Many can argue that Slavery is one of America's darkest times, White Americans were retaining ownership over fellow men and women, this was a dark period in the history of our country. African Americans were being beaten and degraded daily in their lives on cotton plantations, and in the homes of their owners. Men lost their manhood while women lost their women hood. The slave narratives of people who had to endure this pain give insight into what it was truly like to experience those brutalities. These stories that are major pieces of American literature. The deep history they portray through their testimonies are important pieces of literature that have molded the truth into the minds of men and women. Some scenarios in these stories were …show more content…
On the last stroke, the wood snaps and finally breaks, and so does something inside Northup, he loses a part of himself. From that moment on, his struggle is not for freedom primarily, but for survival and sanity, through these horrible conditions. In the book ‘sweat’ written by Zora Neale Hurston and these times it was hard for African American women to stand up to their abusive husbands. Getting a divorce was not a very common thing to do. Most women endured the pain and troubles of being physically and mentally abused every day. A number of women were too poor to get a divorce or even run away from their husbands. The severe torture against the black body did not only reap pain and suffering at the individual level. The violence in the miniseries ‘roots’ Kunta Kinte an African who was abducted by white men who sell slaves to wealthy white men who own plantations, and such. Kunta Kinte is later renamed as ‘Toby’ he tries to escape; he is quickly recaptured by two white patrollers who catch him cut off half of his …show more content…
Literally taking away the manhood of the colored man or any manhood he could claim as his. In addition, they would rape and beat black women daily until their blood covered the floor, while the black men stood watching, chained up to a wall showing the black man that they are worthless, they cannot save their family nor protect them from another man breaking them down and stripping him of any characteristics of masculine. They would get the strongest black male and beat His friend, A family member or even a spouse. The black man would cry out on his knees pleading and begging his authoritarian to stop beating him. in the story of ‘roots’ the two white men who capture him threaten to cut off his manliness so he wouldn't run away again, Kunta Kinte a terror-stricken scream and the white man laughed and continued to cut off his