The Deadly Cash Nexus in the Slave Narrative of Venture Smith

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article examines Venture Smith‟s slave narrative, one of the very first in the United States, in which Smith recounts his African childhood and his struggle to purchase his freedom. Smith describes various financial transactions including one that led to the death of his son. Because he exploits other African Americans in pursuit of his freedom, Smith is implicated in the very system that had enslaved him. In his mordant narrative Smith delegitimizes slavery by showing how it converts human beings into commodities. At its conclusion, the narrative conveys the sorrow of a man relegated to social death by the institution of slavery. 

RESUMEN: Este artículo analiza el relato de esclavitud de Venture Smith, uno de los primeros de los Estados Unidos, en el que Smith narra su infancia africana y su lucha para obtener la libertad. Smith describe varias transacciones financieras incluyendo la que resultó en la muerte de su hijo. Al explotar a otros afroamericanos en búsqueda de su libertad, Smith se ve envuelto en el mismo sistema que lo esclavizó. A través de una narración llena de amargura Smith deslegitima la esclavitud mostrando cómo convierte a los seres humanos en mercancías. El relato concluye mostrando la tristeza del hombre condenado a una muerte social por culpa de la esclavitud.