Cruz, Jermaine Dale C.

AFRO-ASIAN LIETRATURE BS PSYCH 3-YB-1

Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles
Ball

On a tobacco farm in Calvert County, Maryland, Charles Ball was born. Although it is
unknown with certainty when he was born, the majority of experts concur that it was
somewhere in 1781. Ball never saw his mother or siblings again after they were sold to
another plantation when he was four. Ball stayed in Maryland and wed Judah, a slave on a
nearby farm, but they split apart when he was sold to a Georgian slave dealer. Ball had to
travel more than a month from Maryland to Columbia, South Carolina while being restrained
with 51 other slaves in chains, handcuffs, and neck irons. He was bought by the owner of a
cotton farm there, who then hired him to work for his younger daughter in Georgia. Ball was
left in the hands of his owner's sons after he passed away in 1809, and they were abhorrent in
their brutality. He journeyed from Georgia to Maryland for a year after escaping from the
slavery of seven years.

He went back to Maryland to be with his wife and kids, and on the suggestion of his
wife's owners, he contracted himself out for pay. Ball, a runaway slave, managed to avoid
detection for a considerable amount of time and save enough money to purchase a farm close
to Baltimore. Ball's first wife passed away in 1816, and he remarried two years later.
Although he claimed to be a free man, his situation was precarious, and in 1830 he was
apprehended and sent back to slavery. Once more getting away, he went undercover on a ship
to Philadelphia before making his way back to Baltimore. His lawfully liberated slaves, his
wife, and children had been sold into slavery while he was away. Ball went back to
Pennsylvania after finding out about his family's fate to reduce the likelihood of being caught
again.

The entire narrative of Charles Bell was constructed in deep English so it is hard to
understand as you read it. Also, in his autobiography, he presented himself as a kind of model
slave, determined to serve his master despite suffering from cruelty. He defined and
conveyed his emotions well in the slave narrative he wrote so that the readers will become
more aware that this kind of story that happened in the past can be a lesson to each and of us
to be a good example and be a kind person despite of the cruel reality.

To sum it all up, writing slave narratives by African Americans became a powerful
voice concerning the slavery happening to them. By using creativity and mastery of writing,
the African American people were able to write their history. The narratives detailed the
Cruz, Jermaine Dale C. AFRO-ASIAN LIETRATURE BS PSYCH 3-YB-1

horrifying effects of family separation, the sexual assault of black women, and the inhumane
labor. They described the kidnapping and forced enslavement of free Black people.