Author Archives: ms159021

Cathy’s Not So Simple Stuggle

by ms159021

Cathy Whitaker initially comes off as the stereotypical housewife of the 1950’s.  Her husband works, she stays home, takes care of the kids and gossips with her girlfriends.  Life really can’t be that simple, can it?

Cathy’s life seems to be all over the place.  She finds out that her husband is having an affair with a man at work.  Cathy desperately tries to rekindle the love that her marriage once had.  When going on vacation after Christmas, he husband cheats on her again and the marriage basically fails from that point on.  In the 1950’s, homosexuality is thought of as a disease.  Frank is recommended to go to doctors, as if his “condition” could be cured.  This clearly didn’t work out.

Our poor Cathy finds herself in another predicament when she becomes friendly with her gardener, Raymond Deagan.  As a colored man, Raymond did not live an easy life in the 50s.  Cathy, a white woman, going around with him, was easily considered taboo.  Raymond and Cathy never stood a chance against society.  When she is confronted by her neighbor about being seen around town with Raymond, she blatantly denies it, despite knowing her own feelings.  The societal norms were too strong for Cathy Whitaker to go against.

Slave Revolts Were Not a Craze

by ms159021

“Slave revolts in the United States were not as frequent or as large-scale as those in the Caribbean islands or in South America.”

“The conspiracy of Denmark Vcsey, himself a free Negro, was thwarted before it could be carried out in 1822. The plan was to burn Charleston, South Carolina, then the sixth-largest city in the nation, and to initiate a general revolt of slaves in the area.”

Many people wonder why some slaves seemed content with their living conditions, similar to that of Stephen in Django Unchained.  Revolt seemed to be the last thing on his mind, with good reason.  Many of them turned out unsuccessful and ended with the death of anyone accused of being apart of it.  Denmark Vcsey’s attempt was said to have involved thousands of blacks.  They clearly spent a great amount of time preparing with having made over three hundred daggers and 250 pike heads and bayonets. Although thousands were not caught, thirty-five blacks were hanged.  The trial record was destroyed because with it out in the public, other slaves would study Vcsey’s plan and possibly do it better than he did.   They not only made an example out of these men but it showed that even with great preparation, it was almost impossible to follow through with a successful revolt.