Have you ever really thought about the way slaves in the late 1800's were treated? Well in "Nightjohn" it explains a few of the harsh unbearable things most slaves went through. This book is about a man named john he's is of course a slave. but he had once became free but came back... why did he come back? He came back because he was one of the very few slaves who were taught to read and write. there for he did come back. John came back to teach slaves how to read and write just for the simple fact that they could write about what was happening to thee slaves. This story is about a Young slave girl whos name is Sarny. Sarny exchanges tobacco to John and he offers her "Letters" for the tobacco. She agrees, but of course learning to read and write as a slave is prohibited. Sarny's mother "Mammy" knows nothing of what is going on. as he teaches her about the alphabet a few events occur with three slaves named Alice, Jim, and Pawley. Alice was a young girl who always was a little girl with a bright imagination, The master knew she was no good to working in the fields so he made her become a breeder, which meant she was practically raped to have more babies for slavery. She hated this, so one day she walked p to their masters house, knowing how angry the aster would be if she did this... she still did so. After the master found out she was wondering up to the house he had beaten her naked in front of all of the other slaves, after this Alice had never been the same old Alice she was very quite and kept to herself, but one day she tried running away while doing so the master let lose the dogs on her. The dogs ripped her to shreds though she lived, she knew exacly what she was doing and wanted to be killed. Jim, he was an older man who was just sick and tired of being treated this way he tried to run away but had gotten caught the master again let the dogs lose, he managed to climb up a tree but the tree was not tall enough to keep the dogs away. the dogs got his legs and also like Alice ripped him to shreds he then died. he lived. Now Pawley, Pawley was just a younger man who had , had a girlfriend. At night he would sneak and go visit her he would always come back in time before the morning came. One day he fell asleep with his girlfriend underneath the stars. He didn't make it back in time so the master let the dogs lose on him, the Master punished him by cutting the back of his ankles. The cut went wrong and Pawley unfortunately Bled to death. These are just some of the few things that actually happened to these slaves.
Motivation is the key to success. As we read The story of Malcom X we learned so. Malcom was a Young boy with dreams of becoming a lawyer. though through his young teenage years he did seem to be a troubled boy. Being the troubled boy he was, he was sent to a reform school and lived with a very nice white couple Mr. and Mrs. Swerlin who treated him with respect. As he stayed there he realized who he was. He was an Ambitious leader as he became more and more polite and intelligent the Swerlins decided to send him to the middle school in mason, michigan. As he went there he played on the eighth grade basketball team , he even got elected school president, also he had gotten a job working for one of his classmates fathers in a restraunt. He was becoming all of these good things until one day he was alone in his classroom with his english teacher Mr. Ostrowski He then asked Malcom what he would like to be when he grew up? Malcom Said "A lawyer." Then Mr. Ostrowski told Malcom to be realistic that "Niggers" (Thats a really bad word i'm sorry i said that !) don't get jobs like that. After he exchanged these words with Malcom , everything went downhill from there. He was sent back to his parents and that twas that. Therefor Motivation is the key to success....
The Great debators has alot in common with both "Nightjohn and "Malcom X". In Malcom x and the great debators they both have to do with blacks havin g some sort of motivation in what there doing. In Malcom X though Malcom loses motivation for what he's striving for. In the Great debators they keep there heads high though at some points they did feel as if they wanted to give up but they got through the struggle and got what they were dreaming of. "Nightjohn" and the Great debators are similiar in a way because in both you see how people just didn't like blacks because they were black not because of of the person they really were or what they were really like. They just assumed since they were black that they were bad. like in the Great debators the blacks were very polite, most were even more than most of the white men. but they were still treated like dirt and got no respect. also a difference between "Nightjohn" and "The great Debators" is that in "Nightjohn the blacks were being physically and mentally hurt while in "The great debators" they were being only mentally hurt. Well in most of the cases.
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