Is there a thin line between a friend and a foe?

Ms. Keckley did not write behind the scenes to defend the honor of Mrs. Lincoln. Mrs Keckley met Mrs Lincoln after she was recommended by Mrs McCain, she always had a desire to work for the ladies of the Whitehouse and this was her chance. Ms. Keckley became friends with Mrs. Lincoln while the Lincolns were in the white house because she was a dressmaker and who would not strongly oppose opinions for Mrs. Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln made her a confidant because as women salons, dress makers, almost make one so comfortable that they can say everything and anything while being attended to. Mrs. Keckley did not write the autobiography to defend Mrs. Lincoln's honor, instead, she openly exposed the things that happened in the white house and things she heard Mrs Lincoln say which one would say caused a lot of criticism when the public knew about them.

In the beginning of chapter five, Mrs. Keckley made it clear that she desired to work for the ladies of the white house and would do anything to make sure her desire came true, "Ever since arriving in Washington I had a great desire to work for the ladies of the Whitehouse and to accomplish this end I was ready to make almost any sacrifice...". One would disagree that Mrs Keckley wrote the autobiography to defend her friend and claim that she talked about things that made Mrs. Lincoln look like she hated everyone around her. For instance, at the state dinners where Mrs. Lincoln constantly made comments about who she did not trust or she did not think her husband had to be friends with, these events should have remained confidential because they only slander Mrs. Lincoln's character than saving it. As first lady, Mrs Lincoln was constantly scared that something would happen to Mr. Lincoln. It was okay for her to raise concerns and have opinions on the people her husband trusted. Mrs Keckley saying these things in her biography slandered her friend rather than defend. Ms. Keckley also talked about Mrs. Lincoln's disagreement in one of her letters, for the donations made by the coloreds to her and how she did not like it. Mrs. Keckley's obligation as a friend to Mrs Lincoln would have been to keep the opinion of the first lady confidential especially at a time when everyone criticized her. One would argue that behind the scenes fueled the criticisms rather than defend the honor of Mrs. Lincoln.

Although Ms. Keckley stayed with Mrs. Lincoln at her time when tragedy struck, she did not want to go with her to Chicago because she was not going to be paid, proving that their friendship was more transactional. After the tragic death if President Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln had a big debt that she was left with and had not told her husband about. She left the Whitehouse with nothing but hope that the congress with do something for her to maintain her life of comfort which turned out not to be the case. When the congress did not do anything for her, it was hard for her to even pay the debt off as well as be able to provide for her two children and herself. Mrs. Lincoln turned to her friend Mrs. Keckley and sked her to help her sell her wardrobe. Mrs. Elizabeth went to help her sell her wardrobe but at one point she mentioned that it had become a burden to help Mrs. Lincoln after criticism arose from the public.

Ms. Keckley did not write the autobiography to defend mrs Lincoln because she talks about Mrs Lincoln as woman who was not forgiving. One would argue that if defending someone's honor it is important to keep the dirty laundry hidden and in this case Ms. Keckley just outed Mrs. Lincoln. There is one time in chapter seven when her brother died, and she did not mourn when the news gets to her. "He made his choice long ago; he decided against my husband and threw him against me. He has been fighting us and since he chose to be our deadly enemy, I see no special reason why I should bitterly mourn his death". Although, it was right that she did not mourn and she hated anyone who went against her husband, as a friend she had to keep words like these confidential and not let the public know about her shortcomings.

There is no denial that Mrs Keckley celebrated with, helped, supported, and mourned with Mrs Lincoln when she was going through all the transitions in her life. Losing her son, then her husband's assassination, leaving the Whitehouse with debt rather than help, there is no denial that she was there for Mrs. Lincoln when she faced all these life challenging moments, but she did not write the biography to defend Mrs. Lincoln. One would argue that she wrote the biography to show that she had successfully made it as a seamstress in Washington after buying her freedom. The biography was more of an advert and a self-applaud for Mrs. Keckley but the details in the autobiography only fueled the criticism rather than defend honor.

Works cited

LibriVox. Librivox, https://librivox.org/behind-the-scenes-by-elizabeth-keckley/.

Using the rubric below, rewrite or paraphrase the essay above, writer lacks thesis, in the paper although has valid reasons for the prompt. help write a thesis.

• Major Paper #1: KeckleyEssay Checklist AssignmentI have read, and I understand the assignment guidelines. ____ AudienceThe paper was written with an audience in mind. ____ OrganizationThe paper contains a clear & brief introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. ____ IntroductionThe paper's brief introduction creates interest in its reader. ____ Thesis StatementThe paper's thesis statement expresses a claim (a position, perspective, or opinion) on its topic. Please revisit the prompt for the template I provided and make sure it is in the introduction paragraph of your paper. ____ **Please underline your thesis statement. _____ Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that indicates its main idea. ____ The main idea of every paragraph directly relates to the paper's thesis . ____ Each quote's relevance to the position stated in the thesis has been discussed. ___ Ideas progress, from paragraph to paragraph, in a clear organized way. ____ ConclusionThe paper ends with a logical conclusion; it does not finish abruptly. ____ Fine TuningThe paper has been read aloud. ____ MLA FormatThis paper adheres to MLA format as indicated on the assignment sheet. ___ Work Cited PageThis paper contains a Work Cited page with 1 source (Keckley's text)___ Page CountThe paper meets the required 5 paragraph count (no more; no less) and the word count of ~750 words as indicated on the paper prompt. __