Essay Example on American Art: Exploring Gender, Native American & Colonist Identity

Introduction

American art is mixed in nature, covering arts with their own identity and contrasting elements. In the United States, images give a caption of the country heritage and culture. Thus the images give a deeper understanding of political messages to the American denizens. The artwork gives a classic identity of the Native American and colonists. Basically, the images give a clear caption of gender and exploit women and men to support American Art movement. This paper shall use in Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl, Twelve Years a Slave, and Mending Socks. In this paper, three images shall be exploited to analyze relationships between black and white women in the United States history with a traceable representation.

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Description of a Visit from the Old Mistress

A visit from the old mistress paintings captions a white woman surrounded by three black women. The white woman is their mistress. A caption is given of a black woman who holds a small child with another woman seated on a stool. The overwrought atmosphere can easily be understood by their posture and attitude. In spite of palpable tension, the scene is characterized by high pressure and awkwardness. The white woman in the company of the three black woman share no more love between them. Ideally, it is visible through the cold stares, distinct adversarial over marks, and hostile body language. The white woman upon visiting her erstwhile household to deliberate on their labor. The slave is no longer the white woman mercy and the slaves meet her with reluctance. Earlier on, the white woman was vested authority but now circumstances had changed and she seems to be on the reaching end.

Analysis of a Visit from the Old Mistress

From the caption, the strength of emotion can easily be depicted. The four women involved gives a range of resignation, anger, sadness, and emotion. The well-dressed white woman experiences underlying volatility, tension, and awkwardness with the African American women and her former slaves. In the caption, hostility is displayed by the women body posture. There is an uncertain relationship that can be seen by the painting tension which gives a reflection of the possible changes needed in the reconstruction of the blacks and whites relationship (Ladd, 2010). Before the war, the relationship between the slaves and their mistresses were considered to be the most volatile and intimate. For instance, white women could arrange a marriage with a black family but eventually, the marriage could backs fire

Similarly, in the incident of a slave girl, Jacobs argues that in spite of slavery being a terrible discriminatory act for men, to women, it is much terrible. From the passage, the books explain sexual exploitation experienced by women who were held under slavery. The narrator is caught under the exploitative, brutal, altruistic, and idealized bond of slavery and true womanhood. In the early experiences, the woman resists without ambivalence about the sexual exploitation she experiences (Jacobs, 2018). She even resists with great guilt and spirit after she had experienced a deep disillusionment. In this context, the narrator is not only denied the freedom of selfhood, but also the right to express her choices.

In her argument, the genteel codes of behavior were more stringent than that of sexual harassment experienced by the women in slavery. Gender had a variation in terms of freedom. The narrator argues that women were associated with domesticity, submissiveness, purity, and piety. The attributes were vital in curbing mistress aggression coupled with opening various channels for vulnerability. The narrator terms women as "angels in the house" to give women self-assertion, self-respect, public power, and private influence. The narrator draws these conclusions based on her mother prior to chaste courtship and marriage.

At age six, Brent gain awareness of slavery because of her mothers' demise. However, she develops a moral lesson immediately she turns twelve. Brent is "bequeathed" to Emily Flint, a contradiction to freedom she expected. Ideally, the treatment she gets from the mistress' little niece shocks her. In spite of not attaining her actual conditions, Brent experiences sexual harassment from Dr. Flint (Jacobs, 2018). As the novel evolves, it is undeniable that Brent has experienced relentless physical harassment from puberty onward. Brent expression and hesitation of shame is linked by her sexual history to attract readers from white middle-class. Her grandmother represents a woman with integrity and strength.

In spite of Martha being a devoted Christian, the white women have never given her the respect she deserves. Working as a mammy, cook, and wet nurse to Mrs. Flint's mother for a longer period, she has only the respect of becoming a mistress in her own household. The attribute of strength and value Martha has is a consolation to Linda in the midst of harsh treatment by Dr. Flint (Jacobs, 2018). In fact to Brent, the memory of her grandmother remains to her as "fleecy clouds floating over a dark sea".

So, even as a slave, Brent has resolved to be virtuous. She believes that within her trying moment as a slave, she has to remain strong and brave until her last days. Contrarily, the storm she undergoes through is ruthless. For instance, Dr. Flint tortures her purity mind with constant harassment and insinuations to the extent of destroying her hopes. As the novel evolves, Dr. Flint consistently terminates her marriage to a free black man who is desperately in love with her. Her status as a slave, would not make their marriage with the black man legal had Dr. Flint permitted it (Jacobs, 2018). Notably, suppose the issues were based on Flint' sexual advances, the racists' law could prevent the black man from marrying Brent. So, Brent had a choice to die instead of living an impure life.

Brent yearns for either liberty or death when stroked by these storms. Despite her stance on this matter, she does not only die because of the black lover but instead choices a white lover to get freedom. In this decision, she makes arouse a conflict between her grandmother, Martha values and her master's values. According to genteel code, prior to marriage, virginity represented moral integrity and self-worth (Jacobs, 2018). So, to be free for both black and white women mean to have freedom of choice when it comes to choosing a husband. Besides, it gives women a chance to show the control they have over adult life. According to Brent, women gain moral integrity when they are permitted to exercise their right to choose rather than the hypothetical thinking of physical virginity.

The description of Negro Life at the South

The caption gives a dilapidated house backyard, where a group of slaves spends some precious time. The caption has various vignettes. A banjo player is featured at the center surrounded by a small boy on his side. The caption displays the little boy halting the banjo player to listen for the music. In the painting, a woman and her children are featured listening and dancing for the music. Courting couple are featured at the left where there is a woman captioned watching from the upstairs window. Two young girls are featured at the right watching as an elegant white woman and her husband come from the grander house from the next door to see what is happening.

Analysis of Negro life at the south

From the paintings, there seems to be a kind of glorification of slavery by giving them the freedom to express themselves. From the caption, African women are portrayed to be affectionate, docile, and imitative. Similarly, a kind mistress or master can be visually observed through the bearing and countenance of their slaves. Likewise the novel Twelve Years a Slave, black women are depicted to be subjects of sexism as well as racism (Davis, 1998). The lives of black women now become more vulnerable as compared to the lives of black men. Even though white women devalued black women, the white masters highly valued the blacks because of their ability to sexually arouse them. In fact, the black women who appear to be light-skinned having some European features were more appealing and appealing to the white master.

So, they were taken as "house niggers" since they were more valuable as the slaves working in master households. For instance, Celeste a Carey girl who was white that her fellow siblings. The girl was closely examined to distinguish the slightest traces of her African blood. Celeste appears attractive such that no stranger would have imagined she was from a descendant of slaves. Equally, white women deemed African women as a descendant of slaves. The narrator reveals that Celeste pale and haggard who is eventually betrayed by the coarse cotton slave dress she wore.

Equally, Epps wife is humiliated her husband sexual affair with Patsey. Since Epps wife cannot punish Patsey in front of her husband, she sought to punish Patsey with savagery. In the novel, it is evident that white women subject black women with physical punishment that are harsh. Even though black and white women are subjects of white male patriarchal power and authority, the female white is given some freedom (Davis, 1998). The white women had the audacity to express their fury but only to some people especially to the black women with whom they had the supremacy.

Mending Socks Description

The caption covers a grandmother surrounded by objects that are very vital. At the left, there is a white woman. The grandmother is featured to be aged and even does not directly look at the viewer. The grandmother portrait is contrasted by the picture of the slave owner raised straight with circumstance and pomp.

Analysis of Mending Socks

From mending socks, Motley express the image of African American with composure, dignity, and confidence. The painter intends to allow the viewer to see African American as beautiful human beings to dispel the negative notion that leads to racism. The grandmother in this case served, the daughter of the slave owner (Buick, 1995). In the book marriage of Hiawatha, black women are displayed with regard to acoustics such as headdresses, hairstyles, and clothing. While on the other hand, the white women have classical and stylish residential setting having heavy upholstery fabrics with tassels, tufts, and bold brocades.

From the caption, there is a representation of pivotal life experiences when a person is born in slavery. Similarly, Lewis is born to Native American parents in Greenbush, New York. By having grown in blacks' community, she is unburdened by the polite white society of Victorian-era decorum. She gives a direct expression of feelings and thoughts which are considered as indiscrete or brusque. Similarly, the novel Twelve Years a Slave, Celeste is mistreated as a slave as compared to the way other women are handled in Epps's family (Northup, 2016). Typically, the kind of clothes they were is a clear indication of the toxic culture.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the lives of the black women are vulnerable as compared to those of the white women in the slavery period. However, both women have been denied the opportunity to express their thoughts and thinking directly. In spite of women being overlooked in the slavery period, white women are given the freedom to exercise their power. Even as they are given the right, both women are powerless as compared to the white men (Northup, 2016). Notably, white women to do see womanhood in black women, however, light-skinned African America was sexually appealing to the white masters. White women just like black women are denied the right to marry men from the other race because of the law.

References

Buick, K. P. (1995). The Ideal Works of Edmonia Lewis: Invoking and I...