Author Archives: Emma D.

Born Into Slavery

I feel the snow and cold wind hit my face as I trek up the icy hill. Both of my hands hold metal buckets, weighed down with water from the pump. I need to get back to my master’s warm house on Broadway. My fingers are numb from holding the frigid metal buckets and my arms ache from carrying the water for so long. The snow is hitting my cold face and I can barely see ahead of me. I finally make it up the hill and I can see the house in the distance. My feet sink deeper and deeper into the snow as I grow closer to the warm house. I walk up the snow covered stone path and go around to the back door. The enslaved aren’t allowed through the front. I walk through the small wooden door and feel the warmth of the house. I smell fresh meat cooking in the oven and see the indentured servant, Hazel, swiftly sweeping the wooden floor. I look out the small window on the left side of the kitchen and see the pinky orange color of the sun setting in the sky. Then I see my master, Henry Lloyd, slowly walk into the kitchen.

“You! Go help with my family business in my office!” He screams at me.

I don’t respond, but quickly walk out of the room and into his stuffy office. My master doesn’t refer to me as Jupiter because in his eyes, I’m not a person. He thinks of me as his property and he can do whatever he wants to me. I believe that a brutal master is only tamed by respect and obedience from a slave. This is why I continue to serve my master well. I snap out of my thoughts when I see my master at the door to the cramped office. I quickly pull out a stack of papers with information about the patriots. My master is a patriot, which means I have to be one too. Deep down I know that if I were allowed my own choice, I would be a loyalist. When I was young, my master hired a Harvard graduate to teach me how to read and write. I pick up the feather from my master’s desk and dip it into the black ink. I know I’m supposed to working, but I can’t help myself. I pull the handle to the desk drawer and it creaks. I grab a piece of white paper and place it down on the desk. I pick up the feather and begin to write the date, January 16, 1769. Then I write the first line of the poem. I use poetry as a way of resisting slavery and teaching others about my religion, Methodism. I move the feather swiftly across the page because the words come to me fast. I look up every couple of seconds to make sure my master doesn’t catch me. If I was caught writing poetry while I was supposed to be doing labor, I would be whipped. When I finish my poem, I tiptoe out of the office hoping my master doesn’t see me. I keep a small wooden chest in the main room of the house. This is one of the only things that I can still call mine. I keep all my poetry and a copy of my book in this small box. I am one of the first negroes to be published in New York. My book explains God’s beliefs about equality. God loves every person that loves and obeys him no matter who they are. I don’t write as much about my views on slavery and freedom because religion is the most important thing no matter the circumstances. Although I have been enslaved my whole life, I feel privileged to have had the education that I received. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to write poetry and get my point across about Methodism. I quickly place my poem in the chest and walk back to the office. By now it is dark outside and Hazel is finished preparing the fresh meat. She must be putting it out on the table for my master because the smell gets stronger and stronger. The salty smell of the meat reminds me of my mother and her cooking.

When I was a young boy my mother told me many stories of her voyage to New Amsterdam (present day New York). It was a hot summer morning in Angola and my mother was eating her breakfast at the table. Her favorite cloth was covering the wooden table as she ate. The sun was beginning to shine through the window as it rose above the horizon. My mother was thinking about the happy and eventful day ahead of her when she saw a white man outside her house. He had dark thick hair and a mustache. He held a large gun in his hands. My mother had never seen a white man in real life; she had only heard of them. My mother stood up from her meal and approached the window to get a better look at him. Something about the look on his face made her feel powerless and scared. The man suddenly began to run towards the direction of her house. She wanted to continue to watch the man, but her instincts told her to hide. She quickly pulled her white blinds shut and ran behind the table. She tugged the table cloth down so she would be out of sight and her breakfast fell to the ground. The glass plate shattered, but she didn’t care. Maybe I’m being paranoid, she said to herself. But just as that crossed her mind she heard a loud bang as the door to her house was shoved open. My mother saw the man’s black boots and her heart began to beat out of her chest. The worst scenarios possible began to run through her mind and tears streamed down her cheeks. My mother tried as hard as she could to stay silent, but she couldn’t contain her fear and sadness.

“Come out now or I’ll shoot you!” he yelled at her.

My mother’s whole body froze when she heard these words. She slowly peeked her head out from behind the table and the man grabbed her. She screamed, but it was no use. My mother had no husband until she arrived in New Amsterdam so there wasn’t anyone to risk themselves for her safety. She was forcefully pulled outside and chained up. Then my mother was shoved into a large group of other Africans.

“Walk that way! Now!” the white man yelled from behind her.

She began to take small steps in the direction the man was pointing.

“Faster!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

My mother jumped as he screamed, but then began walking quicker. She was forced to walk for a full week. My mother told me that the white man called this the death march because many Africans lost their lives along the way. When my mother finally arrived at the slave port, located on the Gold Coast, she was boarded a slaver. The conditions on the ship were horrendous and my mother suffered during the ten weeks she was on it. She wasn’t fed enough and she almost starved to death. There were too many people on the boat and disease spread among the passengers. Many Africans even attempted to jump overboard because they believed death was better than living through the horrid situation they were in. When the ship finally sailed up the Hudson River and into New Amsterdam, about only half of the original group of Africans were still living. When my mother stepped off the ship she took a deep breath. She had been trapped on the boat for so long that she was grateful for a breath of fresh air. My mother lost her feeling of gratitude when she saw an African being sold like chattel a few feet in front of her. She then felt a cold hand on her back and was pushed toward a couple dressed in fancy clothing. They purchased her and brought her to their home on Long Island. After many years of being owned by this couple, she gave birth to me in 1711.

This is my Africans in NY: Creative Narrative Assignment. In this assignment every seventh grader was assigned a biography of an African that lived during the Colonial Era. From this biography and optional extra research we had to write a piece in the point of view of this person. We had to have at least 7 social studies key terms and at least 5 facts about our person. My African’s name was Jupiter Hammon. I think I did a good job of including description in my piece. I used the show don’t tell technique, which helps the reader understand what is happening better. I think I could have done a better job of looking over my work and finding grammatical mistakes. When I got this piece back there were a few errors that I probably could have fixed if I read over my work one more time. Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment and am excited for more pieces like it in the future.

Emma Diamond Humanities 7th Grade March 6th, 2017

Integrity Versus Reputation

We live in a world where people will do almost anything to make themselves look better. Many people will even compromise their integrity in order to gain a better reputation. Integrity is a set of unwritten rules that make someone a good person. People compromise their integrity to make themselves look better because reputation is a representation of power. Sometimes people in power lie as a way of making themselves look better and creating a better reputation for themselves. Most people like power and want to control others. This need for power can lead people to do things that compromise their integrity. This has occurred during the Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Era, and even the present day. Throughout history, people have compromised their integrity in order to create a better reputation for themselves.
In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, many characters compromise their integrity in order to save and make their reputation better. Throughout the play, Abigail Williams continually lies in order to protect her reputation. When Abigail is accused of being a witch, she and her family lose a lot of their power and their reputation goes down the drain. When Parris, her uncle, finds out about this, he denies that there is witchcraft in his household in order to uphold his good reputation. “PARRIS, his eyes going wide: No-no. There be no unnatural cause here. Tell him I have sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly, and Mr. Hale will surely confirm that. Let him look to medicine and put out all thought of unnatural causes here. There be none,” (Miller, pg. 35). As soon as someone brought up witchcraft in his household, he denied it. If he had not shut down this idea right away, people would have stopped trusting and believing what he said. In this time period, a good reputation represented power. Everyone wanted power and influence, so they needed to uphold and preserve their good reputations. Since Abigail was the one who compromised Parris’ reputation, he felt she disobeyed him. Abigail did not want to ruin her own or Parris’ reputation so she lied and blamed Tituba for her mistakes. “ABIGAIL: She made me do it! She made Betty do it! TITUBA, shocked and angry: Abby! ABIGAIL: She makes me drink blood!” (Miller, 1953). When Abigail did something bad, she was faced with the decision of keeping her integrity or lying. She chose to lie because she did not think anyone would find out that she was lying and that she wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences for her mistakes. Not only did she lie, but she scapegoated someone else for her own mistakes. Tituba did not force her to do anything in the forest, but she blamed her anyway. Abigail did not care what happened to Tituba as long as she herself wasn’t to blame for what happened. In the play, John Proctor was hanged because he lied, but Tituba wasn’t for seeing the devil. Telling the truth is usually the better option when someone is put in a situation where they have to choose between the two. Many people lied to make themselves look better in the 1600s and as history progressed it continued to happen.
In the book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, many boys lie and exaggerate in order to make themselves look better in the eyes of their peers. Because of the setting and stereotypes about men, reputation and power are based on masculinity and strength. Men did and still do have pre set ways that they are supposed to act just because of their gender. Because of this, some men feel like they have to be strong and powerful in order to be appreciated by society. Throughout the book, a character named Jack tries to seem strong and powerful by killing a lot of pigs and over-exaggerating the killings. “There was lashings of blood,” said Jack, laughing and shuddering, “you should have seen it!” (Golding, pg. 63). This is an example of Jack over exaggerating the goriness of the killing of a pig to appear more masculine. Ultimately, Jack’s focus on killing a pig instead of keeping a fire burning, prevents the boys from being rescued when a ship passes. This shows that being the most masculine isn’t always the best thing, especially in a survival situation. If the boys on the island had not been so obsessed with their reputations, they probably would have been rescued earlier. Most of the boys wanted to be the most powerful so they tried to seem strong and masculine. Throughout the book, the boys try to impress each other by killing and hurting animals and people. When Jack exaggerates about killing the pig, many boys consider him a role model and someone to look up to. Although the boys are constantly doing things to make them look more masculine, they probably do not always want to behave this way. Many of the boys lied about their feelings to make themselves look stronger and more masculine. For example, one of the boys, Ralph, said that he wasn’t afraid of the beastie even though he was. Since he was the chief, he probably did this to maintain his reputation as a good leader and impress the rest of the boys. The boys in the book, Lord of the Flies, compromised their integrity in order to make their reputation better, as did the real people living during the 1950s.
During the 1950s, many people did things that compromised their integrity just to improve their reputation. Most people wanted a good reputation so that they could gain power. Some wanted this so badly that they compromised their integrity in order to get it. Joseph McCarthy spent time in the military and lied about his accomplishments. “McCarthy often exaggerated his war record to help his political career. For example, he was photographed in the rear seat, or tail fun position, of a dive bomber and called himself ‘Tail-Gunner Joe,” (The Red Scare, Fitzgerald, 2007). This is an example of McCarthy lying to make his reputation better. During the 1950s, reputation for men was usually based off strength and masculinity. By lying about his position in the war, he was showing everyone how masculine he was and gaining a better reputation. By the 1950s, people were more tolerant towards other religions because the Constitution says that freedom of religion is a protected right. This meant that there was no government punishment for lying because people had different beliefs, values and ethics. Since this was true, McCarthy did not have to worry about extreme consequences like death for over exaggerating the truth. If people had found out that he lied, his reputation probably would have gone down the drain. Although there was no law against lying, most people looked at it as a bad thing. It did not make sense for McCarthy to lie about this, even though it could make him look more masculine. If people had found out, he wouldn’t have had as much power and influence. This shows that lying is risky because if people do not find out that one has lied, there is no consequence. If people do find out, it could lead to loss of a good reputation and power, especially if they are a leader. People have compromised their integrity for a better a reputation in the 1950s as well as today.
Today, people are still compromising their integrity in order to create a better reputation for themselves. The new President of the United States, Donald Trump, has continually lied to make himself look better. During a recent press conference, he said something that is completely false in order to make him seem better than other Presidents. “‘I guess it was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan,’ he said during a heated press conference at the White House. Former President Bill Clinton received more electoral votes than Trump during both of his elections, as did former President George H.W. Bush in 1988,” (Rebecca Savransky). In this quote, Donald Trump is lying to make himself look better. This is different than when McCarthy and Abigail lied because everyone found out that Trump was lying. Therefore, his original intention to make his reputation better, backfired and actually made it worse. This shows how difficult and dicey lying is because it could either make one’s reputation a lot better or a lot worse. In this case, Donald Trump’s lies were proven wrong, which exposed him to all of the United States and other countries too. Even if Trump actually believed what he was saying was correct, as the President of the United States, he should have known the facts. Since he has recently been handed a lot of power, people have a lot of trust in him, which makes it even more important for him to be telling the truth. Donald Trump is taking advantage of his power by disregarding the fact that many people have trust him and believe what he is saying. If he continues to lie, some people will stop trusting what he says. This will show him that he has to tell the truth if he wants to have a good reputation. During Trump’s campaign many people even said they liked him because he told the truth. If he continues to constantly lie to make himself look better, these people might begin to dislike him also. Overall, Donald Trump has failed at lying to make his reputation better because people found out that his thoughts were false.
Many people lie and deceive others in order to make themselves look better and gain power. This happened during the Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Era, and even the present day. In all three cases, leaders have compromised their integrity to gain even more power. When they do this and people find out that they were lying, their followers lose trust in them. Lying can backfire and actually make one’s reputation worse instead of better. If people accepted who they are and did not exaggerate and lie about their achievements, this wouldn’t be a recurring problem. History is continually repeating itself, which shows a lack of progress in America. Will people ever solve this problem, or will it continue to happen in the future?

This is an essay that I wrote recently in humanities. In this assignment we had to compare the Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Era, and the present day using a theme. The Salem Witch Trials took place during the 1600s. In this time, many people were accused of being witches. The McCarthy Era took place during the 1950s. In this time, people were accused of being communists and most Americans were scared of Russians. The theme I chose was compromising integrity for reputation. This was important throughout all three time periods. Leaders often compromise their integrity to make their reputation better. During the process of writing this essay, I learned that making connections about history and the present day help me understand both better. I also learned that I am getting pretty good at writing TEEAC paragraphs. It is easier for me to write a TEEAC paragraph without an outline than with one. I think I can work a little bit more on making some parts of my essay more detailed. I think I can do this by reading over my essay again and asking myself what could be more clear. I think I could work a little bit more on my transition sentences and connect them more to the next paragraph. Throughout this essay I believed that I have mastered writing a thesis statement and making connections throughout different times in history. Overall, I really enjoyed writing this essay!

Below is a research notecard I did on a website called NoodleTools. A notecard is all about a specific topic within my research topic. My topic is music and dance. I am proud of this notecard because I had a strong analysis and I used a primary source.

English Rules of the Balls

Source:

From the First Assembly minute book, 1746. “Speaking of Dancing.” Colonial Williamsburg , history.org/history/teaching/speakdan.cfm. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.

Quote:

“No Lady to be admitted in a nightgown and no gentleman in boots.
Dancing is to begin precisely at 5 o’clock afternoon in the winter.
Each set not to exceed ten couples to dance but one country dance.
Couples to dance their minuets in the order they stand in their individual sets.
No dance to begin after 11 at night.
No tea, coffee, negus or other liquor to be carried into the dancing room.”

Paraphrase:

• balls were fancy meaning nobody was allowed without proper attire.
• There were specific times when dancing is to begin and end.
• In this case the dancing was to begin at 5 o’clock on the dot and end before 11 o’clock.
• There was a certain amount of couples allowed to dance at a time.
• In this case 10 couples were allowed.
• Certain things like drinks were certain things not allowed in the dance room. 

My Ideas:

As showed by this primary source, the English people had many rules about music and dance in the colonial period. Some of these rules make sense to me, but most of them seem like they were made for the sake of being made. The rule that makes sense is “No Lady to be admitted in a nightgown and no gentleman in boots.” This makes sense because dinner dances were extremely fancy and important to the English people. This means they would want everyone dressed for the formal event correctly. The other rules are confusing because they are very strict. The Powhatans and Africans didn’t have strict rules for their dances and music like the English did. They had specific dances, but nothing that restricted certain times of the day or how many people can dance at a time. I infer the enslaved Africans didn’t have rules about dance because they didn’t have time to come up with them and it would be really hard for them to follow rules while they were being forced to do work all day. The enslaved people would probably dance whenever they had the chance and it wouldn’t be for entertainment. The meaning of African slaves dancing was to send messages about surviving, getting through the day, and escaping. The Powhatans danced mostly for ceremonial reasons and probably had rules about which dances to do at which ceremonies. I wonder why the English people had all these rules. Maybe it is because they wanted to be proper and precise with everything. Throughout my research it has become clear to me that the English people cared a lot more about appearance than any of the other two cultures. For example wealthy, English children had to learn all the dances perfectly or they would be embarrassing their whole family. In the other cultures people learned the dances by seeing them and being around them forever. I wonder if dancing was fun for the English colonists. I also wonder why we don’t have fancy dances or rules about our arts today. When did this stop happening? I infer this stopped happening when people realized there was no point in having unnecessary rules and that having unique arts are important. This kind of reminds me of The Giver by Lois Lowry because it shows that difference is good and rules should be as limited as possible without the world being unsafe and chaotic. It is clear that the English people were expected to follow many rules and guidelines about their arts.