Slavery is More Than Physical Confinement!
Michael Friant Ms. Saba English 111 D10 December 10th, 2018
Slavery is More Than Physical Confinement!
A lack of freedom is not limited to the concept of physical slavery. It includes when individuals do not have the ability to freely control what happens to them. However, when these individuals experience freedom, they are often more appreciative of the simple things. One of the prime examples of this is recounted by Frederick Douglas in the “My Bondage and My Freedom: Ash Cake and the Rich Man’s Table.” Just as Frederick Douglas’s lack of control over what he ate and cooked with made him more appreciative of the food he ate as a free man, our ability to choose influences the kind of experiences we have. Our freedom to choose extends far beyond the food we consume.
In the text, the slaves are not equipped with the proper cooking utensils, therefore the quality of food is not the best. Douglas describes his experience with cooking this way:
Not having ovens, nor any suitable cooking utensils, the slaves mixed their meal with a little water, to such thickness that a spoon would stand erect in it; and, after the wood had burned away to coals and ashes, they would place the dough between oak leaves and lay it carefully in the ashes, completely covering it; hence, the bread is called ash cake (61).
The author is stating they as slaves do not have the proper cooking utensils to cook so they improvise which means their food is not aesthetically pleasing. This quote is relevant because their lack of control contribute to how they cook their food and how their food looks. It is also significant because they have to learn how to identify, use, and depend on the natural environment around them so they could actually cook and have edible food.
I, like the slaves, did not have control over the ways my food was prepared or the methods through which the food was given. For the first eleven years of my life, I was given Ensure, a nutritious vanilla flavored liquid, through a feeding tube. When it would enter my stomach, the coldness of the liquid being refrigerated could be felt. Likewise, for the decade after that, I was given blended food which was also not appetizing. My dinner meal of the day consisted of mostly elbow macaroni, a type of meat, and a mixture of vegetables. Usually the consistency of the dishes was dependent upon the amount of water added. It was either pure liquid or lumpy. The vegetables dishes always looked like dark green slime. The taste was mostly bland unless spice were added, such as Greek Seasoning. My breakfast and supper smoothies’ consistency were pure liquid and the ingredients were milk, ripe bananas, a type of bread such as pumpkin, friendship, banana, or apple, an occasional peach, and quite frequently a raw egg or two. For each smoothie, the taste and smell was dependent upon the type of bread used for that particular smoothie, unless a peach was thrown in. The synopsis of this example is that I did not have control over the type of food I was given, the texture or taste, therefore the majority of what I consumed did not taste delicious and it was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
The personal anecdote relates to Douglas’s experience being a slave in that both the slaves and the individual blending my food had to add water in order to make the texture of the food better for consumption. Since they lack the proper utensils to aide in food preparation, they do not enjoy their food experience, but they possess a sense of community and could appreciate one another’s companionship. Unfortunately, in my case, I lacked good food and companionship as I often had to eat alone.
These two examples relate to the thesis because they both illustrate how the individuals involved were not able to control their own food preparation. The reader learns to appreciate the relationships that have resulted from eating food together, the fact that they have the proper cooking utensils to prepare their food, and the quality of the actual food because not everyone is as fortunate to have such an experience.
Due to the way their food looks and tastes from preparation, the slaves often devour their food quickly. Douglas recounts the slaves’ meal time as, “They eat it with avidity, and are more concerned about the quantity than about the quality” (61). The author is stating they eat it fast because they are hungry from working in the field. This is significant because it is probably not the best quality since after all it is for slaves who are the least cared about. Individuals would enjoy these circumstances even though they are not the best because it is all that they have and to them it is a treat.
Similar to the slaves, I was not concerned about the aesthetics or taste of both the liquid fed to me through the feeding tube or the blended food. While relying on the feeding tube, I had to be hooked up to a gravity bag, which held the liquid, via a long flexible tube. The gravity bag was then hooked up to a machine which regulated the amount of liquid I received. I usually would be hooked up to this at bedtime and the liquid would be given to me throughout the night while I slept.As one might imagine, I had to be very particular about how I lay in bed how in order not to become tangled in the tube which could cause the tube to have a crease in it. When this happened, the machine would beep constantly until I or someone else fixed the tube. Worse yet, was the possibility of the actual feeding tube apparatus getting yanked out of my stomach due to the tube getting entangled. There was always the occasional and sometimes steady drip of the gastrointestinal fluids from around the feeding tube apparatus. These juices were often foul smelling and were not convenient for living among society.
However, the blended food was consumed through different means. My main meal was consumed with a spoon. If the consistency of the concoction was thick and lumpy, I either had to add water to loosen up the consistency or it was very hard to get a spoonful without it either being too much at one time or having to raise my spoon high as to separate the portion from the rest of the meal. For the breakfast and supper smoothies, they were either in a white cup or old peanut butter jar and I consumed them via a straw. I would usually stand at a countertop when I consumed these meals. The duration of standing up was uncomfortable and I often had to take breaks, especially for my main meal. The fatigue from being in an upright position for an extended period of time often affected my concentration and coordination of my bodily movements.
However, the breakfast and supper smoothies could be consumed in a few minutes since it was via a straw. Though these meals could be consumed rapidly, the human anatomy is not designed for that amount of rapid intake which meant I almost always had to rush to the bathroom and had diarrhea until it passed through the digestive system. The abridgment of this is the result of being fed and the way I ate were not enjoyable and often led to undesirable and uncontrollable consequences which became a routine part of my life and necessary for my survival.
The personal experience corresponds to Douglas’ time as a slave in the following manner. Both the slaves and I ate our foods hastily due to how it was prepared, therefore I, like the slaves, saw the act of eating as necessity in order to stay alive. They back up the thesis because when one does not have the control of what they are given they feel forced into a certain way of eating. The reader learns that when individuals are forced to eat a certain way, they view the action as a necessity rather than an enjoyment, to appreciate the freedoms and conveniences they have as a result of the food they have.
As a result of these experiences, Douglas is more thankful for the little things. He expresses his gratitude with the following quote: “The poor slave, on his hard, pine plank, but scantily covered with his thin blanket, sleeps more soundly than the feverish voluptuary who reclines upon his feather bed and his downy pillow. Food, to the indolent lounger, is poison, not sustenance” (Douglas 64). Douglas is stating the slaves value the limited food which they are given more than the wealthy who has access to all the food they wanted. Douglas is using a figure of speech to convey to the reader that, as a former slave and the conditions he experienced, he values every little crumb of food, views it as a source of energy to him, and that he values the freedom of cooking with the proper utensils, whereas the wealthy have abundance so they could be trivial with their food and take for granted the modern methods of food preparation.
Similarly, my experience with the feeding tube and blended food has made me more appreciative of the simple solid food. I am more grateful for simple, solid food and how they taste, such as frozen hot pockets, waffles, sausage and cheese biscuits, and pre-made sandwiches, rather than someone who has had it all their lives because I know feels like to have to deal with the previous circumstances mentioned. I am also thankful for the convenience of these items in regards to the preparation and the freedoms of being able to consume them any time, anywhere. The rundown of this is while other people might view simple food such as frozen hot pockets, biscuits, waffles and how they taste as trivial, I value these foods and how they taste more because I know what it is like having nothing but blended food.
My story relates to the Douglas’ figure of speech in the following way. They both illustrate how our experiences have shaped how we view food versus those who have been more fortunate with their experiences in regards to the quality of food and how it is prepared. They both correlate to the thesis by talking about how our experiences with food have shaped our mindset. The reader learns that they should be grateful for the quality of food they consumed even when it is “normal” and the fact that they are fortunate enough to have grown up in an environment where they did not have to worry about the quality of the food and the methods of preparation.
My experience with the feeding tube, blended food, and now with normal foods has taught me the feeling of being free. The fact that I do not need to have machines, not be around an establishment with electricity to operate them, not have to worry about being in a specific place to consume my main meal of blended food, not here to consider the position of the feeding tube while participating in something, and not have to endure the smell of the gastrointestinal juices has enabled me the freedom to be mobile. As a result of freedom, I am able to travel, go to college, be in control of my schedule, and I am able to survive eating solid food. I am able to do what I want.
This freedom also influences how I view the world and the people in it. For example, Since finding my “freedom,” my view on religion has been altered significantly. During the period when I ate blended food, I was taught that people were wrong and “lost in faith” unless they believed in Presbyterianism. This method of thought taught me that someone who is Mormon who believes that God the Father and Christ are two different persons is wrong unless they believe the Trinity as the Presbyterians do. Now with my freedom and independence, I have taken time to talk to people of different religious affiliations. I have learned not to judge people based on what they choose to believe. In summary, growing up I was raised to view people of different religions as bad but through my interactions with people I have learned that people of different religions are the same. This is significant to me because I am exercising my freedom to learn these things which I previously had been told were bad.
. Just as Douglas’s experience of being a slave impacts his perception of normal everyday food, our experiences often impact how we see food and the world in general. The ability to choose or lack thereof also influences one’s experience. So, the next time you observe someone who might be “odd” by society’s standards in some way, remember their background, though unknown to you, is the key to their uniqueness.
Work Cited
Douglas, Frederick. "My Bondage and My Freedom: Ash Cake and the Rich Man’s Table." Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Roger J. Porter, W. W. Norton, 2015, pp. 60-64.