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Summary Of Celia A Slave

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Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, once said, “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” Jefferson was trying to say that slavery brought chaos to the people of America and that it should be stopped from spreading any further. In the 19-century before the Civil War, slavery has been a major dispute in the United States of America. In the book Celia, A Slave, by Melton A. McLaurin, is a riveting true story about a fourteen year old slave, named Celia, who murdered her slave owner because of all the mistreating she experienced. Celia’s life as an African American slave was so much different compared to the men because women slaves were not just about having to do work for their masters, but also they were …show more content…

Slavery was very important amongst the people, most especially in the south, because not only does it help them with their businesses and household tasks, but also it determined “a mark of social position.” (9) Robert Newman, a Missourian farmer, was no exception in the indication of the social status. He purchased five slaves: four adult males and a five-year-old boy, for the main purpose of labor in his farm. Soon after, he purchased Celia, a fourteen year old girl from the neighboring county. Newman’s sole purpose of acquiring Celia was to help with the domestic chores and for the sake of his sexual pleasures in replacement of his deceased wife, as McLaurin mentioned, “A healthy sixty years of age, Newsom needed more than a hostess…he required a sexual partner.” (18) He would then later begin to regularly visit Celia’s cabin to sexually assault her. Soon, Celia had enough of Newman’s sexual abuse and decided to have an end to all of the mistreatment. On Saturday, June 23, 1855, Celia has murdered her master with a large stick followed by burning him in the fireplace. Her crime resulted in for a trial to take

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The book Celia, a slave, was written by Melton McLaurin to show the horrors of slavery in America during the slavery periods and thus, provide insight into the dark times of the slavery encouraging America of the time. In the book McLaurin expertly explores the topic of sexual exploitation of slaves by narrating the case of Celia, a slave that was convicted of the murder of her owner. Celia was only fourteen years old when she was bought as a slave for her owner who at the time had five other slaves. At the time owning of slaves was the apex of wealth, and her owner who happened to be rich by the standards of the time could afford to have five slaves. Robert Newsom, who bought Celia, started sexually abusing her on the day she was purchased

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Melton McLaurin’s book Celia, A Slave, addresses the moral dilemma in the United States during the 1850’s about the heated debate over slavery. Celia, a Slave is a true story about the trial, conviction and hanging execution of a young female slave for the murder of her master. Celia, a slave, faced daily sexual exploitations at the hands of her master which started at the tender age of fourteen, and ultimately ended when she murdered him. The conditions surrounding Celia’s life exemplify the certainties of slave life in the South and moral choices the institution of slavery forced upon slaves and slaveholders. The course and result of Celia's trial were affected by people and a court framework that were attempting to accommodate the individual

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Finally, on June 23, 1855 Celia killed Robert in self-defense after he tried to rape her again. On October 10, 1855 a jury found Celia guilty of murder in the first degree and was eventually hung on December 21, 1855. Within the investigation and trial of Celia there are several things that made her trial unjust and therefore warrant her pardon.

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In the short story “Celia Behind Me, ” Isabel Huggan emphasizes that pressure at “the brink of being laughed at” or “teased” can impact a young girl, and turn her into a “vicious bitch,” in adolescence. Elizabeth struggles with her own insecurity and position among the “amorphous Other Kids” by getting away from Celia a “diabetic child.” Through the use of characterization and archetypes of teenagers, Huggan establishes that the striving for acceptance and the fear of “humiliation” reveals a “darkness” in all of us. Elizabeth describes Celia as a “chubby”, “stupid child” with “large smooth cheeks” who “won't live forever.”

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