1. In Sarah's interlude she talked about her father and said, "I had no respect for him as a man, no respect for how he had lived his life, Yes, he was my father and I honored him because he had helped to give me life. More than that I could not do" (p 111). What's the difference between respecting someone and honoring someone?
2. Why do you think Samson never told his son how he tried to escape slavery when he was younger?
3. What do you think about Samson's argument, is it better for a slave to have a master and not worry about basic necessities, or be free and worry about tomorrow?
4. Do you think Samson gave up too easily after being on the run for three days?
2 comments:
1) I think that respecting someone means you really look up to them and in a way aspire to be like them. Someone you respect has accomplished a lot of positive things or has done some powerful things in their lives that have changed things for the better. Someone you honor can have the same connotations as respecting someone, but to me personally, I think that respecting a person is more powerful. It is tough to totally decipher the difference.
2) I believe that Samson never told his son because I think deep down he is scared for his son to run away. He has drilled into his son's head that freedom is terrible and slavery is much better. I think that he has done this partly because of his experience, but also because he is scared for his son and he does not really want to lose him.
3) I would have rather been free. Yes, you might struggle for a while, but you eventually find a job , well hopefully, and you get to move about as you please. With a master, you are "property", you are not free to move. And you have to live with the fear knowing that you and your family could be divided up at any time.
4) I think Samson could have kept going. If he really wanted to be free, he would have fought harder. I honestly think he was just uncertain about what was going to happen and that freaked him out. He was used to being on the plantation, being a slave, so being free and able to do whatever, frightened him.
1) I think that respecting someone means that you have to appreciate them in some way and agree with their ideals/ways of life. But then again, I have respected people who I did not agree with. Maybe it is a little bit of admiration despite their beliefs? That is a hard one! I think Sarah meant that she had to honor her father by being appreciative of him giving her life, but she had absolutely no admiration for him.
2) I think that Samson really thought his life was better in slavery. It almost sounded like he was lazy because of the way he talked about freedom as such a burden and would rather have someone else take care of his general needs. I think he wanted to protect his son and wanted him to have a good life, and slavery was the only way he knew to do that since they had such a good master.
3)I definitely disagree with Samson, because I love the thrill of life and not knowing what will come next. It is definitely not easy that way, especially when you have to worry about money, etc. but to me I think it is worth it. However, if I am one day living a hard life and struggling to meet my basic needs, I might think differently!
4) I don't think he gave up too easily. Living without food and water is just not possible, so he basically made the choice between life and death, and his life ended up fairly well according to him (before his son ran away) so I guess he made the right choice if he ended up happy as a slave.
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