slave narrative interviews through words and phrases used that were common during the period of slavery, but are not used today. One example can be seen in the dialect used by former slave Mama Duck, “Battlin stick, like dis. You doan know what a battling stick is? Well, dis here is one.” Through incomplete sentences and unknown words the natural dialect of the time can be seen. Unfamiliar words such as shin-plasters, meaning a piece of paper currency or a promissory note regarded as having little or no value. Also, geechees, used to describe a class of Negroes who spoke Gullah. Many examples can be seen throughout the “Slave Narratives” giving the reader of a true sense of the time period and allowing the reader to step back in time and clearly hear the true nature of speech for a slave. (2) Slaves lived, worked, and survived together on many plantations throughout slavery. This would lead most to believe that a common bond was shared among the slaves and no strong distinction could be made between them. However, throughout the “Slave Narratives” a distinction can clearly be seen between the house slaves and field slaves of the plantations. House slaves were the select group of slaves chosen to serve their masters in the “big house”, as many slaves referred to the plantation home. Often they were described as slaves not strong enough for hard labor and consisted of more women and children than men. One account given by former slave, Rebecca Hooks, describes the house slaves as quite often being mulattoes, or a person of mixed white and black ancestry, because there was a general belief among slave owners that mulattoes could not stand as much laborious work as pure blooded Negro slaves. Field slaves were those who conducted the hard manual labor in the fields of plantations. They worked from dusk to dawn planting and picking crops in the harsh conditions brought
Cited: United States, Works Project Administration. “Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States with Interviews from Former Slaves Florida Narratives, Volume III”. WA 1941