Victoria MendezClass Period: 5th

Context CluesWord Sentence Correct

Dictionary Definition

Sole To be considered not human, but a “thing” that plowed the fields, cut the wood, cooked the food, nursed another’s child; a “thing” whose sole function was determined by the one who owned you.

Alone; one and only

Provisions If you need provisions or chattel, get the money and buy them.

Stock of need materials

Furrow The plough passes as near as possible to the cotton on both sides, throwing the furrow from it.

Plowed lands; fields

Commences In two weeks more, commences the second hoeing.

To have beginning; start

Insubordination Divided counsels and signs of insubordination began to manifest themselves.

Disobedient to authority

Text PurposeThe author wrote this book to inform and

describe slavery . Julius Lester includes interviews and thoughts of slaves and people who witnessed slavery. The author also records his own thoughts towards slavery in the book. The author’s intended audience is teachers and students because this book can be used in lessons and essays for school.

Text StructureCompare and Contrast since the signal words

are although, however, but, also.Sequence because the author uses dates and

signal words before, after and finally.The text structure affects me by knowing

when slavery took place and by the author placing interviews and his own thoughts in this book.

Text Representation

Blacks:

1.Knew that they were individuals with their own minds.

2.Believed that God had other plans for them.

Whites:

1.Felt that slaves were owned “property”.

2.White owners believed that religious beliefs included that blacks should obey their masters.

Both had negative opinions about each other.

Both lived in fear. The slave owner feared that at any moment his slaves might try to kill him. The slaves feared the owners mistreatment.

Author’s Perspective/Point of ViewSubject Author’s

FeelingsText Evidence

Slavery Author seems to wonder a lot about slavery by including his thoughts and making a book about slavery.

If the author includes information and interviews focusing on slavery then the author most likely used the information to prove his thoughts in the book.

Main IdeaParagraphs Main Idea

Beginning-Page #28 The author explains how it must of felt to be a slave, to be sold and to be recognized as a “thing” and not a human being.

Middle-Page #60-61 Julius Lester explains the plantations, the owners home, and the slaves’ cabins.

End-Page #136-137 The author explains how slaves felt when they didn’t believe that the war was over and that they were finally free.

Supporting DetailsDetails Page # CommentsThe plantation. It was a large white mansion, with fluted columns and a broad porch; massive trees spread their limbs over a circular driveway which led up to the house.

Page 59 Julius Lester included these details about plantations so the reader would understand what it was. If the details were not included, most readers would not understand the author.

Scattered about the plantations were various barns and sheds where animals, tools, and the harvested crops were stored.

Page 60 Julius Lester included this to let the reader understand what the plantations were for and what was there, but if the author didn’t have these details then the reader wouldn’t fully understand what plantations are.

The plantation. It was like a country unto itself, and within its confines, large or small, life was generally the same for the slave.

Page 65 The author explains what the plantations were like and if the author omitted the details, the reader wouldn’t connect to what the author is saying.

Draw InferencesWhat the Book Says Conclusions DrawnSituation: Slaves are named after their owner’s last or first name.

Character Actions: Slaves can feel insulted or feel like objects by not having their own real name.

Slaves may end up being sold to other slave owners which will result in a new name for each slave.

Situation: Slave owners would control each of the slave’s religion and the only preaching the slaves would hear are the ones that are approve d of the owner. The preaching the slaves would hear is to be obedient and believe that God wanted them to be slaves.

Character Actions: The slaves were brain washed and unhappy with the religion chosen by their owner.

Slaves would question about a white man’s religion and slaves would relate to Jesus suffering to their suffering.

Compare-Contrast

Title: Slavery During the Civil War (Buzzle.com )

1. Written as an article.

2. Not written in a journal format and doesn’t include interviews.

3. No dialogue.

4. Organized with titles and paragraphs.

Title: To be a SLAVE

1.Written as a book.

2. Written with interviews and in a journal format.

3. Includes dialogue.

4. Organized with chapters.

Both:

1. Article and book have to do with slavery.

2. The article and book are informative about slavery.

3. Taken place in the same time.

FactsFacts Page # Comments

Slave owners sold their slaves for personal or business reasons and to also save themselves from debt.

Page 39 Explains the life of slaves and why they were moved from one owner to another.

Because slaves were considered property they were ordered to do things not related to their work such as stealing.

Page 37 The author describes what slaves would do for their owners.

Slaves were often whipped, lashed, and tortured.

Page 36 Describes the hardships and punishments slaves endured.

A tool used by slaves to resist the brutality of slavery was music.

Page 111 The slaves sang for dancing and to ease the burden of work.

Laws were made governing every aspect of a slave’s life, giving the slave no legal rights and the slave owner all.

Page 102 These laws gave the slave owners control over the bodies of their “property”, but the slave’s mind remained in his possession.

OpinionsOpinions Page # Comments“The Native Africans are revengeful and unforgiving …only want power to inflict the most cruel retribution upon their oppressors.”

Page 88 Because African natives were forced into slavery they felt indignant.

Native Africans were more fortunate than American-born slaves because they had former lives.

Page 87 American- born slaves were born into slavery, lived in slavery, and died in slavery while the native knew something else besides slavery.

“For the slave, it was only considered stealing if you took something from a fellow slave. To take from ..the owner was in actuality yours.”

Page 102 This statement is an opinion and implies all slaves think alike.

“To be a slave, to be owned by another person…to be considered not human but a “thing” whose sole function was determined by the one who owned you.”

Page 28 To the slave owners, the slaves were owned property.

“They were like children and slavery was actually a benefit to them….”

Page 29 Whites felt that slavery benefited black people .

Reading Response On page 40, a woman had newborn babies that she wasn’t able to keep because, her owner

would sell them for money. She had seven children and on one occasion she chose to kill her fourth child than to lose him to a sale. I felt very sorry for the woman because its devastating and heart-breaking for a mother to give up her children perhaps never to see them again. This story was very touching and sad and made me realize the many difficulties slaves endured.

On page 42, the selling of slaves was inhuman especially when the slave owners did not even tell a slave that he was going to be sold. Mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters were many times sold without warning . I think that it was very cruel for families to be torn apart often times without being able to say goodbye such as in the case of a girl name Lucy whose new owner did not allow her to say bye to her child, husband and family. I would be devastated if I had to be forced to be away from my family

Page 53 describes how the slave coffles were sometimes such torturous experiences that many slaves died on route. It was very sad to read about the story that described how a mother was shot by her owner because she was unable to walk any further since her feet were raw and bleeding from walkng barefooted in the snow. The heartless slave owner was so cruel he left her there and didn’t even bury her. It is very difficult to imagine how much pain and suffering the slaves had to endure. It made me sad to hear this story about how this mother was killed in front of her family.