Louisa May Alcott in My Contraband Essay Example

at the mercy of Marster Ned. Later, during the Fort Wagner attack in 1863; Master Ned confronts Robert during the war and kills him.

One of the characteristics of naturalism the author uses to criticize racism in this story is Greed. The author brings out Marster Ned’s greedy nature when Robert narrates his story to Miss Dane, I married her, all I could, Ma’am; it warn’t much, but we was true to one another till Marster Ned come home a year after an’ made hell fer both of us. He sent my old mother to be used up in his rice-swamp in Georgy; he found me with my pretty Lucy, an’ though young Miss cried, an’I prayed to him on my knees, an’ Lucy run away, he wouldn’t have no mercy; he brought her back, an’—took her, Ma’am (Alcott 766).

Master Ned, being a white and already being well placed economically and socially in the society than Robert, still took from Robert the only thing he had and loved: his wife Lucy. Master Ned did this wicked act because Robert was Black. He could not have done this to another white guy. This act of Master Ned portrays how much he wanted everything for himself, irrespective of the fact that Lucy did not want and love him, it did not matter to him. Marster Ned is just a representative of the world today and how people want everything for themselves.

All he cared about was his interest and satisfaction. Apart from being greedy, he was also brutal. The author also uses Brute Beast to condemn racism. By portraying Marster Ned as a

villainous and physically abusive character the author shows racism at its most extreme. In the story, one will realize that the protagonist had a baby with his wife Lucy who was not found. “I never saw my baby, Missis” (Alcott 769) said Robert to Miss Dane. When Robert mentioned about his missing baby to Miss Dane her eyes were full of tears, till she could no longer see (Alcott 769).

She did not know that this was the tragedy that Robert had gone through at the mercy of Master Ned. Robert goes further to tell Miss Dane “They whipped me till I couldn’t stand, an’ they sold me further to the south. Yer thought I was a white man once, -- look here” (Alcott 766). He tore his clothes and showed the narrator his back, it was horrible.

This is a sign that marster Ned was brutal and wicked. Later, Miss Dane made an inquiry about Lucy from the captain; “’Captain Fairfax, where is Lucy? ’, ‘Dead, Miss Dane. ‘And she killed herself when you sold bob? ’ ‘How the devil did you know that? ’ he muttered, with an expression half remorseful. 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 “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, but never one so attractive as this.

All colored men are called ‘boys,’ even if their heads are white; this boy was five-and-twenty at least, strong-limbed and manly, and had the look of one who never had been cowed by abuse or worn with oppressive labor”(Alcott 760). Our narrator expresses how attracted she was towards the Contraband. She still continues in another portion of our text “I was soon back at my post again, anxiously hoping that my contraband had not been too hastily spirited away. ”(Alcott 768). Here she calls him “my contraband”, she has taken possession of Robert; he became hers.