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Was Thoreau dependent on the division of labor while he was living on Walden Pond? First of all, I would like to tell you who Thoreau was and what the division of labor was. His full name was Henry David Thoreau. According to Google, “Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, philosopher, and a leading transcendentalist.” “As a transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that reality existed only in the spiritual world, and the solution to people’s problems was the free development of emotions (“Transcendentalism”).” He is most known for his autobiography entitled “Walden”. It tells of his life living on Walden Pond. In his autobiography he wrote “I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.” He also wrote his purpose for going to live at Walden Pond. He wrote “My purpose in going to Walden Pond was not to live cheaply nor to live dearly there, but to transact some private business with the fewest obstacles; to be hindered from accomplishing which for want of a little common sense, a little enterprise and business talent, appeared not so sad as foolish.” He also said “I have thought that Walden Pond would be a good place for business, not solely on account of the railroad and the ice trade; it offers advantages which it may not be good policy to divulge; it is a good port and a good foundation.” Next, the division of labor. According to Google, the division of labor is “the assignment of different parts of a manufacturing process or task to different people in order to improve efficiency”.

So, back to the question, was Thoreau dependent on the division of labor while he was living on Walden Pond? The answer is, yes, he was. In the first quote from his book, he said that he built his house himself so he bought his things to build his house from a store. Now, all of the merchandise found in stores come from factories which use the division of labor. He also needed to buy food at the store which also uses the division of labor, just like the lumber he used to build his house. He also fished for some of his food and I think that he got his fishing gear from the store which also uses the division of labor. All stores use the division of labor. He said about fishing “At night there was never a traveler passed my house, or knocked at my door, more than if I were the first or last man; unless it were in the spring, when at long intervals some came from
the village to fish for pouts—they plainly fished much more in the Walden Pond of their own natures, and baited their hooks with darkness—but they soon retreated, usually with light baskets, and left “the world to darkness and to me,” and the black kernel of the night was never profaned by any human neighborhood.” He was a very interesting man.

How could I adopt Northup’s technique of using contrasts? First, I would like to tell you who Solomon Northup was. Solomon Northup was born as a free man in New York. While in New York he had a family. He was very proud to be a free man. But, he was soon robbed of his papers that showed that he was a free man and was soon sold into slavery. How did this happen? Well, he was a violinist so some men asked him if he wanted to be a part in a circus. Now, his family was on a trip at that time so when he said yes (because he did) he did not think that he had to write a note to leave at his house to tell his family where he was when they got back because he thought that he would be back before they got home. Now, it turned out that the people were the people that sold him into slavery! After he arrived at the designated spot where he was supposed to meet the men, the captured him, took his papers, and sold him into slavery. And when his family arrived home and noticed that he was missing they could not find him because he did not leave a note. He tried many times to convince his “master” that he was a free man, but how could he without his papers? And his “master” threatened him that if he spoke of being a free man again, he would beat him with a wipe very, very hard.

Northup’s contrasts were so good that it makes the reader want to read more of the book. One of the largest contrasts in the book was regarding the positive and the negative sanctions against the slaves (which I wrote about in an earlier essay). I am a big reader, so I should know. It just makes me want to read more. He also shared small stories which would later in the book grow into a bigger story. Like stories not just of himself, but of other slaves as well. Like the sad story of the slave Eliza. If you have read the book, than you must have thought that Northup wrote this book from memory, and you are right! Northup could not have written his autobiography while he was in slavery, so he wrote it when he got out of slavery, though it sounds like he wrote it while was in slavery. He must have had a great memory. Also, if he could not write his autobiography in slavery and he wrote his autobiography, that means that he must have gotten out of slavery!

Now back to the topic: How could I adopt Northup’s technique of using contrasts? I could observe for more contrasts I could adopt from movies, or books, or even from my own life. I could also note important events that took place in my life (also known as journaling). There are several different ways that I can adopt contrasts.

The differences between Northup’s response to separation from his children and Eliza’s response to separation from her children. Solomon Northup was born as a free man in New York. While in New York he had a family. He was very proud to be a free man. But, he was soon robbed of his papers that showed that he was a free man and was soon sold into slavery. How did this happen? Well, he was a violinist so some men asked him if he wanted to be a part in a circus. Now, his family was on a trip at that time so when he said yes (because he did) he did not think that he had to write a note to leave at his house to tell his family where he was when they got back because he thought that he would be back before they got home. Now, it turned out that the people were the people that sold him into slavery! After he arrived at the designated spot where he was supposed to meet the men, the captured him, took his papers, and sold him into slavery. And when his family arrived home and noticed that he was missing they could not find him because he did not leave a note. He tried many times to convince his “master” that he was a free man, but how could he without his papers? And his “master” threatened him that if he spoke of being a free man again, he would beat him with a wipe very, very hard.

While in slavery all Northup could think about was his children and family. He was devastated that he lost them. He explained in his autobiography “Up From Slavery” that he thought about his family every night while he was a slave. He was separated from his family for twelve long years.

One of the greatest fears of slavery is being separated from family. This is displayed through a young woman slave named Eliza and her two children Randall and Emily. Eliza loved her two children more than anything else in the world. She built them up and reassured them that their future was good and well. However, this family was soon broken. Soon Randall was sold. Eliza pleaded and begged the buy all three of them, how ever, he did not do so. Not long after another buyer bought Eliza, Northup, and Henry, who was a fellow slave. Eliza again pleaded and begged with the buyer to buy her and her daughter. Touched by her love for her family, the trader tried his very best to make a deal with the seller to buy Emily as well, However, the seller refused to sell Emily. Eliza never saw nor heard of her children ever again.

Slavery is a terrible thing. Families being separated from each other is a terrible consequence of slavery. I am so very happy that slavery is no more. Just take a minute and thank God for everything he has done to help abolish slavery.

Did Thompson provide persuasive evidence that South’s slave system was morally evil? First, I want to tell you who Thompson  really was. Thompson’s full name was John Thompson. He was born in 1812 on a plantation in Maryland as a slave. He grew up there with his family consisting of his mother, his father, and his six brothers and sisters. Also, even still at a young age, he experienced the very true act of slavery when his sister was sold and never seen again. Like his sister, it was not long after when he was separated from his family as well by being sold away.

Back then, slavery was very very wrong. According to Google, slavery means “the state of being a slave.” According to Google, a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.” That means that somebody owns another person (that person is the other person’s property) and forces him to do his bidding (work for him). The slave people were Black people. People captured these black people for slaves. I do not know why, but I think that it was just that either the whites were just evil evil men, or the whites captured the blacks because they thought that the blacks were ‘animals’. I mean, just because blacks have different skin color or they have different religious beliefs does not mean that they are of any less importance than the whites. As it says in Acts 17:25-28, “²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring”. People capturing people and forcing them to work as slaves when they have done nothing wrong is just wrong. The black African people have been peaceful for years. But then, Americans came in and captured the blacks and forced them to work as slaves. All men are created equal, and yet, the Americans were treating the Africans like animals. It is a miracle that slavery is now abolished (no more) to this day.

(As you may know, I copied a little of a recent paper into this paper. The paper I copied is titled “What was Thompson’s theory of the relationship between sanctions and slavery?”.) So, back to our topic, Did Thompson provide persuasive evidence that South’s slave system was morally evil? The answer is yes. He explains slaves getting wiped, not being able to learn, working hard all day and night, and so much more. He very much so persuaded me to answer that question as a yes.

What was Thompson’s theory of the relationship between sanctions and slavery? First of all, I want to tell you who Thompson was. Thompson’s full name was John Thompson. He was born in 1812 on a plantation in Maryland as a slave. He grew up there with his family consisting of his mother, his father, and his six brothers and sisters. Also, even still at a young age, he experienced the very true act of slavery when his sister was sold and never seen again. Like his sister, it was not long after when he was separated from his family as well by being sold away.

Back then, slavery was very very wrong. According to Google, slavery means “the state of being a slave.” According to Google, a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.” That means that somebody owns another person (that person is the other person’s property) and forces him to do his bidding (work for him). The slave people were Black people. People captured these black people for slaves. I do not know why, but I think that it was just that either the whites were just evil evil men, or the whites captured the blacks because they thought that the blacks were ‘animals’. I mean, just because blacks have different skin color or they have different religious beliefs does not mean that they are of any less importance than the whites. As it says in Acts 17:25-28, “²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring”. People capturing people and forcing them to work as slaves when they have done nothing wrong is just wrong. The black African people have been peaceful for years. But then, Americans came in and captured the blacks and forced them to work as slaves. All men are created equal, and yet, the Americans were treating the Africans like animals. It is a miracle that slavery is now abolished (no more) to this day.

“A sanction is a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule” According to Google. According to Dictionary.com, sanction means (as a noun because sanction can be a noun or a verb) “it is especially applied to situations in which one country’s government imposes economic sanctions on another to try to force it to comply with laws or certain expectations.” This means that if someone said “Do this or I will whip you.” That is a sanction. If you say something and threaten them that if they do not do it you will do something to harm them, that will motivate them to do it, right? That is how people made slaves work for them. Threaten them to do something or they will severely punish them. It worked for many slave owners, and some people still use it to this day, sadly.

So, back to the topic, what was Thompson’s theory of the relationship between sanctions and slavery? I believe that his theory was positive sanctions will receive a better result than negative sanctions.