The Conjure Woman by Charles Chestnutt is a frame story, telling a story within a story and incorporating valuable information about traditional African fetishism practiced by slaves against their masters slaves. Fetishism or voodoo constitutes a source of empowerment and thus gives slaves a feeling of mastery over their cruel masters. John assumes that the black magic that slaves practiced was ancient and meaningless and therefore powerless. However, he gets the opportunity to see how traditional black doctors could heal a wound or remove a spell. John determines that the slave's medicine was "the powers of darkness" and classified Christianity as the "powers of light". (Châtaigne 2008). The dichotomy of characterizing slaves as black, darkness, or evil and white as light and good is a language pattern that John perpetuates in his story. However, old Uncle Julius proves him wrong by demonstrating that it is the slaves who overcome the darkness of slavery through the use of their voodoo. John assumes that black people are inferior to him “because we like to talk about the low morality of inferior races” (Chesnutt 2008). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The text contains common racial assumptions and stereotypes of black people at the time, which marginalized them. For example, after being introduced to a black boy, John states that his “first impression of Tom turned out to be correct. He turned out to be very insignificant and I was very annoyed by his laziness, carelessness and lack of responsibility. (Chesnutt 2008). However, in Mars Jeems Nightmare, the coin is tossed and it is white who understands life on the other side of the fence. Mars Jeems suffers from the cruelty of the slave owner who usually called the slaves lazy because it seemed like the work was not being done quickly enough. The story's own narrator, Uncle Julius, was not lazy because he was part of the lineage of plantation slaves, a “field worker” (Chesnutt 2008); therefore, this image of the lazy and carefree black person must be abolished. John observes that blacks “find relics of ancestral barbarism among all peoples, but advanced civilization has at least shaken off the more obvious absurdities of superstition. We no longer attribute madness to demonic possession” (Chesnutt 2008). Here he relegates Afrocentric religion to a vain and useless superstition which testifies to a barbaric people. In John's relationship with Uncle Julius, the former is condescending and although treats him better than the typical black man, he still has these preconceived notions that the black race is uneducated and inferior to the standards of American society . The effectiveness of superstition is highlighted in the Nightmare of Mars Jeem where the master was rewarded for his treatment of his slaves. Uncle Julius, the storyteller “never regretted the Arcadian joy and irresponsibility that was a somewhat popular conception of slavery.” (Châtaigne 2008). During the era of slavery, this period was generally thought to be a time of carefree joys, pleasures, and nostalgic delights, as slaves profited from the oppression of their white masters. Julius set out to crush this theory by painting graphic images of cruelty, exploitation and dehumanization. The figure of the black minstrel began to rise where blackness was primitive and comical. Black Minstrelsy gave the Negro the stage, literally and figuratively, to communicate joy and sorrow,humor and pathos, jokes and criticism. The minstrel was often depicted smiling, playing the drum or singing, always indifferent to his suffering. Uncle Julius's oral history nevertheless also gives the Negro the literary power to express himself when education was denied to him. The narrative is relayed in a simple dialect that speaks to the narrator's lack of formal education, but the simple language betrays a depth that even John must admit: being black is not the same as being unlearned or uneducated. It is because of John that the story of Uncle Julius survives and is immortalized for future generations. The question of motherhood is central in the novel The Conjure Woman. In fact, motherhood occupies a primordial place in Voodoo and African paganism, modeled on Mami Wata, the mother goddess of the waters and mother of nature-earth. Mami Wata is a charming, beautiful, seductive and serpentine woman who deceives and betrays a lot. Painted primarily as a mermaid, she jealously rules over other water spirits. Because of her maternal attributes, her petitioners seek her protection, education, wisdom, and wealth. The main mother characters depicted in these novels are the tragic slave mother, the grieving children, and the institution of slavery that orchestrates the separation of the family. Slavery had both a negative and positive impact on African Americans and the family structure. Although family ties survived during slavery, they remain fragile in the African American community. WEB Du Bois attributes this trend to slave owners who, whenever they decided to sell slaves, separated families and suppressed uprisings within households and plantations. Through the family, white slave owners had the ability to classify slaves since babies born into slavery had to take the status of the mother. Chesnutt's "Po' Sandy" and "Sis' Becky's Pickaninny" come together in a theme dealing with black family separation. However, it is conspiracy that comes to the rescue to maintain the unity of the family. The slave mother was to be pitied since she had to face the peril of eternal separation from her children at the whim of her slave master. The separation took place in such a way that it became almost impossible for families to reunite. Jacobs explains that “for the slave mother, New Year’s Day was accompanied by special sorrows.” She sits on the cold cabin floor and looks at the children who could all be taken from her in the morning” (Jacobs 2003). The classic song “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, far from home” rings true in these slaves. because there is this period of homelessness, displacement and longing for a love that is usually the first one encounters after birth. The slave children all feel disconnected and, in one way or another, hope and seek that compassion and tenderness that characterizes a mother. During the era of slavery, not only were slave children ripped from their mothers' wombs (literally and figuratively), but sometimes mothers never lived to see the growth and development of their child. At other times, in the case of Mag Smith in Our Nig, the mother chooses to give her child up for adoption given her incompetence in providing care. Similar to The Conjure Woman, The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a mother figure, the grandmother, takes over and fills the void created when Harriet Jacob's mother dies in her early years. It is worth noting here that the name “Harriet” means “she who rules the house”. However, as soon as slavery is abolished, the first priority will be to find his missing mother, 2003.