Descriptive Essay A Slave - 1430 Words

The moment I step onto the rickety train step, I feel that the world as I know it has crashed to an end. For half a second, I sway, having lost my balance. Hurry, Schalane! The train is about to start! calls the voice of my friend, Erik, from somewhere ahead. A wisp of his charcoal brown hair vanishes in the heaving throng. The two hundred people behind me shuffle, darkening scowls pasted on their faces. I should step back and let them ahead of me. That s what a caring person would do. But it seems that every joint freezes in this bizarre fright, my thoughts submerged in dread. A slave! snarls one long-nosed boy of my age, Isn t your presence supposed to be bad luck? It s bad luck for you, you superstitious fool. My†¦show more content†¦They each wear different expressions, casting auras of gloom, excitement, and thoughtfulness. A few iron bands glint throughout the crowd like dull beacons. So I am not the only slave on this train. I am not alone. The pained groaning of metal screeches in my ear, rattling me from this pensive state. The train door has closed. There is no turning back. Erik has tilted his chin away from the window, his bold gaze fixated upon the reflection of the rising sun. His younger sister still waves tirelessly with both hands. Attention, blows a susurrating voice through the air tunnels. According to last year s census, there should be one thousand eighty-nine on this train. That is, if none of you have died or otherwise perished within the last year. The overseers within each car will conduct a brief recount, for security purposes. The voice fades away, leaving nothing but metallic echoes. The two overseers of our car, wearing distinctive washed-out gray uniforms, saunter down the rows of seats, collecting names and head counts. They re efficient, I note, observing the determined gleam in their eyes. They have to be, Erik responds, They re on an intensely tight schedule. Names and ages, rasps the older overseer, reaching for a thin graphite pencil. Erik is the first to speak. My name is Erik Fluellen, and this is Schalane Warren. She s a slave of my family. We re both thirteen. The overseer nodsShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Amrhein, Lexie Sr Flavio s Home 935 Words   |  4 Pages(1996). The piece below is a description essay of one of his most touching photographs that he took in 1990 of a poor boy in Rio de Janeiro. Summary â€Å"I’ve never lost my fierce grudge against poverty. It is the most savage of all human afflictions, claiming victims who can’t mobilize their efforts against it, who often lack strength to digest what little food they scrounge up to survive† (1). In â€Å"Flavio’s Home,† the author gives his readers a descriptive visual of what life is like on the Rio deRead More Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass Essay1390 Words   |  6 PagesMartin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Letter from Birmingham Jail, and FREDERICK DOUGLASS From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readingsRead MoreThe American Author Review Assignment1391 Words   |  6 Pagesdehumanizing effects of slavery and the African Americans who were oppressed by their slave owners. He delves into the minds and everyday lives of men and women who are close to the time in history where they are being accepted as equal in society and accepting personal growth. Name at least two (2) other literary works (Novels, short stories, poems, or drama) by this author: 1. Mozart and Lead belly (short stories and essays) 2005 2. Bloodline (short stories) 1968 Write a brief a biographical sketchRead MoreDouglass s Narrative Of Slavery Essay1236 Words   |  5 PagesIn the Narrative, Douglass shows slave holding to be harmful to the slaves themselves, as well as to slave proprietors also. The degenerate and reckless force that slave proprietors appreciate over their slaves has an unfavorable impact on the slave proprietors own mental health. In the narrative, Douglass finishes his general delineation of servitude as unnatural for all included. Throughout the span of the Narrative, Douglass adds to a qualification between genuine Christianity and false ChristianityRead More Compare and contrast the ways In which Grace Nichols represents The1032 Words   |  5 Pagesways like I coming back is about getting revenge and sugar cane is about the suffering of slaves. The styles of the poems are different from each other. This essay will try to explore these poems similarities and differences. The two poems content is different but their subject is the same. The subject is about slavery but they are written in different ways. I coming back is about a slave woman who wants to take revenge on her master while she is living and, when she Is dead by theRead More ?An Interpretation of Paul Laurence Dunbar?s Poem Sympathy and We Wear the Mask?1194 Words   |  5 Pagescondition of African Americans in America was Paul Laurence Dunbar. Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the most prolific poets of his time. Paul Laurence Dunbar used vivid, descriptive and symbolic language to portray images in his poetry of the senseless prejudices and racism that African Americans faced in America. Throughout this essay I will discuss, describe and interpret Sympathy and We Wear the Mask. Both Sympathy and We Wear the Mask were written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ToRead MoreAn Interpretation of Paul Laurence Dunbars Poem Sympathy and We Wear the Mask1228 Words   |  5 Pagescondition of African Americans in America was Paul Laurence Dunbar. Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the most prolific poets of his time. Paul Laurence Dunbar used vivid, descriptive and symbolic language to portray images in his poetry of the senseless prejudices and racism that African Americans faced in America. Throughout this essay I will discuss, describe and interpret Sympathy and We Wear the Mask. Both Sympathy and We Wear the Mask were written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. To begin with, the poemRead MoreThe Revolution Of Texas Revolution1550 Words   |  7 PagesEssay on Texas Revolution Texas Revolution, a rebellion in late 1835 and early 1836 by residents of Texas, then a part of northern Mexico, against the Mexican government and military. The rebellion led to the establishment of the independent Republic of Texas. The short-lived republic was annexed by the United States as a state in 1845. These events were among the causes of the Mexican War between the United States and Mexico, after which Mexico relinquished all claims to Texas and much of the present-dayRead MoreThe Devil of Tom Walker and Th775 Words   |  4 PagesIrving uses to show his love for America in his stories, he portrays some characters in the Devil and Tom Walker and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as greedy. Irving shows concern for America by placing stories in uniquely American moments. In this essay I will prove through passages and quotes from Irving#8217;s stories that he shows his love for America in his stories and portrays some characters as greedy in the two stories. The historical settings of these stories is made apparent by the useRead MoreNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Dialectical Journal1379 Words   |  6 Pagesbeyond plot to reflect on Douglass’s use of rhetoric to further his agenda. What is Douglass’s PURPOSE in the selected quote—what is his argument, his message, and how does his language help or hinder that purpose? Pretend the narrative is a giant essay with a group of specific arguments and then analyze it for its use of rhetoric. I am aware that the overall message is always going to be â€Å"slavery is wrong and should be abolished,† but what nuanced arguments does Douglass present within that same