Does Gender Shape the Experiences of Slaves?

Gender in some cases shaped  the experience of a slave.In 12 Years A Slave, both women and men had different abilities and tasks that they were told to do on the plantation. Men were more likely to do more strenuous work because they were considered to be stronger than the women. Women were most likely assigned to do cotton picking, cleaning, and housework. On the plantation in the film, both men and women were assigned to pick cotton. At the end of each day, all the slaves were put in a barn so that the master could be informed of the amount of cotton each slave picked. There was a women on the plantation named, Patsey. Patsey picked more cotton than any other slave, including the men. Because of this, the master took pride in her and she was hardly ever beaten or yelled at. Whoever was considered to not have picked enough cotton was taken and whipped. The gender did not matter if the slaves were to be beaten or not. If the slaves are obedient and do whatever they are told, most likely their master would not whip them or beat them, unless they wanted to because they felt like it. Gender really only affected the slaves in the type of work they did but gender did not really matter for the forms of violence. It also really depended on the master because whatever he felt and whatever he wanted to do, he could do it. Gender in one particular case, which is the type of work a slave did, shaped the experience of a slave.

Master is taking pride in Patsey because of the amount of cotton she picked

Film Supports James R. Bradley's Letter

The film, 12 Years A Slave, supports James R. Bradley's letter of slaves desiring freedom, but kept it to themselves to avoid harsher treatment. In the film, Soloman meets another slave on a ship. On the ship the slave told Soloman that they should not tell the white people of their ability to read and write. The reason the slave told this to Soloman, was because reading and writing were considered to be a freedom especially for a slave, and if their master or overseer found out that their slave could read or write, all the chances of them being able to do that anymore was taken away from them. Once Soloman was informed about not saying anything about his ablilty to read or write, he became cautious of keeping things to himself because his rights could be taken away from him. In James R. Bradley's letter, he wrote about that many slaves including himself longed for freedom, but had to keep it for themselves because if they did not their masters would make them work harder and they could even get beaten. Soloman desired his freedom because he was a free man and he would tell his masters that and at times he would get beaten and yelled at because of it. On one of the plantations Soloman overhears a woman crying because of her separation with her kids. He then tells her that if she keeps crying she will get beaten because shes longing for something she cannot get back, which will only annoy the master. Therefore, the film supports James R. Bradley's letter of slaves desiring for freedom, but kept it to themselves to avoid harsh and cruel treatment.

Soloman tells his master that he cannot read or write because he was accused of writing a letter.

Violence in Slave Society

Violence during the time of slavery consisted of many forms of violence. The most common forms of violence towards slaves were whippings and hangings. Many slave owners thought of slaves as they were animals and if they did anything wrong or that they felt was inappropriate, they would either whip the slaves with many lashes or hang them. In the film, 12 Years a Slave, Soloman, had a master who was a kind-hearted, however it was the overseer of the plantation that disliked him. They both had gotten into a fight and Soloman started whipping the overseer. A few days later the overseer brought over some of his fellow friends and decided to hang Soloman. Fortunately, Soloman's master stopped all the trouble and the ropes were cut off. Soloman was sold to another master, which was cruel and whenever he lied or didn't pick enough cotton in a day, he would get whipped with at least 100 lashes because his master felt he didn't work hard enough. On one of the plantations Soloman worked for there was a women who would pick more cotton than any other person that worked on the field including the men. Because of this, the master took pride in her and never wanted to beat her. The master's feelings toward their slave could change in an instant. Violence all depended on the master and the behavior of the slaves. If the master was pleasant he most likely wasn't as cruel as masters that just have hatred toward slaves and therefore would beat his slaves whenever he felt like it. If slaves were "obedient" they were most likely less vulnerable to those who caused trouble and tried to revolt.

Soloman getting hanged by the overseer of the plantation