Were house slaves allowed to communicate with the slaves in the fields?

Question

I'm writing a narrative for my English class and I'd like to know if this was allowed.... Thanks!

Answer 1

House Slaves where allowed to speak to slave in the field. However, due to the social taboo imposed by the slave masters, house slaves were made to believe that their status was higher than that of a common field slave.

Normally, those who worked in the house were lighter-skinned, had less-coarse hair and more European features. The slave owners felt that these types of African Americans were more "attractive" and more acceptable than darker, coarser haired slaves.

In essense, the house slave did not speak to the field slave by choice. And depending on their appearance, completely denied being African American all together.

Answer 2

While it was possible for the house and field slaves to communicate and in some cases almost neccesary, It was not often done in a friendly manner.

House servants were considered above the field worker and as a result there was a rift between the two. Field servants resentted the house help for their easier life and the house slaves often looked down on the "simple" field servant.

Answer 3

That depended on the slave owners. "In many households, treatment of slaves varied with the slave's skin color. Darker-skinned slaves worked in the fields, while lighter-skinned house servants had better clothing, food and housing." ("History of slavery in the United States", Wikipedia)

And in some cases the house slaves and the field slaves could come from the same family. See for example the character "Pearl" in E.L. Doctorow's "The March".

Answer 4

That's an interesting question. I would think so since all the slaves slept in seperate housing away from their owners. You may have to Google for the accurate answer.

Answer 5

yes

Answer 6

no no