Blog Post #3 _Abby

Paul D is a very important character in the book and on chapter 17, it mainly describes his job. Keeping in mind that he is a colored man and at this time he is free. Paul D lives in Cincinnati working as in a slaughterhouse for pigs. During the 1800’s There was not a lot of high technology therefore, people working in them had to do it by hand, and it was often not sanitary. Paul D had a very hard job, “For a month or so in the winter any stray man had work, if he could breathe the stench of offal and stand up for twelve hours, skills in which Paul D was admirably trained.” Most of the people working in slaughterhouses at this time were colored men, because they were desperate for jobs, even if it meant getting paid minimum wage. Black men were not “fit” for high end jobs because of their skin color and lack of education. Therefore, most of them had to do the “dirty” work like working in slaughterhouses and keeping up with the high demand for pork. “The craving for pork was growing into a mania in every city in the country.”

This piece of evidence helps us understand the difference of social and economic classes during the 19th Century between slaves and white individuals. Many runaway slaves had difficulties of finding a job and had no other option than working in unsanitary slaughterhouses for very long hours. Which Paul D was highly prepared to work in those conditions and for very long hours. Individuals in the lower class had not chance or what so ever to get to a higher level of an economic class. They will never be able to be on a higher level, at least not now, because they are slaves therefore, do not have rights of any kind. They are property, and slaves were treated like that until the late 20th Century where they started to gain certain rights. Today in the 21st Century people can argue that we are still going through some social and economic similarities were people with no education and low income take jobs that educated people would not take; and I honestly believe that this will always exist. There will always be some sort of separation of social class due to education and income.