Celia, a Slave: a Critical View on Slave Trade and Resistance

During the time of the 1850s slavery was an issue that was common which included the use of sexual abuse towards the women. In the book “Celia, A Slave,” the author, Melton A. McLaurin helps exhibit the powerful and impacting story about the tragedies of a slave and explains the story of the purchase and use of Celia made by a farmer named Robert Newsom who migrated towards the west to seek out cheap and better land. Following the death of Robert Newsom's wife, Celia was chosen by him to be the woman he had sexual interactions with. Celia, was not only taken advantage of by her owner Robert Newsom, but she was dehumanized completely by being raped almost every day for five years. At the age of fourteen, Celia was purchased into slavery and that is when the raping originally started. Celia was given her own cabin from the other slaves so that Robert Newsom could bury the fact that he was doing the wrong thing. Celia had other feelings for a fellow enslaved African American named George which was interfered with by the daily sexual assault done by Robert Newsom. Celia believed that she had the ability to stand up for herself even though she was a slave with very little rights. I believe Celia was in the right for defending herself and any women who gets treated unfairly and with disrespect should be able to get help and stand up for themselves without being fearful of punishment.

Women should have the right to stand up for themselves without fearing the result of being fought back. Celia’s lifestyle on Robert Newsom’s plantation was hard, lonely and dreary. She was treated with disrespect throughout the farm. Robert Newsom’s intentions “...for acquiring Celia were different from those that motivated his previous slave purchases. Newsom was not seeking a field hand or domestic servant… he had set out to purchase a replacement for his wife, dead now for nearly a year”. Through Celia’s five years of misery, she felt that she was unable to fight back and voice her opinion against the sexual assault because she wanted to think of the future and not get herself killed. It is sorrowful that a woman must go through all of those years of torture only because of her own fear. Celia's personal fear caused her to not act on the fact that she was getting raped, therefore it caused her to hold all of her anger in until she has had enough causing her to retaliate against Robert Newsom. As an African American slave, they are less protected by the law to stand up for themselves and feel obligated to hold in the actions of their masters so that the slaves are not being the ones to be punished for other people’s actions. In my opinion, Celia did the right thing to stand up for herself and not allow for her to be treated like dirt any longer. She decided to voice her opinion to make an effort to stop the sexual assault in order to get her personal wellness back from her past. It can be argued that killing is never the answer and instead of using violence, Celia could have looked for a better way to handle her situation.

Many people sided with the fact that she committed a crime which was considered first degree murder and no matter what Robert Newson did, people argued that she was not in the right for taking her masters life. However, Celia was out of options and then she acted out of anger and wanted to protect herself. Celia has been getting treated with disrespect, unfairness, and has been put in several brutal situations, which resulted in her needing a way to stop her pain and suffering. Therefore, Celia was out of options and chose to protect herself and stick up for what has been causing her pain for five years. In conclusion, the women that were slaves were treated unfairly and were left endangered by their slave masters. When it came to the slave women defending themselves about their abuse or sexual assault, the law was silent and no one made an effort to help those women in need. Throughout the five continuous years of Celia getting sexually assaulted, she eventually made a decision to stand up against Robert Newsom but ended up getting killed because of her actions. Women feel the need to stay quiet and to hold their opinions to themselves, but I believe that Celia and any woman involved in similar situations should have the right to defend themselves without having the fear of punishment made against them. All women are equal and they should be listened to and treated with respect no matter the situation or circumstances they are in.