Critical Analysis Self Assessment
When I was first introduced to this essay, I didn’t have any idea about what I would write about. I didn’t want to approach it from a predictable, basic angle, such as talking about themes such as brutality or the Psychology of Slvaery, but I wanted to come up with something different and maybe eye opening. A quote from Whitehead’s novel that really caught my attention was “There was order to misery, misery tucked inside misery, and you are meant to keep track”. Then, I started thinking about how a person could tolerate torturing and murdering other people constantly without having any remorse or regret. This is why I decided to connect the two themes of constant misery and morals and ethics together. After reading the novel, I found out a lot of conflict when it came to morals, from characters like Ethel and Dr. Stevens to Ridgeway. I decided that I would explore more about the connection between morality and the reason why slavery was tolerated for such a long period of time with a lot of support and barely any opposition.
I started off by addressing the idea of happiness, using Pathos to appeal to the readers emotions by exposing the constant suffering of slaves and the loss of hope in achieving freedom. Then, I introduced a counterargument to my claim, which was that slavery was justified because of its economical benefits, and then refuting it by showing that the economical benefit is trivisl besides the trauma and torture Black Americans were forced to face. After that, I dived more into the ethical part of my argument, showing characters such as Ethel and Dr. Stevens who struggled with their morality and their identity. I showed how even though they might have felt a little sympathy and remorse towards Black Americans, they still didn’t stand up against the injustice Black Americans were facing, continuing to be bystanders, which contributed to the strengthening of slavery and its continuity. After that, I had to mention how slavery is still evident in our current society, regardless of the claims made about it not existing anymore. Institutional slavery and slavery implemented into the roots of our society are represented through representation and prejudice. I included how there is an evident difference between the lifestyles and African Americans and White Americans and how this is a form of modern slavery.
Through this essay, I tried to convey the idea of how morality during the 1600’s played a role in slavery’s continuation and the suffering of African Americans. Using Whitehead’s novel, I tried to show the suffering that is occurring and also expose the conflict felt by White Americans between doing what is morally correct and following ideas of prejudice and hatred spread in their society. I connected both ideas and showed how both had a cause and effect relationship. I also tried to show how the economical benefits slavery achieved isn’t an achievement to be proud of due to it being made with the blood, sweat, and tears of many enslaved African Americans, deeming this success as immoral and invalid
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