Celia, A Slave: Book Report

[Date of submission]

Introduction

Melton McLaurin in his story named “Celia, a Slave” explains the trial of Celia, who was a 19 year old slave in Missouri. In 1855, Celia was found guilty of murdering her master. The politics of slavery and the background has been discussed in the book fascinatingly. A small event of a village has been related to a very large issue of the United States. This helps the readers and the audience to understand the effect of such larger issues and trends on the lives of individuals. Celia, a slave is an enthralling tale of slavery which describes the struggles of Celia, who was a black female slave.

The book was released in 1991 which tells about the true story of Celia. She broke one of the strongest rules which were applied on the slaves at that time. As a result she came across more abuse than her equals. A precise point of view of the time leading up to the civil war has been delivered by the author in this book. The attitudes of the characters of that time regarding the difference in the races and the discrimination at time has been reflected very beautifully in this book.

Celia was born in 1836. The birth date and the birth place have not been documented in the book. Her history started from 1850 when Robert Newsom purchased her for sexual purposes. Celia was fourteen years of age at that time when she came under the slavery in Callaway County. Her history ends five years later when she murdered her master and thus was hanged to death, leaving behind two children. The final resting place of Celia and the fate of her children have also not been documented.

The bitter truths about the lives of slaves in the south have been illustrated by the conditions of Celia's life and the events which took her to her hanging. The slaves and masters were influenced by the personal choices which were forced on the slaves by their masters. The system of the court which was trying to square the consequences of slavery with existing politics and ethical codes influenced the trial of Celia.

Thesis statement

“Racial discrimination effecting the trial of Celia”.

Background and review

Celia used to work for a well-known Missouri family known as Newsoms. The main element of the story of Celia is that it describes the social conflict and strife ...