Am I Not a Man and a Brother?

As a creative writing project for my history class I was given four prompts that I must write about. If any content of the story offends anyone please know that I only write this for an assingment. I do not mean to offend anyone and if I do I apologize.

In these stories Minny is the daughter, her older brother is Albert, and their father Tom. The mother is mentioned but never given a diary entry.

The following are the prompts...

1. You are a slave and have been working day in and day out for 15 years. Your family works with you and you have hope of someday earning your freedom because your owner tells you he will grant you and your family freedom after 20 years of “service”. What do you do to cope with your situation? How do you deal with the tough conditions for five more years? What is your “light at the end of the tunnel?” In other words, what motivates you to keep working?

2. You are a slave and have endured the harshest of conditions from your owner. Describe these conditions and then explain how you choose to cope with your situation.

3. You are a slave that has heard of a pending rebellion led by Nat Turner. You must make a decision as to whether or not you join the effort. It is the night before you need to make a decision. What do you decide?

4. You are a slave who has spent the last 10 years on the same plantation with your family. You meet on Sundays to worship and come together as a community. One day, because of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, your owner decides to split your family up, not allow you to worship on Sundays, and requires ever more work from you every day. What would you write in your diary after hearing the news of the new treatment and conditions?

~Hailey