The desire of all responsible parents is to see their offspring grow through all the developmental milestones. However, such anticipation can be deferred or lost in some circumstances. During and after slavery, there were many instances of dysfunctional families, where siblings were separated from their biological guardians. In such cases, the children grow feeling bitter while the parents are depressed and guilty because they cannot protect their offspring. Reunion, in such cases, results in all the emotions which have been suppressed for years resurfacing. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the theme of the impact of neonatal separation as presented by Chesnutt’s The Sheriff’s Children and Harper’s The Slave Mother. Although the two texts differ with regards to context and characterization, both emphasize the stress and guilt that parents bear when they are helplessly separated from their infants.
In brief, Chesnutt’s narrative begins by providing the historical setting of the book. Branson county is described as primitive, with the majority of residents being white conservatives. The crime rate is also low, as evidenced by the phrase “murder was a rare event” (Chesnutt 1). Then one day, a stranger appears, and coincidentally a murder occurs. Worse still, the stranger is African American, making the villagers presume that he is the killer. The sheriff comes to the rescue of the prisoner, who, as he later realizes, is his biological son. The other text by Harper, is a poem about a lamenting slave woman who knows that she will eventually lose her son. The observer notes that “they tear him from her circling arms” (Harper stanza 9, line 1). Notably, the fear is not unfounded given that children born of slaves were soon sold to toil for their masters.
First, inherited characteristics are essential in forming identity; thus, when there is separation, both the parents and the child feel that part of them is ripped. In the discussion between the prisoner and the Sheriff, the estranged son says, “you gave me your own blood, your own features–no man need look at us together twice to see that” (Chesnutt 8). It is clear that the he struggles with accepting his father, who ideally is his source of misery. Many years of separation have caused emotional pain. Sadly, his mother also died after they had been sold. Assumably, while growing up, there were adults in his life who served as guardians. However, no person can fill the intrinsic gap that a biological parent serves.
Similarly, Harper’s poem puts an emphasis on the genetic attributes between a mother and her son, which reinforces the relevance of nature. The fifth stanza states, “although her blood; Is coursing through his veins” (Harper, line 3-4). Metaphorically, the observer implies that the infant’s life has emanates from her mother. The tie between the two is so strong because they share part of their body. The knowledge that one day the child will become another person’s servant and that her wishes or opinions will not matter wrecked her heart.
Moreover, biological guardians intrinsically feel the need to protect their children such that if they are taken away from their care, they become frustrated. In Chesnutt’s short story, the sheriff is determined to save the prisoner from mob lynching; perhaps, driven by instincts. The latter realizes that the former is his biological son. His determination to protect him becomes more fervent as he desires to compensate for the lost time. However, Polly shoots the mulatto, and the Sheriff now has the mandate to protect both of his kids. His tells the son, “It will do very well until then if you will keep quiet… ” (Chesnutt 9). In the preceding statement he urges his son to remain secretive about who shot him to protect Polly. At the same time, he protects the prisoner by bandaging the wound and calling for a doctor.
Comparably, the persona in Harper’s poem also accentuates the aspect of offspring finding protection from their parents. It is natural for the mother to want to ensure the safety of their child. In the poem, the lines “Her boy clings to her side, And in her kyrtle vainly tries His trembling form to hide” (Stanza 4, lines 2-4). There is a prediction of the future occurrence in this sentence. The lad clings to her mother, imploring that he never wants to be separated from her. However, he is full of dread as he realizes that her mother’s garment can hardly hide him. The protagonist is in havoc when she imagines that she will not be in a position to grant the security for her son. The agony is increased by the fact that the boy will live the same life of misery she has endured as a slave.
Both texts also indicate that alienation from parents ruins the life of the child. The environment within which the children are raised needs to be stable, positive, and secure. The sheriff reflects on his childhood and then compares it with that of his son. He remembers that as a youth, he had inherited a good name (which he was obliged to keep pure), he had a house and a promise of a fair bride. Although he tarnished the name by sleeping with a black woman, he managed to be a respectable member of the society as a sheriff. Conversely, his poor son “had had none of these things–no name, no father, no mother–in the true meaning of motherhood” (Chesnutt 9). The man hardly escaped the mob justice and now awaited his death from the bullet. No honour was granted to him, and his life was never as important because he missed a good start in life.
Furthermore, Polly, who received good upbringing, became a responsible woman, unlike her brother. The scenario after the shootings highlights the distinction between the two siblings. “When the wounded arm had been bandaged, Polly and her father returned to the house” (Chesnutt 9). The son who has been alienated from childhood is left wounded in a jail (which the villages had intentions to storm). The daughter goes home with her farther as usual. This single sentence can be stretched to represent how life turned out for the abandoned brother and the sister that was well-taken care of. With comfort and protection, a child has the necessary ingredients to have a good future.
The predicaments for the lad in Harper’s poem also connotates a disgusting future. The name of the boy is not mentioned in the poem implying his insignificance. Moreover, the narration is told from an observer’s perspective, which indicates that the persona is detached from the reality of the future. The lad will neither have a father nor a mother while working as her slave. His humanity is reduced to property to be sold to his master, who has no idea of his worth. According to the lines “A fountain gushing ever new, Amid life’s desert wild,” the symbolism of a waterfall in a wild desert represents a good boy tossed in an intolerable future (Harper stanza 7, line 3-4). It is apparent that all children innocently come to the world with gifts and talents which could nourish future generations, but when they are alienated from the parents while tender, their dream for a good life is differed.
Contradictions on the impact of family separation are also evident in the two texts. The sheriff feels guilty right from the time that the child was born to his death. During their first confrontation, the author reveals how the father and the son were separated. “Don’t you remember Cicely–Cicely, whom you sold, with her child, to the speculator on his way to Alabama” (Chesnutt 8). The sheriff immediately knew that he was talking to his child, whom he was too ashamed to keep. However, he recalls how he “had been sorry for it many a time since” (Chesnutt 8). Parents have a tendency of making mistakes and subjecting their offspring to pain when there are quarrels between the couple. The decision to sell the boy and his mother was made due to the enormous debts the farther had, and the buyers offered a large sum of money. When the mulatto removes his bandage and bleeds to death, the sheriff is left feeling guilty forever.
Unlike the short story, the mother has no role in the dreaded separation with her son. If she had the power, she would cling to the son. The first line of the second last stanza states, “they tear him from her circling arms” (Harper, line 1).This gives a picture of a woman who has wrapped her son so close because he is unwilling to let him go. The pronoun “they” represents inhumane people (most probably the slave masters) who have no sympathy. The process of alienating her child is agonizing. Contrary to the sheriff, who was guilty, this mother is helpless. Her strong will does not do her any good because her foes are stronger than her. Nonetheless, both parents have to endure their pain for a lifetime.
The father is an authority figure with significant role in the life of the baby but has a higher tendency to defer their responsibilities. The sheriff, when pressurized failed his son twice; he sold him out when he was a kid and when the lad had become a man, he overslept only to discover his lifeless body. Comparatively, the prisoner’s mother had remained with him until she died. Similarly, in Harper (stanza 8, line 4) the observer laments, “Oh, Father! must they part?” Most likely, the plea is being directed to God, who has the capacity to keep the mother and her son together. However, the reference can also be the boy’s dad (who is not mentioned directly because he may have been the woman’s master). It is in the power of the “father” to do what is right in the situation. The mothers have more attachment with children than the fathers.
Conclusively, Chesnutt, and Harper’s text both show the impact of children being separated from their parents. One of the themes is that separation causes the offspring to struggle with their identity. Both authors also agree that when kids are alienated from biological guardians, their future is wretched and they bear negative emotions. Another common ground is that parents have an intrinsic urge to protect and care for their kids but circumstances can make it impossible. The fault of separation can be intentional or by fate, but the consequences remain detrimental.
Works Cited
Chesnutt, Charles W. The Sheriff’s Children. Library of America, 2004.
Harper, Frances E. Complete Poems of Frances E.W. Harper. Oxford UP on Demand, 1988.