Journal 10: The Realization

 In Harper’s poem, “Learning to Read” and Chesnutt’s story, “The Wife of His Youth”, there is a sense of astonishment.  As one is narrated by a black woman and another by a black man, it is evident that this is their point of view, which made it so much more real to me.  In these two readings, it is evident of just how imprisoning slavery was toward women.  

     Harper’s poem speaks of a girl named Chloe, who is now an elderly woman speaking of her life in slavery.  Even though she was a slave, society was starting to open up to the idea of schools for African Americans.  Chloe spoke of how “the Rebs did hate it” (line 3).  Throughout the poem, I felt this sense of pity and despair for Chloe, since she was robbed of some of the simple joys in life, for example, reading her Bible.  She desired to so badly, but as she says in the poem, “But when I begun to learn it, Folks just shook their heads” (lines 31-32).  What a shame and discomforting thought it is that blacks were not even allowed to read their own Bibles!  Most slave holders called themselves “Christians”, so it is unfathomable to me how Christians would not want their brothers and sisters to know about the Lord.  Religion was not so much involved in the next story as was love.

     Chesnutt’s story, “The Wife of His Youth” was very predictable.  Once the little old black lady had left his porch and Mr. Ryder, “...stood for a long time before the mirror of his dressing-case, gazing thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face” (59), I knew that she had, unbeknownst to her, found her long lost husband.  I was disgusted at the fact that Mr. Ryder never once looked for her, or never appeared interested, and that he had never, “wish[ed] to change his condition to that of a married man” (56).  This woman was in deep agony over her lost lover, and Mr. Ryder never seemed to blink an eye.  

     Through these readings, I have seen how badly women were treated during slavery through the lack of promises and the revocation of the right to learn.  It makes me disgusted at the men of this time and I pity the many righteous, innocent women of this era.