Louisa May Alcott in My Contraband Essay - 1725 Words

Louisa May Alcott in My Contraband Louisa May Alcott is an American Novelist best known as the author of the novel â€Å"Little Women†. Louisa was born in November 1982, grew up in Germantown- Washington D.C and was known to be an abolitionist, feminist and also a naturalist. Being a naturalist meant that she believed that nothing existed beyond the natural earth i.e. no such thing as spirituality or the supernatural. Her family suffered from financial difficulties and so Alcott had to work to support her family in an early age. She penned the story â€Å"My Contraband† (1869) which was formerly known as â€Å"The Brothers† (1863). Contraband was a black slave who escaped to or was brought within union lines (Alcott 759). In â€Å"My Contraband†, Louisa†¦show more content†¦Half amazed; but I was satisfied, and said no more† (Alcott 769). The sad thing is he took Lucy away forcefully, but not because he loved her, he just wanted to be wicked to Robert. From every indication he did not need her or love her, but all he was interested in was destroying Robert’s life. More to that, there is one last wicked act Marster Ned commits at the end of the story: Robert’s friend narrates to Miss Dane how Robert died, he said Marster Ned and Robert went at each other at the war front and he saw Marster Ned get the sword straight through Robert (Alcott 771). From the quotes above, one can deduce that Marster Ned was a forceful and brutal beast. He did not care or have feelings for how the other party felt. This kind of treatment despite being horrible and brutal, depicts the actual social treatment towards minorities. Apart from just the antagonist’s behaviors, there is much passion in the text. Another characteristic the author uses to portray the racial discrimination during this era was Passion. The author uses passion to show that despite the treatment towards Robert he was no less of a human. Passion was as evident throughout our text as our narrator narrates both on her side and Robert’s. From her words â€Å"Feeling decidedly more interest in the black man than in the white, I glanced furtively at him as I scattered chloride of lime. I had seen much contraband, butShow MoreRelated`` My Contraband `` By Louisa May Alcott1850 Words   |  8 PagesLouisa May Alcott’s â€Å"My Contraband† explores the controversial aspects of gender roles, interracial relationships, sexual desires, and political imagination during the climax of the American Civil War. Alcott’s viewpoint and argument is framed by utilizing main characters that would have been considered stereotypically inferior peoples at the time: Faith Dane (a female nurse) and Robert (a mixed â€Å"mulatto† and freed slave). The author daringly challenges views held by a majority of the U.S. populationRead MoreLittle Women, By Louisa May Alcott866 Words   |  4 PagesLouisa May Alcott was born and raised in Massachusetts from a financially struggling family, which will soon change due to Louisa’s writing talents. Louisa was homeschooled the majority of her childhood, which sparked her writing career. Many of her life experiences influenced her writing but the main one, that got her started, was her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, a philosopher and teacher. As she grew older, she befriended abolitionists, she soon becomes a part of, which greatly influence her laterRead MoreWomen Of The Civil War1329 Words   |  6 Pageshardships. Women were forced to continue their work load while taking on the responsibilities of husbands, fathers, and sons. Union troops often took the male slaves leaving women and children to fend for themselves. Many were f orced to live in â€Å"contraband camps† that were overly crowded. Shelter was not sufficient, needed supplies were not available, and abuse was often experienced from the soldiers. Women and children were often given the opportunity to learn to read and write. In addition, schools