Typical+Life+of+a+Slave

Life as a Slave Jenna Varilek In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “When I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” In __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,__ Mark Twain continually criticizes the cruelty between human beings. The main subject of Twain’s argument centers around the cruelty involved with slavery. When looking into the typical life of a slave, one can begin to understand that human kind is not always as compassionate as they appear to be.

Today, people complain when they have to work over 40 hours a week, but even 50 hours a week is minimal compared to what slaves worked. Typically, slaves would work 15-16 hours a day, seven days a week, but during harvest season they would work 16-18 hours a day (School, 1999 ). The work that slaves did on the plantation was difficult and strenuous. Slaves did anything that their owners asked of them, particularly cleaning, cooking, and planting or picking crops (Tubbs). Because of the heavy work load, slaves rarely had time to relax. According to former slave, Sara Gudger, “I never know what it was to rest. I just work all the time from morning till late at night. I had to do everything there was to do on the outside. Work in the field, chop wood, hoe corn, till sometime I feels like my back surely break. I done everything except split rails,” (Vlach). Although slaves didn’t have any time for themselves, they would enhance their lives with music and artwork (Tubbs).

Slave owners did not grant the slaves access to an appropriate amount of basic necessities like clothing and food. Overall, the slaves were given two outfits to wear until they were no longer wearable. Also, they were only given cornmeal and three or four pounds of bacon a week to eat (School, 1999 ). Slaves were also forced to live in small quarters with multiple other slaves. The houses that slaves lived in were constructed of wood with dirt floors (School, 1999 ). Without access to basic necessities in life, the slaves had a difficult time enduring all of the work they were forced to do.

Children that grew up as slaves did not live a fulfilling childhood. When children were between the ages of six and ten they would carry water to the slaves in the fields, and when they reached age ten they would begin working in the fields (School, 1999 ). Even though work was difficult for everyone, they were normally given tasks that were acceptable for their age and size.

One more aspect of slavery that displays the upmost act of cruelty is the punishments that owners would inflict upon their slaves. The most common forms of punishment included, whippings, beatings, drownings, and hangings (School, 1999 ). , especially arguing with them. Even if the “crime” they committed was minor, owners would kill their slaves if they found it appropriate.

It is evident that humans can be cruel to other humans for no apparent reason. As Twain points out throughout __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,__ no one is better than anyone else. When investigating the history of slavery, it is imperative that we learn from the past and try to better ourselves as human beinng. home --Jenna