ENGL 344- Blog #6: Response to Margaret's Presentation

The idea of words and language is very powerful. Words resonate with us and people can take the same word differently than one another. The tone, attitude, and volume we use when we speak contributes highly to how a person might perceive these words.

I wanted to comment on the Colonel's use of words. He seems to use his words to manipulate other's thoughts. In a particular scene starting on page 75, he is having Smith try and guess Hero's worth. He tells Smith that if he guesses correctly, he can then own Hero. Previous to this discussion, the Colonel was trying to convince Smith to consider owning slaves and how great they are to have. Smith repeatedly denied wanting to own slaves. Thus, the Colonel has Smith guess Hero's worth. The Colonel takes his time in explaining what slave buyers might look for and how much that would be worth. He describes Hero's work and character in great detail. He chooses his words wisely and works them to intrigue Smith. It does, indeed, intrigue Smith when he says "Should I name my price now?" (Parks, 76). At this point, the Colonel doesn't let him name a price just yet, as he goes through the many other traits of Hero to put a price on. The Colonel knows at this point that Smith is engaged and is probably fairly confident that he won't guess correctly. Thus, he is manipulating Smith's thoughts and feelings. So, what could be his real motive? To get Smith to honestly consider owning a slave and to enjoy the process of buying one; to draw him in to this specific lifestyle, which he does so through words. In my opinion, the Colonel never actually considered giving up ownership of Hero as a real possibility.

Even Hero's feelings are toyed with in this scene. Hero is intrigued, not only because his freedom is on the line, but to see his worth. Hero wants to know what his best traits are and what the Colonel thinks of his hard work. On page 95, Hero says, "Where's the beauty in not being worth nothing?" as he and Smith are discussing freedom in the near future (Parks). Hero can't even fathom the idea of not being worth anything and even looks down on it. He would rather be worth a lot than nothing at all. He is stuck in this mindset because it is all he knows. Although someone reading through this scene would probably think this is rude to Hero and inappropriate to discuss in front of him, the Colonel's use of language makes it intriguing to Hero and a conversation he prefers to hear.