Connor Phelps
Dr. Quillin
ELA
18 Tuesday, October
What was the reason for the harsh punishment of slaves for minor offenses?
I think one of the reasons for the harsh punishment was that the slave owners wanted to keep the slaves living in fear. I think the reason they wanted the slaves to be fearful was to control them. If the punishment for minor offenses was being whipped until they bleed, then the punishment for major offenses must have been extremely harsh.
An example of controlling the slaves with fear was putting tar on the fences of the garden. If any slave was found with tar on his or her body, then it was deemed sufficient evidence that the slave had been in the garden. The punishment for this was severe whipping. The book says the slaves became fearful of the tar and stayed out of the garden. This is an example of controlling them with fear.
Another example is when Mr. Gore shot Demby because Demby wouldn't get out of the creek after Mr. Gore counted to three. Mr. Gore’s reason for doing this was because Demby was setting a bad example for the other slaves. He shot him to control the other slaves with fear.
Great post Connor. I definitely agree that slave owners punished their slaves to keep them living in fear. I also think many cruel slave owners enjoyed asserting their power and harming the slaves.
ReplyDeleteGood idea using examples from the text to support your point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew that slave owners harshly punished slaves for their own enjoyment. I also think you used some really good examples for your entry.
ReplyDeleteIt seems controlling large groups of people through fear is common throughout history, and even in the present. Yet, do you think this is the best functioning model for a society? Also, do you think it is possible for a society to be based on love instead of fear, and respect instead of violence?
ReplyDeleteControlling with fear is definitely a very effective management strategy. It was harsh and unnecessary but it (clearly) worked very well.
ReplyDeleteMinipulating slaves with fear is very cruel but very effective. I agree with andrew and Persia that the owners do it for enjoyment. To be honest, I had a hard time reading this book cause it conjures up lots of emotion especially cause it's from someone's personal experience. Great post Connor!!
ReplyDeleteNice Connor, I think you did a good analysis of this question. I would also like to add that... a lot of the time, the masters, wouldn't only punish the slaves because they had done something bad, sometimes they did it out of pleasure, like Mr. Gore.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Connor, and I liked your point about how they tried to weed out the slaves that were most rebellious, and kill them(or hurt them severely) as an example for the other slaves to not follow suit.
ReplyDeleteYou gave really good examples and your response seem really well thought out and complete. The fact that they wanted the slaves live in fear makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Claire. Often times slaves were punished so hard by their masters that they eventually would start almost worshipping them in a way.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was really accurate and well written, I also agree with you that it was to instill fear into the slaves. However, do you believe that possibly some of them only did such terrible acts simply to perform their duties?
ReplyDelete