Journal 6

One of the elements in the last two readings changed the way I think of the history of American slavery. Since the first time I took a history class in school, I have been taught and told about the tragedies of slavery and how it affected (and still affects) African Americans in our country. However, I have never thought about the way it affected White people in our country. These readings opened my eyes to much of the suffering of female slaves, but in this entry, I want to discuss the way it opened my eyes to the White Americans who were caught between two cultures.
In Jacobs' piece, One of the characters who fits the role of a person struggling between Blacks and Whites is Mrs. Bruce. She is a character who supported the efforts of African American slaves, and she was the one who eventually freed Jacobs. On page 791, when she says, "I should, at least, have the satisfaction of knowing that you left me a free woman," it shows that she was more than just Jacobs' slaveholder. She was her friend. She saw Jacobs and her children as people, not just as pieces of property. At a time in American history when so many wealthy White people depended on slaves to carry out their hard work, Mrs. Bruce was one of the people who went against the beliefs of many of her fellow White Americans and did what she thought was right. From this, I also assume that she fought for more than one cause at the time.
In "The Quadroons," Edward is the character who was conflicted by the cultural and ethnic gap between him, his true love and his daughter. Edward, unlike Mrs. Bruce, wasn't strong enough to break down that barrier. Even after he realized his mistake when Rosalie died, he didn't bring his daughter to his level in society. He tried to make her life more comfortable, but in the end his regrets for not staying with Rosalie got the better of him.