The Atlantic Slavery - Essay Example

10 December Slavery: Inhumanity in Humanity The Atlantic slavery is one of the most inhumane pages of human history, where white slave traders took many Africans from their native lands, either by force or persuasion, and sold them as slaves all over the world. Voltaire’s Candide and Gronniosaw's A Narrative are two works that describe the ills of slavery. This essay compares and contrasts how slavery and its outcomes are depicted in these two stories. It specifically focuses on the identities of the narrators, their experiences as slaves, the treatment they receive from their families and slave traders, literary devices, and tone of writing. The accounts of slavery of Gronniosaw and the black slave are the same, because they share several literary images, they experience being viewed and treated like animals by their slave traders and other people in society, and they have the same thesis on the inhumanity of slavery, but their narratives have differences in identity, tone, and relationships. Candide and A Narrative employ the images of the ship and the tree to depict their hardships and survival. The ship stands for the characters' arduous journey. Gronniosaw has worked in several ships, where he experiences how evil people can be. For instance, in one of the ships where he worked for, one of the sailors frequently hurt him, and took a book that he cherished, which he later threw to the ocean. Gronniosaw also undergoes moral hardships, because he had a cruel Captain one time, who not only steals from people, but also kills them. Instead of being sorry for himself as a slave, he feels deep empathy for other people: “This circumstance affected me exceedingly...” (Gronniosaw 22). Slaves in Candide are also brought to their new “owners” through ships. Ships symbolise their journey away from humanity. Gronniosaw, however, can also view the ship as his journey toward God. Though the ship stands for his trip to slavery, he also thanks it for paving the way for his faith. The ship also symbolises his redemption from being a pagan to being a devout Christian. Another literary image is the tree. These two stories also use trees as recurring images and they represent life and hope. Gronniosaw has two instances where trees are sanctuaries of life. As a pagan, palm trees are economic commodities: “...the beauty and usefulness of them are not to be described; they supply the inhabitants of the country with meat, drink and clothes” (Gronniosaw 2). This tree, however, holds no holy significance for Gronniosaw. As a slave, one tree holds special importance to him. He has found a large oak tree, where he prays his complaints to God. Under the same tree, he receives divine inspiration, where “light inexpressible dart down from heaven upon [hi], and shone around [him] for the space of a minute” (Gronniosaw 18). This incident can be described as receiving God's grace, where Gronniosaw feels redeemed from his sins and spiritual ignorance. Candide also refers to a tree, which gives him hope. He is not a slave, but at least, he is a slave to his hardships. Candide also attains hope and motivation under a tree. This essay will examine the stories' treatment of slavery. Gronniosaw and the black slave both experience being treated as animals, because they are slaves. One of the merchant companions of Gronniosaw want to kill him and throw him to a pit, because he is a burden to them. This man does not even see this act as an inhumane deed, because he does think that Gronniosaw is a human being. The black slave has the most physically grueling experience. Candide finds him with “ no left leg and no right hand” (Voltaire). The black slave says that his right hand has been cut, because it is customary in the sugar mills that when one finger is cut, the whole hand is removed. He adds that his left leg is severed, because he tried to escape his master. He also underlines the brutish treatment he receives from other people: “Dogs, monkeys and parrots are a thousand times less miserable than we are” (Voltaire). Though Candide does not illustrate the lives of slaves further, Voltaire makes them “visible” to the people, so that they will also feel the disgrace for their human race who have resorted to such practice. This essay leads to the next similarity between Candide and A Narrative, their thesis. These two stories implicitly argue that the Atlantic slavery trade is one of the most inhumane deeds of humanity; it is the point in history, when humans behave like beasts. Candide knows that there is nothing rational when people just cut other people's body parts, just because of an accident and because they desire freedom. It is only natural for people to feel the need to be free. In addition, Candide finds it irrational to stay positive, when something as inhumane as slavery happens in modern society. He tells Pangloss: “This is one abomination you could not have anticipated, and I fear it has finally done for me: I am giving up on your optimism after all” (Voltaire). He is giving up his optimism, because when one has learned how to treat his fellow man as an animal, he has turned to the worst animal there is. Gronniosaw also finds slavery as a brutal human institution. Many times, his life is threatened, because he is a slave. During these times, he feels miserable for leaving his family. Gronniosaw does not provide enough details on the gruesome situation of slaves though. This essay will next discuss the differences in identities of the narrators and the slaves. The narrator of Candide comes from a third-person narrative, while Gronniosaw himself tells his story. These narrators are different too, because the black slave is an ordinary person from a poor village, while Gronniosaw is the grandson of the King of City Bournou, thereby making him a prince. Because of their different identities, they also have differences in how they see slavery. As a prince, Gronniosaw feels greatly hurt by falling into such a disgraceful social position in life. He thinks about his companion who want to murder him: “I who, at home, was surrounded and guarded by slaves...clothed with gold, have been inhumanly threatened with death...” He remembers who he was, and now, who he has been reduced too. The black slave in Candide, on the contrary, has no such prestigious thoughts to haunt him. Nevertheless, he does remember being free and how different it is from being a slave, who is “owned” by people. One more critical difference between the black slave and Gronniosaw is that the latter consents to coming with the merchant, while the black slave's mother sells his son to slave traders. The black slave narrates to Candide that his mother sold him for ten Patagonian ecus and tells him: “My child... you have the honour to be a slave to our white masters, and therefore you are making the fortune of your father and mother” (Voltaire). He cannot believe that he has made a better fortune as a slave, and he doubts that some money can make a fortune for his family. These two narratives also have opposing tones. These narratives have differences in tone, because the black slave is miserable and bitter, while Gronniosaw is fearful at first, but generally feels optimistic and has a religious tone in writing. The black slave cries that animals are in a better position than he is. He has a single hand and leg, because he is a slave. Despite being mistreated, he still has to serve his master until he dies. Gronniosaw, on the contrary, does not dwell in bitterness. Initially, he fears for his life, because many people hate him. Later on, after knowing that there is a God, he is filled with optimism. He remains faithful to God after untoward events: “I soon perceived that I was got among bad people, who defrauded me of my money and watch; and that all my promis'd happiness was blasted, I had no friend but GOD and I pray'd to Him earnestly” (Gronniosaw 25). This essay describes differences in the two characters' relationships with their families, slave traders, and slave owners. Gronniosaw and the black slave have different relationships with their families and other people. Gronniosaw is very close to his family, including his mother. He says: “All my relations were sorry to part with me; my dear mother came with me upon a camel more than three hundred miles...” (5). His sister also grieves for his leaving: “...she ...discovered every sign of grief that can be imagined” (5). His family shows grief when he leaves. The same does not happen to the black slave. His own mother sells him a slave trader and this reflects how his family does not think he deserves freedom. Gronniosaw also does not experience very cruel slave traders. The Dutch merchant may have been a slave trader, but he treats Gronniosaw with compassion. In terms of masters, Gronniosaw has better masters too than the black slave. Gronniosaw's masters are “children” of God, and so they do not harshly treat him as a slave. The black slave has a cruel master with inhumane laws. Because of these laws, he has lost a leg and hand already, not to mention, his human dignity. Candide and A Narrative denounce the inhumane institution of slavery, because it eliminates people's bonds to each other as human beings and strips off the slaves' dignity and freedom. They have similar symbols, the tree and the ship, where the tree gives Candide and Gronniosaw hope, while ships stand for their journeys as slaves. A Narrative has an optimistic and religious tone, while Candide is pessimistic and bitter. Gronniosaw also has better social relations and a more comfortable former life, while the black slave has poor family relations and previous life. Finally, Candide and A Narrative remind readers that to act inhumane toward another human being turns one into a beast worse than a real beast. Word Count: 1685 Works Cited Gronniosaw, James Albert Ukawsaw. A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, as Related by Himself. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. . Voltaire. Candide. Web. 8 Dec. 2011.. Read More