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Essay / The best statement of Alcott's larger purpose
I believe the best statement of Alcott's larger purpose in telling this story was to show readers the power of faith and to demonstrate that black were just as human as white people. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The first place I think Alcott introduced the idea of "cohabitation" between man and slave was at the beginning of the story, on page 1251. Nurse Dane comes to enter the room where Master Ned and Robert were, and she admired how handsome Robert looked. She was so captivated by his physical features that she admired him as a man and not as a slave. However, she explains that after touching his shoulder, “the man disappeared and the slave appeared”. I think it was the first time humanizing qualities were applied to a black man. A more important place in the story where I think Alcott does a great job of broadcasting that black people deserved to be treated and seen as human was at the bottom of page 1260, beginning with "The future must show... ". Here, Alcott explained the importance of the Fifty-fourth Regiment and stated that although the Battle of Fort Wagner was a failure, "the manhood of the colored race" was seen for the first time. This sentence was so powerful for me because in the other passages we read this semester regarding slavery and race, African Americans were always dehumanized. Forced to eat on the ground with the animals, compared to being a perfect companion for an orangutan, etc. Yet it is to exclaim that "eyes that will not see" and "ears that will not hear" saw and heard this proclamation that black people were indeed human beings and deserved to be treated in this way. This short passage reminded me of the words of Amazing Grace, which brings me to the discussion of faith. The idea and power of faith – believing and trusting in someone or something that perhaps cannot even be seen – is scattered throughout this story. The first place I want to emphasize the power of faith is at the end of the last paragraph above where I mentioned “amazing grace.” Imagine the confirmation of the faith of African Americans, witnessing the little acceptance of them being considered human beings for the first time. The people in this scene were specifically compared to people who could not "see" what was "seeing." If you remember correctly, it sounds a lot like the Amazing Grace lyric "I was blind but now I see." For me, a parallel can be drawn here with the providence of something that has the power to restore sight to the blind, and I believe that God played a monumental role in this action. Another example of the power of faith is the scene where Nurse Dane tries to convince Robert not to kill Master Ned (bottom of page 1258). When Robert questions Nurse Dane about the Lord giving him back his Lucy, and she states, "As surely as...", you can see two things happening here. First, you can see the power of Nurse Dane's faith: no matter what or what happens to Lucy here on Earth, she believes that Lucy and Robert will be together in the "beautiful afterlife." Second, you can see the power of faith in the work passed from Lucy to Robert. After this interaction, Robert fell to his knees, and even though he was "like a blind man who believes in the sun but cannot see it", Robert believed what Nurse Dane was saying and let go of his brother's throat . The comment about the blind man and the sun is a.