York: The Author of Fear on an Expedition for
Freedom
Fear is a theme that has been present
throughout much of history. Fear is one
reason why countries wage war, make allies, and sign treaties. Countries are fearful of loss of life, loss of
power, loss of money, and much more. In
the United States during the late eighteenth and throughout the nineteenth
centuries, one of man’s fears was related to power. Through poetry, Frank X Walker is able to
bring to life the story of York, while showing how the industry of slavery was
designed on the concept of fear. Although
a work of fiction, the poems in Buffalo
Dance: The Journey of York, accurately explain the tensions of slavery and
the struggle for power at the time.
It is important to differentiate between
a soldier and a slave. The poem “At
Ease” provides many parallels between these two occupations. Walker describes how, “the sergeants walked
the men back an forth every day.” This is similar to slaves being brought above
deck and forced to exercise during the voyage from Africa to America. This form of exercise was intended to reduce
the risk of illness and complications among slaves. Another parallel between soldiers
and slaves highlighted in Walker’s poetry is the idea of a spectacle. Walker
uses York’s voice to convey how, “The privates was made to stand as stiff as
oaks / an dance together in straight lines with no music / while they carried
they long riffles / like it a parade for the squirrels at the snow.” In the
eyes of York, this strange action was comparable to the public ridicule masters
often inflicted among their slaves when in need of entertainment. Lastly, Walker relates the images of scars
from slaves being whipped to the punishment disobedient soldiers received. Walker portrays York as an empathetic
character who finds similarities with the soldier. Although Walker points out many similarities
between soldiers and slaves, he leaves out one significant difference. Soldiers fight for an end result, while slaves
fight simply to survive. While soldiers
do not always go into battle willingly, they realize that the end result of
their service will benefit them in some way.
Slaves, on the other hand, did not voluntarily submit themselves to
slavery, and never saw any greater reward for themselves or their families.
One justification often made for the
violence inflicted on slaves, was the fear of revolt. Masters needed to assert their dominance from
the beginning in order to make slaves fearful of the consequences of
disobedience. Slaves only had two
choices, to remain a slave or to attempt to flee. The goal of the master was to make the slave
submissive due to fear of physical violence.
Masters also had control over their slaves when it came to family. Slaves could easily be bought and sold, often
tearing them apart from their loved ones.
Admitting and giving into the notion of fear was one way for slaves to
cope with their position within the unfair system of slavery.
Slavery was exhausting, both physically
and mentally. In order to deal with this
exhaustion, slaves needed to be fearful of their masters. However, this is not
how Walker describes York. York was
scared of no one and nothing. The role
of fear seemed to switch during the Lewis and Clark expedition. For example, Walker’s depiction of the Mandan
village shows how the white men were fearful of the uncharted land. Forcing York and Sacagawea to lead the men
through the forest in “Leading Men” emphasizes this fear of the unknown that
the white man had. By using York and
Sacagawea as a sort of sacrificial lamb, Lewis and Clark were able to continue
their expedition while still asserting their dominance. This concept of the unknown can be depicted
in many ways. A similar unknown was the
emancipation of slavery. A world without
slavery was as scary for Lewis and Clark to imagine as, “mistaking tree roots
for rattlers an wasting / precious ball an powder on shadows an the wind.”
Without instilling a sense of fear in their slaves, the white man feared what
would happen if slavery were to be abolished.
While white men feared what life would
be like in the New World without slavery, slaves feared what their lives would
become if slavery continued. Walker
expressed death as a dream for slaves.
Similarly to the grizzly bear, slaves are not afraid of death, but
rather, “that when he wakes up / he’ll just be a slave again.” Slavery was not
just an institution that affected a single generation. Instead, it perpetuated
a cycle of dehumanization that had no end in sight.
In present day, fear is often seen as
something that can be overcome. However,
during the time of slavery, fear was used as an important tool, which became
part of the foundation for the system.
It was important that both the master and the slave possessed some form
of fear, in order for the institution of slavery to continue. Masters used fear of physical violence and
separation to force their slaves into obedience. However, Walker describes how the only thing
worth fearing was slavery itself. Through
the fictional poetry written by Walker, new insight into the master/slave
relationship is revealed.
