How Harriet Wilson Reflects the Absolute Evils of Slavery The concept of slavery is a way of abusing human labor for no compensation. This is clearly a violation of human rights, but it wasn’t always. In America during the time of Harriet E. Wilson, slavery was a commonly used method to get work done in all aspects of work that were deemed strenuous or difficult; and was an immoral tool used by many people to do this work for almost no cost. Blacks started coming into America as slaves in the early 1600’s and had been abused for free labor until the 1860’s, and they would still be unjustly persecuted due to the color of their skin for much longer. Harriet E. Wilson reflects the absolute evil of slavery because she was horribly abused, dehumanized, …show more content…
While this is true, the aspect of human rights comes into view and this system must be questioned. It would be a crime and a violation of human rights to enslave a white person because they are protected under the constitution and simply under the morals of mankind. However, this is the most frightening fact; people think the fact that the color of one's skin may be different than their own, human rights and laws no longer apply to them. They are victims of dehumanization, and the worst part is that slave owners don’t think they are doing anything wrong. This reflects the true evils of slavery and is a perfect example of …show more content…
Frado gets sick yet she continues to work without complaint until it becomes hard for her to even stand (Harriet, pg 46). “Her mistress [Mrs. Belmont] entered one day, and finding her seated, commanded her to go to work. ‘I am sick … and cannot stand long, I feel so bad’... [Mrs. Belmont] suddenly inflicted a blow which lay the tottering girl prostrate on the floor … she seemed left to unrestrained malice, and snatching a towel, stuffed the mouth of the sufferer, and beat her cruelly.” (Harriet, pg 46) As you can see, Mrs. Belmont had no sympathy whatsoever for Frado. She saw Frado as a human punching bag that could be tossed aside whenever she wasn’t needed. This reflects the absolute evils of slavery because Frado is beaten and treated like an