Personal Narrative: Working In The Sugar Cane Plantation

The day I believed was the beginning of a new opportunity in becoming the man I’ve always wanted to become was really the begging of failure, starvation, and depression. I decided to leave England because of my economic problems I was facing due to the population boost, their was a lot more people and fewer jobs to go around. Even though I was still working to make a profit for the Virginia Company of London I had hope of raising a family here. Our Caption Christopher Newport had us explore the coast of Virginia before landing in Jamestown. On May 13, after two weeks of exploration, the ships arrived at a site on the James River selected for its deep water anchorage and good defensive position. The passengers came ashore the next day, and work

Though I spent my entire life living in North Carolina I never thought of myself as a Southerner. My understanding of the Southern lifestyle was quite limited; there is an emphasis on family solidarity, and self-sufficiency with an agricultural backdrop that is part of their essence. The South is not simply a location, manners or customs it is a way of life. Hearing the childhood details of a favorite professor allowed me to envision a picture perfect life under the shade of a magnolia tree and little southern girl who grew up to be a Sandhills Community College professor, Mrs. Cole.

Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley was an experience like no other. The RGV is full of Tex-Mex, laughs, and the most random things you can think of. Despite all its quirks it’s a beautiful place to live in, and it’s home to me.

While Slavery was against human nature and while Abolitionists believed in ending the practice of slavery, the South had their own reasons why slavery was needed in America and how basically they supported pro slavery. For instance, some arguments for slavery followed this so-called logic: “Sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact in the South where reliance on slave labor was the foundation of their economy. If all the slaves were freed, there would be widespread unemployment and chaos. And by comparison with the poor of Europe and the workers in the Northern states, that slaves were better cared for” (ushistory.org). But in a section from, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written by him, Douglass describes some of the brutality that he had witnessed. “The overseer’s name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the woman’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself. Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder” (Douglass 44). This shows the brutality that even female slaves endured and while the Maser may have showed some sense against the cruelty that the slaves faced, it wasn’t enough to say that they too were also cruel. Just putting aside the inhumanity depicted in true

It’s been a long day, so hopefully writing some things down will help to clear my mind. This morning we arrived at Epps plantation, I hoped it would be an improvement in comparison to the cruelty of Tibeats. However he proved to be even more inhumane, he provided us all with sack for the cotton picking season and told us about his principles of behaviour. If we don’t obey him, we will be beaten with many stripes. This thought of starting every day with fear makes me wonder what will happen with my dignity for all humanity.

“My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather. My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage.”

Being from rural Mississippi, people from other states assume that we know very little about what goes on outside our state let alone our own town. In a way, I can see why, but glad I am one of the ones who, thanks to my family, have an idea of a world larger than my town. I am from a family of six consisting of my mother, father, step-mother, brother, and identical twin sister. We did a lot of traveling when growing up normally traveling out of state even if just for weekends. My interest in other cultures and languages came from my family, especially on my mother’s side where I members who traveled out of country for work and would bring us back clothes, books, or other souvenirs. My dad did not do as much traveling as my mom and had not

It has been 3 months since I came to Oahu to help grandpa. Time flew by so quickly, considering that it seems like it was just yesterday when I left you in Maui. I grew 2 inches and became way more tan since I came here; you wouldn’t recognize me if you saw me right now. I miss you terribly and I really hope I go back soon. The work here is tedious, and requires a lot of manual labor. The weather is seems to be a lot more hotter here than in Maui, though. And yesterday, I saw a strange thing happening. In the harbor, a gigantic ship pulled in, and people who were as white as the sand began coming out of it. I wondered what it was, and when I asked grandpa, he said they were here to catch whales. I didn’t want them to, because I didn’t want

It all began in the year 1955. This was the year that so many great things shook the foundation of America that will never be forgotten for years and years to come. My name is Joyce Norman I was a military brat that was born and raised in the small town of Fayetteville, North Carolina along with one brother and four sisters. To show a little humor, this is another place like Texas that has bipolar weather from sunny skies with a hint of rain to a giant blizzard that’ll give you a death of pneumonia. Throughout, the years of my life as an African American we heard songs of change, we were insured and inspired in church that change would come some way or another either in the community or in our nation. As the world continued to change I

Unfortunately, I would not be making it to your America history 102 class today, due to some unexpected family situation. Hopefully by next week class I will be somewhat caught up. Also, I recently had a situation with my midterm essay, I spend almost two to three hours typing the essay at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (TTC) in the computer center and when I was about to be finished, I assumed I saved the paper so I exit it out and after my wellness class I had gone back to the computer center and I had noticed my midterm essay was not in my document folder. There was nothing I and the computer staff can do, so now I am currently typing a whole knew midterm essay, and since I have a horrible memory I am not sure what I wrote about the

At the sleep away camp that I attended this summer, I was appointed "General" for an all camp activity known as Color War. For four days, the camp is divided into two teams that compete against each other in athletics and other competitive activities. Having been selected out of 400+ campers to take on this elite position was such an honor - I cried tears of happiness. While acting general was extremely rewarding, it quickly became a challenge. Carrying the responsibility to lead cheers, hold team meetings, while making sure the people I led were happy and enjoying the most exciting days of camp was nothing short of nerve-racking. However, every challenge I faced during those four days made each experience that more rewarding , even if my

People have their equal right, and should not be ranked depending on their skin color or gender. However, because of the greed of wealth, some people discarded their basic humanity and discipline, and made excuses to justify their cruelty, so the slavery became like a tumor to parasitize the human society rapidly. With physical and psychological abuse, this “tumor” tortured every struggling people from day to night. As the insight of a dark history, Frederick Douglass’s “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” demonstrates the dehumanization of an inhuman society and how slavery could make a man be a salve and make another man be an enslaver and how he resisted this dehumanization.

When I think of America, I think of one sole word: determination. Our history is a medley of spectacular accomplishments and now-realized mistakes. We’ve struggled with issues that appear to be simple, yet the effects of past hardships can still be felt today. For example, we thought we had ended racism by making African-Americans equal under law, after the civil rights movement, but this same issue has merely developed into social discrimination. Despite the problems that remain and evolve with us through time, the most defining attribute every American has is their will-power to achieve their dreams. To many, these dreams are to end racial, gender, or sexual orientation discrimination. To many, these dreams may even be as seemingly simple

In an unfortunate series of events, the narrator is expelled from the college before his junior year closes. The president of the school, sends him to New York along with ten sealed envelopes. The narrator believes they are letters of recommendation, but soon finds out that the president was simply confirming the boy’s expulsion while trying to save the reputation of the school. This discovery of ‘betrayal’ unveils the reality that, despite the two men being African-American, there were members of minorities that allowed the beliefs of a white-dominated society to dictate how they treated individuals of their own race in order to prosper. Realizing he cannot return to the South immediately, the narrator sets out to find a stable job. He finds

How are you doing? I’m doing okay. I’m sorry for not sending you a letter sooner, but the days have been super busy lately. I have gotten ill on the journey to Hawaii, but luckily the illness went away shortly after we arrived. My body figure has noticeably gotten skinnier from my usual buff posture because of famine during the voyage. I also haven’t been able to trim my hair, so now it is very long and untamable.He seems to be quite fond of us and our mission. I am currently sheltered in a hotel room provided by the king himself, Liholiho. Most of the Hawaiians have taken a liking to our way of life, too. They are quite peculiar. Can you believe that the Hawaiians wear loincloths and mini dresses on the daily? I find that to be very obnoxious and offensive. I thought that it was blatant knowledge to not show skin. Some Hawaiians, however, have tried to protest against us. Maybe they’re just biased. We’ll convert them soon enough. Regardless, I just wanted to inform you that so far, our mission to convert the Hawaiians has been going quite well.