A Mercy Paragraph Analysis

The imagery shown in the paragraph on page 51, “Mistress couldn’t keep a smile off her face.” the reason it is imagery is because we are able to see the reason as she has a smile from cheek to cheek, Sir was home building a new house and not going and business trips and trading around the world. The literary device used in the paragraph is a simile caused by the way Mistress felt, “she was happy, cooking as though it were harvest time.” Values are the most important views to slave owners, “… especially successful business arrangement he bragged about.” Europeans bragged about all their accomplishments and it made them feel higher than everyone else. The characterizations of everyone including Jacob were cheerful and happy, the slaves were happy because their owner was back and Jacob was happy to start to build his third house he saw on his voyage. The word choices in the paragraph, one is doomed “Not with the birth of his doomed sons, nor with his pleasure in his daughter…” the word boomed is representing the future of any other deaths of his children to come while if the word death was used it only shared the present time of the deaths another word was kill, “… but when he decided to kill the trees and replace them with a profane monument to himself…” the word kill shows how he is only clearing the space and not using what the trees can provide, firewood that provides warmth.

The imagery shown in the paragraph on pages 63 to 64, " They would forever fence land, ship whole trees to far away countries, take any women for quick pleasure, ruin soil, befoul sacred places and worship a dull, unimaginative god." this quote shows how the Europeans were ruthless. the same literary device was used in this paragraph was a simile, " They would come with languages that sound like dog bark..." different languages sound strange to our ears. The value is the prophecy, it means that the future can be seen by our choices. The characterization of European men were ruthlessness, "They would forever fence land, ship whole trees to far away countries, take any women for quick pleasure, ruin soil, befoul sacred places and worship a dull, unimaginative god." some of the things they did was inhumane. The word choice chosen in this paragraph are chew up, "It was their destiny to chew up the world and spit out a horribleness that would destroy all primary peoples."chew up shows more destruction while if the words were substituted by one simple word ruin it wouldn't mean as much. 

        

Short Answers Questions

1- Equiano's account of his journey to the New World is quite similar to the narrative of William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation because of the why it is written, the way they saw the tragic things happening on the way to land but, yet in the ocean. In both texts they would worried about what was going to happen to them as soon as they laid one foot on the new land, on page 175 in the story The Life Of Olaudan Equiano when the children all start to shed bitter cries about how the whites were going to eat them, implying that they believed in cannibalism. Also, in the narrative story Of Plymouth Plantation the Europeans feared as they reached and set foot on the new land they would not find food, die of harsh diseases, or when they set eyes on the Natives and worry if they were barbaric. They both also feared of dying and not being able to be buried properly. Equiano's account of his journey to the New World is quite similar to the narrative of William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation by what was proven on top.


2- The account for the attitude and behavior of the Europeans toward the Africans were nonhuman in better words uncivilized. All of the Europeans thought that Africans were animals but, truly they were actually the animals. For instance on the ship had the worst conditions any one could imagine, the Europeans had put tubs for the Africans to use for their bathroom needs, the stench also was horrific but, not the tubs but, the group itself, they would only take a bath one a week with the ocean water. Where the Africans were kept the air was very limited and if someone would turn they took a risk of suffocation but, some would just jump over board while the Europeans would throw some over board when the food had become limited, the Africans were feed once per day. The worst part for them were that they were all naked and on the worst weather conditions. The attitude and behavior of the Europeans toward the Africans were nonhuman and uncivilized.


3- Some slaves prefer death over slavery, while others do not. The ones who prefer to die over slavery would commit suicide by jumping over bored while those who didn't suicide and prefer to work as slaves because they had thought they would get better conditions as they work but, thought if they worked for a couple of years and get freed. Slaves that suicide knew that what was really going to happen prefer to die instead of being slaves. Some slaves prefer death over slavery, while others do not.