Overwhelming Freedom

Just by delving into his commonplace life as an African America in the mid eighteen-hundreds America, the reader becomes instantly introduced to the hardships that were associated with life in slavery. Unbeknownst to his own past, Booker T. Washington shares with us his lack of ancestry and how his family members were stripped of their human value when brought to America. Since basic human rights were stolen from slaves I felt the need to relate this piece back to Blade Runner, because the replicants’ sole purpose in “life” was to work and serve. As I continued to read, I was surprised at the lack of pessimism or angst that I would expect from a slave describing his life. What shocked me most was the relationship that some owners and slaves had with each other.
The beginning of this classic highlights the genuine kind personality of Booker T. Washington and his interaction with the world of slavery. I did not expect freedom to be such an intimidating experience for those who had been enslaved for so long. We constantly learn from the factual or historical point of view when discussing such issues as slavery, in which the fight for freedom seemed to be the only desire of slaves living in this time. I found it interesting how Booker T. Washington is allowing his readers to experience this revolutionary change through the eyes and minds of those it affected the most.

Against the "norm"

What interests me most as I read through The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker is the rapid development of the narrator. Readers are given the initial impression that this girl, or young woman, is basically naïve to the true meaning of the strike, and the dire consequences that come with being involved with a union. A union is never meant to be thought of as a game or as a fun event, but this young woman revels in the excitement and passion of the surrounding working women, without truly relating to the desperation that the majority of them face. As her experience with the union strike progresses, it affects the way she speaks about the situation, a passion seems to develop, and an attachment to those who need to be there, rather simply find the situation an interesting even to be a part of. Just as we see the maturity growth in this young woman, we see growth and change in the power or women in society. As we discussed in class, are women being pre-programmed for a life filled with days of raising children and completing routine household chores? The father proclaims his view by saying how he does not “think it’s a woman’s place to be hangin’ around street corners, fighting with rowdies and be taken to jail”(91-92). I like how the passionate response to her father’s words becomes symbolic of the entire women’s suffrage movement as she is maturing into her own sets of beliefs, away from predisposed ideas.