Journal #7- "Gone, gone, - sold and gone."

In John Whittier's poem "The Farewell of a Virginia Slave Mother to Her Daughter Sold Into Southern Bondage"really utilized the imagery element of poetry to persuade the audience to be anti-slavery. Whittier himself was a very involved abolitionist and felt it was very crucial to get his message across. He repeats the phrase "Gone, gone- sold and gone, To the rice-swamp dank and lone, From Virginia's hills and waters; Woe is me, my stolen daughter!" This phrase being repeated reiterates into the reader's mind the sorrow the mother is feeling and how her daughter is "gone- sold and gone." In every stanza he alternates using images of the awful beatings and toils of slavery with images of a normal childhood that the mother is devastated she cant be a part of. In lines 17- 20 it says "Never, when the torturing lash Seams their back with many a gash, Shall a mother's kindess bless them, Or a mother's arms caress them."Immediately the reader can see them image and feel immense sympathy for the slaves. No one wants to even image what it would be like to go through anything horrific, let alone slavery, without having your mother or any family member there to comfort you. The poem also mentions "From the tree whose shadow law On their childhood's place of play;" (39-40). The image of a childhood experiences that everyone cherishes such as playing outside under a shady tree come to the reader's mind and makes them feel guilt and sorrow that these children never got to experience something as simple as that. This poem is very helpful in persuading people to be abolitionist because of how personal it is and how the imagery makes it seem so real. The fact that a mother had to have her daughter "sold and gone." Is something that almost no one can understand. It puts slavery on a more personal level and you see how not only dehumanizing and physically toiling it is, but also how many families and loved ones were separated and never saw each other again. I think it made people take action, especially mothers and women who would feel a strong connection to this story and want to do something to change it.