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How Does Anna Sewell Identify The Nonhuman Animals

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Nityesh Arumugam Prof. Shewry English 192 FE 4 May 2023 Nonhuman Humans Victorian England was a classist time period in which animal cruelty was not uncommon. As people sought wealth through animal labor, they failed to consider the wellbeing of those very animals. Anna Sewell grew up during this time period, unwillingly watching horses, that she grew to adore, getting frequently whipped and exhausted when they weren’t being neglected (Atlas). As a means to communicate this mistreatment, she wrote Black Beauty: a first person story told from the perspective of a horse, regarding the numerous masters he serves and the experiences he faces along his life. Throughout the story, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty uses anthropomorphism to create a character …show more content…

In doing so, she continues to personify the nonhuman characters in this novel while also dismantling the inequalities that humans and animals are believed to have. The incident with Samson displays Sewell’s challenge of the traditional views of people at the time. In the story, Ginger vents to Black Beauty regarding Samson’s inebriated mistreatment of her: “For a long time he stuck to the saddle and punished me cruelly with his whip and spurs, but my blood was thoroughly up, and I cared for nothing he could do if only I could get him off” (Sewell 22). Ginger’s resilience and revolt eventually leads to the literal downfall of Samson. In response, he leaves the situation, and Ginger manages to get treated with some degree of care and compassion by Samson’s master, Mr. Ryder. He confronts Samson, noting the cuts on Ginger’s body and has her work with a different breaker, Job, who provides better care and attention for her needs as she is trained. The cruelty that Samson displays as he breaks Ginger in demonstrates the disparity between humans and animals. Samson considers her, along with any other animal, an inferior, providing him with reason to treat her so cruelly. Sewell cleverly uses Ginger’s frustration –another anthropomorphic quality–towards the abuse as a means to dissolve said disparity and give her better care; humane treatment of the animals elicits more desirable reactions from them. This idea is used in order to challenge the existing theme of animal inferiority, as it pushes for a more humanized approach towards their care; therefore, contributing to the personification of the nonhuman characters in her

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