Some more thoughts from the ENG213ers, aggregated for your convenience.

Brayden:

The mindset that was fed into the young children who were slaves is very shocking. They were taught to think like they were lower than everyone else and they were the dirt below the white people’s feet. By creating this sense of inadequate being, the slaves felt as though they never stood a chance against a race that was “obviously much superior”.

Patty:

I have no idea what i would do if someone took me away from my country, pressured me to get rid of my human qualities, and made my work from dawn to dust. That doesn’t even cover what slaves like Issac Mason went through. What saddens me the most is to think that some slaves really did not do anything about it since they were so used to the conditions that they thought nothing could change.

Ryan (whose post you definitely should read, as it not only analyzes several quotes from different narratives, but also responds directly to what Ryan and Jon wrote about them as well–a great example of student blogging):

We often take for granted things that most slaves were deprived of, such as family and friends. After reading Isaac’s narrative, I also realized how bad it really was to form an alliance with a slave over escaping.

Kristina:

It’s hard to imagine not being able to stand up for a friend without being punished, or protect a family member from pain.  And then to have a wife/husband but not be garaunteed that he/she will be yours forever…any moment may be your last with the ones you love.  Slavery wasn’t only physical torture, but emotional as well, which makes it even worse.

Kristen:

  It seems like every year when we take American History, we spend a large amount of time studying slavery, since it’s such a big part of American history.  When we were younger, we just learned the basics, like that slaves escaped on the underground railroad, and they had to work in cotton fields.  Learning this didn’t really have an impact on me, partly because I was young, but also because I didn’t learn specific stories about how badly the slaves were treated, and get to know what it was really like to be a slave.