FREE ESSAY ON WHAT HATRED WILL DO.

WHAT HATRED WILL DO.

Judy Simon
Ms Munch
English 102
2/4/00
Of all the atrocities, man has endured; none has caused more misery and destruction to
the soul than human bondage, also identified as slavery. It is illustrated in Louisa May
Alcott's story: "My Contraband," originally published "The Brothers." The Civil War was
fought over slavery. It pitted brother against brother, but this did not kill these
brothers, it was the deep and festering hatred they had for each other that sent them to
their early graves. The story these individuals create is complex and depressing; the
main character, Robert is a contraband (a slave who has come to the North to seek
freedom). Instead of finding freedom, he finds his half brother Ned and his wife Lucy.
After the death of his master, Robert arrives from the South to freedom in the North to
work in a hospital caring for wounded men of the war. His assignment is to help Miss
Dane, a nurse, tend to a dying Rebel.
Miss Dane appears to be the narrator in the story She is aware of Robert's troubled
existence and observes despair from the moment their encounter. Upon their first meeting,
she sensed sadness from deep within him she remarked, "I had seen colored people in what
they call "the black sulks" when, for days, they neither smiled nor spoke, and scarcely
ate. But, this was something more than that" (528). Miss Dane appears to be a
compassionate person; nursing comes easy to her and she lacks intolerance regarding
Robert's color. She had wanted "to know and comfort him; and following the impulse of the
moment I went in and touched him on the shoulder"(529). This is an example of her
compassionate view of the contraband. She believed that "black boys are far more faithful
and handy than some of the white scamps" (528). 
Robert is content to stay with the rebel even though he has typhoid. When Miss Dane
informs Robert that since he himself has never contracted this disease, he may become
infected with it, he states, "It don't matter, Missis. I'd rather be up here with the
fever than down with those niggers; and there isn't no other place for me." (530).
For seven days, Miss Dane nursed the Rebel and for these seven days, he did regain
consciousness. At times his presence could not be felt, until in his feverish state he
begins to ramble on. At times his rambling would be incoherent other times she would be
able to understand what he was saying. On this night the Doctor is skeptical about his
survival he instructs her to "Give him water as long as he can drink, and if he drops
into a natural sleep, it may save him...Nothing but sleep or a miracle will keep him
now..." (531). At that moment the Rebel called out for "Lucy" (531). Miss Dane felt "some
new terror seemed to have gifted him with momentary strength" (531). She went to his side
exclaiming, "Yes, here's Lucy" (531) this agitated the Rebel even further. It was evident
when "His dull eye fixed upon me, dilating with a bewildered look he broke out fiercely
That's a lie she's dead, and so's Bob, damn him" (531). Miss Dane dozed off, she awoke
with a shock as she sprang up she felt "A strong hand put me back into my seat and held
me there" (532). It was Robert, he stood there his "eyes full of sombre fire;" (532).
Miss Dane was confused and stunned by these events. Robert was calm and told her "Sit
still, Missus; I won' hurt yer...but you waked up to soon (533). She "saw murder in his
eyes" (533) and began to plead with Robert. She questioned him "Why do you hate him? He
is not your master" (533). Robert's reply, "He's my brother" (533), astonished her. Even
though she was trying to grasp this information, her mind was attempting to derive a plan
to hang on to her life and the Rebels. Again, she pleaded with Robert only this time not
for an explanation. She feared for her life and for the Rebels but seeing Roberts mind
was full of revenge and hatred, she needed to know why. She pressed Robert further until
he agreed; he had been waiting to kill the Rebel until he found out about Lucy. Miss Dane
questioned, "Who's Lucy" (534), his reply "My wife- he took her" (534) only incited her
curiosity further. She persuaded him to tell her his life. Ned is his half-brother whom
Robert declares "He always hated me, I looked so like old Marster; he don't" (534). He
acknowledged that his father the Marster was kind to everyone "me, specially..."(534).
When Robert saw Lucy at another plantation and the Marster found out the Robert liked her
he bought her. Robert married her and they developed a strong bond. This bond lasted only
a short while. The death of the Marster changed Robert's life forever. This prompted the
return of Ned who had been away. 
Finally Ned's hatred pertaining Robert would now be revealed, any happiness Robert knew
was going to be stripped from him. First, Ned sold his mother to another plantation he
seized Lucy for himself. Hatred began to seethe inside Robert he located Ned and
declared, "I half murdered him - an' tonight I'll finish" (535). Ned felt he had achieved
his final revenge by whipping Robert and the sale of him.
Robert never saw Lucy again. He believed destiny reunited him with Ned. He waited for a
chance to find out about Lucy therefore allowing Ned to live a little longer. The
omission by Ned that Lucy had "cut her throat" (532) was the -------that Robert needed to
cleanse his hatred of Ned. 
Robert's story brought out the compassion in Miss Dane. She was able to understand and
feel some of the hatred Robert felt for Ned, as a human being she was aware that she must
make every effort to keep Ned alive regardless of her feelings towards him. She appealed
to Robert's inner yearning, the glimmer of hoe that Lucy may still be alive. He
questioned her "Do you believe. If I let Master Ned live, the Lord will give me back my
Lucy (536). She replied, "As surely as there is a Lord you will find her here or in the
beautiful hereafter, where there is no black or white, no master and no slave (536). This
small amount of hope was what was needed to keep Ned alive, shortly.
Miss Dane and the Doctor helped Robert start over. He enlisted in the 54th Regiment. He
fought bravely taking risks, which pointed to his desire to die and join Lucy. Miss Dane
received a letter stating, "I'll fight fer yer till I'm killed, which I hope will be fore
long" (538). He was sent to fight at Fort Wagner. While there he spotted Ned "He was the
fust up" (540) Ned shouted "Bob" (540). Robert shouted "Marster Ned" (540). He ran
towards Ned who stabbed him with a sword in return Robert's fellow soldier did the same
to Ned. 
Miss Dane while she acknowledges that the act of murder is wrong at times, it is
understandable. The world Ned and Robert were from was the same and yet they are
opposite. The slave and the master will never be equal. Ned is allowed to inflict
atrocities towards Robert that the modern man would never be expected to take. Yet it was
allowed Robert was not considered a human by many. They only thing these two brothers
shared were the location of their death. They died at Fort Wagner; the war however played
a small role. Their death's began years before with the burning hatred that was
smoldering inside each other. The atrocity of human bondage demonstrates how two men were
treated so differently even though they had the same father and were raised on the same
plantation. Their lives were miles apart.
Bibliography
The Brothers or My Contraband Louisa May Scott