Celia A Slave summary

It is an excellent book because it tries to show how Celia and other slaves suffered at the hands of their masters. Besides, it shows how life was during the hard times of slavery. The story revolves around Cecilia to explain how she suffered and how she managed to kill her master to defend her rights. This terrifying event happened in Calloway County which is located in Missouri during a great time of antebellum America. This book uses the example of Celia to demonstrate how slaves suffered at the hands of their masters and how gender prejudice was prominent during this period. This indicates how Celia was traumatized by sexual exploitation. Celia became pregnant for the third time, but she could not tell the father of her Child. George ordered and gave her ultimatum so that she can stop the sexual relationship with her master but it was not an easy task because to approach a slave master was an uphill task.

From the evidence presented in the court during the trial, it is clear that George was very much stressed and could not accept that Celia's pregnancy belonged to him. George could not stop sexual exploitation experienced by Celia because Newsom owned both of them. The class work did not explain much about sexual exploitation of female slaves and how they were treated in a court of law. The new thing learned from these chapters about the American history is that there were some lawyers and people who supported the poor slaves like Jameson who served Celia in a court of law to defend her rights. Besides, the chapters explain how some countries supported the US in the fight against slavery. For example, England supported an organization that was against slavery. Moreover, the book gives an overview of how slavery during the period of Celia's trial changed the political climate of Kansas which in one way or the other was the start of civil war.

From chapter 5 to 8 the book focuses on the series of events that occurred after Celia kills Newsom. The trial begins with the prosecution having six witnesses. On the part of the witnesses, two doctors are included to confirm if the body that was found was of a man. The defense that was leady by "Dr. James Martin" tried as much as possible to convince the jury how it was difficult for Celia to kill her own master on her own. For example, it shows how legal status of all slaves. In this regard, Celia’s case demonstrated that slaves were considered as human subjects and they were subjected to the master’s authority. The arguments presented by the author in 5-8 in one way or the other complements things learned in class.

For example, the effect of slavery is brought out in these chapters. For example, the desire to divide the government is considered as the cause of civil war in the country. The story of Celia tries to shed light on the issue of slavery and how the lives of slaves looked generally. Also, her story shows that the law did not allow the slaves to refuse or give any form of consent and they were criminally liable in case of any resistance. In this regard, Celia is considered as a sex slave by Newsom, and her role was primarily to provide sexual pleasure to her master. Generally, this story talks about the suffering of the slaves and how they did not get justice in a court of law because the law did not protect them.

Conclusion Generally, McLaurin uses the story of the experience of Celia as a slave to show the true meaning of slavery in any given society.