In his poem, “The Slave Ship”, Heinrich Heine brilliantly satirizes the slave trade. Mynher van Koek embodies the slave ship owner worried about the health of the slaves on his ship so that he can make money when he arrives in Reo de Janeiro. Seven slaves die in one day because of the horrible conditions in the small hold of the ship. Many of them have pretended to die because they would rather face the throes of the sea than to be in the hold of the ship. The ship surgeon seems somewhat sarcastic as he suggests that the captain force the slaves to revel in order to preserve their health. The surgeon loses nothing by the slaves living or dying, and therefore cares little for their health. In order to preserve the health of his “merchandise” van Koek forces the slaves to dance and make merry. Unknown to all on board the ship the sharks look on, waiting for their next inevitable meal. Meanwhile, the captain prays that God take pity on the slaves – so that he can make the money he wants.
In general, I do not enjoy poetry unless someone sets it to music. However, I enjoyed “The Slave Ship”. I despise seeing men misuse and abuse one another so the slave trade sickens me. Books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe strike a chord in my heart and make me cry even now that the slave trade is abolished. I am amazed and disgusted that mankind displays such cruelty. That anyone can call men “merchandise” infuriates me. However, I must ask myself, “Do I treat everyone as I wish to be treated?”
When people walk into the pharmacy where I work, some of them drunk, some of them suffering from serious psychological disorders, I often feel repulsed. When waiting on a man so heavily medicated that he cannot keep his tongue in his mouth, I want to finish as quickly as possible so that I can go wash my hands and forget about him. Do I really care about these people? Do I want to help them, or do I think of them as “less than human”? When people have less intelligence than I, do I remember that they are people too, or do I simply dismiss them as “stupid”? If I cry over the abomination of the slave trade and then go to work and fail to see people as important, my tears are worth nothing.
Throughout history, men have mistreated one another. The slave trade is only one example. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo decries the horrible treatment of petty criminals. The Diary of Anne Frank speaks of a time when Jews were detested. In the United States, African American people have often been discriminated against, and now I see the disgust shifting to Hispanics. Haven’t we learned our lesson? Human beings ought to be respected and treated well. It matters not whether someone is less educated than I or if he is a different color or speaks a different language; he is person and ought to be treated that way.
I am challenged by “The Slave Ship”. Though I live in a time when the slave trade no longer exists, the need to treat men well has not abated. I am determined to do better in my treatment of others, and in my thoughts about them. I do not want to be guilty of discrimination based on so trivial a thing as intelligence or race.
