From: Anonymous Four
Date: 4/13/00
Time: 12:26:37 AM
Remote Name: 205.188.199.203
How do Harriet and Mary differ? Well the obviuos is that Harriet is black and Mary is white. These two women happen to be very interesting to me, becuase of the roles they played in plantantion life. Harriet was a black women who was enslaved. She was also a woman who taught herself to write, which I do not find strange at all. Many of the enslaved could read and write, but it was looked at as a no no because to have someone who is enslaved and be able to comprehend what is going on was not good thing in the eyes of the owner. Harriet was liked alot by her owner and it showed. Harriet got special treatment, such as no whippings, no death, and not being sold. Her Mistress really did not care for Harriet, becuase of the treatment she recieved. One of the kickers was that there was a rumor of her husbands activity with Harriet. Her husband was supposed to be having some type of sexual activity with Harriet. Harriet denied the accusations when confronted by her mistress. As a result her mistress put her through hell night and day, on top of the hell she suffered from her owner. Harriet saw plantation life as being terrible and her owner as being worst, for the wrong he had committed against her,and the stress of her mistress. Mary on the other hand is different because she saw plantation life from a different angle. She grew up being taken care of by black women, as Harriet was taking care of white children. She grew up attending different affairs at different plantations, commenting on how nice the servants looked in their white. She talked about how good they ate, and how she enjoyed riding her pony. Although she did mention how the relationship between the servant and the mistress was not a good relationship, and how she did not wish this upon anybody she loved. As you can see the lives of these two women was very different, but both saw many negative situations which I am sure have never gone away. I feel having these pieces of literature is truly amazing. It is not about who was better than who, or who got the best of plantaion life, it is about life, seen through two different eyes. And the fact that these women could write about it is also amazing. I would expect in these days for whites to read and write,but the fact that Harriet took it upon herself to learn is truly amazing for me. Because it shows that no matter what color, we are all capable of doing and leraning the same things. These eyes are telling their story.