PLANTATION LIFE IN SOUTHERN AMERICA (DESIREE’S BABY BY KATE CHOPIN)
According
to cambridge dicitionary, plantation means a large farm, especially in a hot
part of the world, on which a particular type of crop is grown, an area where
trees are grown for wood. Plantation was a significant aspect of the history of
the American South, especially before American Civil War era. The gentle
subtropical climate and abundant raindrops allowed these plantations to grow,
where workers, usually Africans, became slave labors and took part in
agricultural production. There are several cities where plantations could grow
in Southern America, for instance: Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Louisiana and
Mississippi. In Desiree’s baby, the word plantation is mentioned in sentence “The
prevailing belief was that she had been purposely left by a party of Texans,
whose canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had crossed the ferry that Coton
Mais kept, just below the plantation.” So here is how is like living in
plantation life (according to this short story).
Plantation
life created a society with clear class divisions. A lucky few were at the top,
with land holdings as far as the eyes could see. Most Southerners did not
experience this degree of wealth. The contrast between rich and poor was
greater in the South than in the other English colonies, because of the labor
system necessary for its survival. Most Southeners were farmers, indentured
servants, or slaves. The Plantation system also created changes for women and
family structured as well. In the third paragraph of this short story told us
about Monsieur Valmonde who met Desiree, who was an abandoned child, for the
first time when she was in riding through the gateway of Valmonde just below
the plantation, as mentioned above, the region in US where we could find the
plantation is only in Southern American, it means that Desiree had the
connection between this plantation and why was she abandoned. So, Desiree was
found in the big stone pillar just below that plantation by Monsieur Valmonde.
For
slaves, life on the plantation was grueling work, with little respite from the
tyranny of the master or overseer’s watchful eyes. Depending on their size,
plantations comprised a multitude of buildings: the homes of the master’s
family, overseer, and slaves, as well as outbuildings, barns, and workshops. Large
plantations operated like self-sustaining villages and thus, were often
isolated from the outside world.
Working
on these plantations was never-ending for slaves. Adult male slaves were
primarily relied on to tend the fields, pastures, and gardens. Overseers on
horseback equipped with whips monitored slaves, always threatening to punish “stragglers”with
a flogging. Plantation owners also exploited the work of skilled slaves, such
as blacksmiths and carpenters, for their own ends. Lastly, female slaves and
young children usually served as domestics, tending to the master’s family as
cooks, servants, and housemaids, and were often starved, whipped, and even
raped. So, when Desiree’s baby was upon Madame Valmonde’s arms, then fanning
the baby, Madame Valmonde exclaimed that the baby was not Desiree’s, why?
Because she looked at the baby’s skin, it has black one. Then, Desiree told her
mom about the baby has grown, until Zandrine had to cut his finger-nails, the
real finger-nails. And when the baby cries, is deafening, that proves the baby
has grown, has changed. And when her mother asked her about what did Arman say,
Desiree said "he hasn't punished one of them--not one of them--since baby
is born. Even Negrillon, who pretended to have burnt his leg that he might rest
from work--he only laughed, and said Negrillon was a great scamp. oh, mamma,
I'm so happy; it frightens me." Why did she say “it frightens me”? Because
she believes that every child that is grown with black skin, they could be
killed or eliminated from society, or they could become slaves, and she was
afraid that it could happen to her son, she was afraid that her son will be
experiencing plantation life.
Living
in plantation life, people barely use money. It was rarely used in the Southern
Colonies. Instead, crops were traded. Crop buyers traveled up and down southern
waterways with their boats filled with british made goods. Planters would trade
their tobacco, rice, and indigo for shoes, lace, thread, farm tools and dishes.
Very large plantations did not sell their own crops. Planters of very large
plantations sold their crops through a broker in Britain. A broker is a person
who is paid to buy and sell for someone else. Planters sent their crops to
Britain with a list of things they wanted the broker to buy for them. The broker
sold the crops, bought what the planter wanted, and then sent the goods back to
the colonies.
In brief, plantation has been the
greatest effect for Southern America. There are several plantations that could
grow, they are cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, corn and wheat flour. Those
plantations usually were made by the Africans, and they were watched by
the-white-skin who rode horses while brought guns to control the slaves. There
were no beds given to the slaves, all they can do is never-ending workings
which they were watched by them, the watchful eyes.
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