68 in Stapleton, 2010, p. 143. It is not supposed to be happened if his slaves praise
God and live righteously. To show his disappointment, then he discredits his slaves by swearing at them.
g. Bass
: White and black alike.
Mr. Epps
: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You comparing me to a
nigger, Bass? Bass
: Im only asking, in the eyes of God, what is the difference?
Mr. Epps : You might as well ask what the difference is
between a white man and a baboon. I seen one of them critters in Orleans.
Datum no. 18 There is a conversation going on between Mr. Epps and Bass about slavery.
Bass does not agree with the brutal way Mr. Epps treats his slaves. He expresses his opposition to slavery and it creates Mr. Eppss enmity. Bass warns Mr. Epps to
treat his slaves like human; White people and Black people are alike. Mr. Epps does not want to be compared to those slaves. It is wrong because he is more
superior than the Blacks, so he discredits them by saying a nigger is alike a baboon
3. To Provoke
The purpose of swearing also is to provoke the listener. It means that certain swear word can bring violent when the speaker expended a certain
respect from the listeners. When the listeners are not satisfied, it will make a confrontation that can be dangerous. Here are some conversations that contain
swear words because the speakers want to provoke the other. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
69
a. Tibeats
: Goddamn yah I thought yah knowed somethin Solomon
: I did as instructed. If theres something wrong, then it‘s
wrong with your instructions.
Tibeats : You black bastard You goddamn black bastard Strip
your clothes Strip
Solomon : I will not.
Datum no. 6 This dialogue contains swear words which aims to provoke someone. This
scene happens when Solomon is working on a hut in Mr. Ford‘s plantation. Tibeats who hates Solomon blames him for not following his instructions well.
However, Solomon states that he has done something as instructed. Tibeats swears at him and wants to whip him. Solomon refuses that. Again, Tibeats
swears at him. This makes Solomon mad. Thus, they are confronting and fighting.
b Tibeats
: You will not live ta see another day, nigger
Datum no. 7 Tibeats mocks his work. However, Solomon does not feel he has made
mistakes. Solomon and Tibeats fights in Mr. Ford‘s Plantation. Tibeats treats Solomon by swearing at him. He says nigger to provoke him. This causes
Solomon beats him more.
4. To Create Interpersonal Identification
The fourth purpose of using swear word is to create strong interpersonal identification. In this section, the speaker has identified someone with the specific
swear words for name calling or nickname, so their friends will understand who they are. In other words, the speaker uses the swear words to state what kind of
70 person he or she is. Here are some swear words which have purpose to create
interpersonal identification.
a. Robert
: I say we fight.
Solomon : The crew is fairly small. If it were well planned, I believe
they could be strong armed.
Clemens
: Three can‘t stand against a whole crew. The rest here are
niggers, born and bred slaves. Niggers
ain‘t got the
stomach for a fight, not a damn one.
Datum no. 2 The conversation happens when three slaves are in a steamboat. They are
talking to each other. Robert urges the other black people to fight against the crew. However, Clemens refuses his idea. Clemens warns again to others
emotionally that three niggers cannot stand against a whole crew because they were born as niggers and bred to be slaves. The word niggers is a swear word.
The purpose of uttering it is to create identification. When used by Blacks, nigger refers to all Blacks. This word refers to all Black people in a steamboat.
b. Eliza
: I will not go without my children
Freeman : Goddamn sniveling wench
Datum no. 3 In Freeman‘s house, Eliza is crying helplessly because she does not want to
be separated from her children. Freeman commands her to be quiet, but it makes her cries louder. This makes Freeman gets mad, so he swears. The purpose of
swearing is to create nickname for another person. That swear word refers to Eliza who cannot stop crying.
71
Datum no. 9 This scene happens in Mr.
Epps‘ main house in the night where all slaves gathered to dance. Mr. Epps forces them to dance and twirl on the floor. He keeps
looking at Patsey attentively. It should be quite clear that his primary motivation for holding dances is watching Patsey twirling on the floor. Mistress Epps knows
that her husband is looking at Patsey lustfully. She throws a carafe to Patsey right upon on her face. She yells at Mr. Epps to sell Patsey and they start arguing. She
says swear words which are directed to Patsey whom she thinks always flirts her husband. She accuses them for having an affair. Moreover, her husband is
attracted to a nigger slave. Thus, she calls Patsey as a black bitch to state what kind of person she is.
d. Mr. Epps
: Whats he been telling you?
Solomon : Of your misbegotten ways.
Mistress Epps
: And he would know what of anything? I aint even
spoken with him today. You lying nigger, Platt. Have I? Have I? There. There‘s all the truth he got. Damn
nigger. Datum no.13
This conversation happens when Mr. Epps believes that Platt a.k.a Solomon
tells something to Mistress Epps. This makes Mistress Epps acts coarse to him. She knows from Solomon
about his husband‘s insolent behavior. He often flirts Patsey. He begs her not to believe Solomon‘s words because he thinks Solomon
c. Mistress Epps
: No other. Sell her Mr. Epps
: I will not
Mistress Epps : You will remove that black bitch from this property,
er Ill take myself back to Cheneyville PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
72 lies. He creates personal branding for Solomon. Thus, he calls Solomon as lying
nigger.
5. To Provide Catharsis
