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Hierarchy Among Slaves

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Hierarchy among the Slaves One of the borders present on the plantation was the hierarchy created among the slaves. This hierarchy established the “pecking order” on the plantation. One of the ways that the division was made among the slaves was through the position or job they held on the plantation. The most powerful position that a slave could have is the position of overseer. The overseer is basically second in command over the daily workings of the plantation. The master is ultimately in charge of the plantation, but often times had more pressing matters to attend to, leaving the day to day business to the overseer. “The overseer was usually ignorant, high-tempered, and brutal” (Hunter 5). In the Underground Railroad, when Cora …show more content…

In the Underground Railroad, there is the example of the Hobb house. “Off to Hob with those who had been crippled by the overseers’ punishments, off to Hob with those who had been broken by the labor in ways you could see and in ways you could not see, off to Hob with those who had lost their wits. Off to Hob with strays” (Whitehead 16). The Hobb house was first occupied by the “damaged men, the half men” and then the women took up residence there. Cora became the most “infamous occupant, and the most long-term” (Whitehead 20). The other slaves made sure that the women in Hobb house stayed within that bounded space in every way, even if that meant the other slaves made up lies about the Hobb residents. For Cora, they made up stories about how she would sneak off in the night to “fornicate with donkeys and goats” and “those who found this last story less than credible nonetheless recognized the usefulness of keeping the strange girl outside the circle of respectability” (Whitehead 21). So the line was visibly drawn for the occupants of the Hobb house, on one side is the respectable and the other side remains outside the circle of respectability. The social hierarchy played an important role in the daily lives of the slaves just as all the other established borders

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