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Slavery Is the Most Dehumanizing and Aspect of Human Life Essay

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It is the most dehumanizing and intrusive aspect of every human’s life that it touches. Slavery is the very institution that affects the social, economic, and cultural aspects of every person’s life. Although many people viewed slavery as a necessity, others have strong critiques of the institution. We are able to gain knowledge of these very critiques by the first-hand accounts of Mary Prince in the narrative The History of Mary Prince and From the Darkness Cometh the Light by Lucy Delaney. In the narratives, Prince and Delany communicate to the reader a plethora of critiques to slavery. The most powerful critiques that Prince and Delaney agree upon are the destruction of family, the condition of the slaves, and the moral that it creates…show more content…
In order to manipulate the minds of the slaves, owners would feed them minimal food, demand them to work in harsh conditions, and implicit harsh punishment. In A Shining Thread of Hope by Darlene Hine, she describes the harsh punishment that slaves would endure. She says, “Slaves who ran away were branded with the initials of their owners or had portions of their bodies amputated.” (45) By doing this, it conditioned the slaves to not act in accordance with the rules and believe that they need their masters for survival. Mary Prince also describes the harsh conditions that she was placed under when she describes working on the island. She states, “Owing to the boils on my feet, I was unable to wheel the barrow fast through the sand […] and made me stumble at every step; and my master not having any pity for sufferings […] by chastising for not being able to move as fast as he wished.” (10) The conditions that slaves were expected to live and work in were described as outrageous. Not only did it disregard the slaves as being human beings, but also it made them develop the mindset that they are not able to live in any other condition. It was common for slaves to accept the treatment that they got because they knew that if they were to be set free, the conditions that they are placed under might be worse due to ignorance on their part. The most powerful critique of slavery in the
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