In the article "The Cause of Her Pain", Anne Warren tells us the story of a slave who was ordered to be raped and forced to reproduce. Warren first begins to tell the slave's story by taking us back and remembering the slave's journey from her homeland to Mr. Maverick's property. He used vivid language throughout this passage to help the reader imagine what kind of debauched conditions he traveled through to end up being a victim of rape. For example in the section where Warren attempts to describe the conditions of his journey. He wrote, “When we talk about the origins of captured slaves, we are often reduced to generalities.” (Warren 1039) In that moment he addresses the fact that as readers we often oversimplify the idea of ​​slavery and what it was like, we could only imagine. The author uses the words “captured slave” to set the miserable and forced precedent for the rest of the reading. In this moment he asks you to imagine being captured, held back by your legitimate desire for freedom. This is important to the slave experience; they had no choice just as this woman had no choice. It goes on to address the conditions of the ship on which the ointment woman was traveling. He wrote “crammed into the holds of wooden ships, trapped in excrement, vomit and sweat” (Warren 1040). This was yet another request from the author for the reader to place themselves at the feet of the slaves. It is also another key element to understanding not only slavery but also the slave of John Maverick. He traveled for weeks, sometimes months to reach his intended destination. Once the slave reached land it was time to be sold. Once again the author asks us to paint a more vivid picture of the experience of slavery... in the center of the paper... those moments of violence with this woman, raped by men who have no say in the matter. therefore with one's life. The more you read, you are forced to put yourself in this woman's shoes, to imagine what she went through. As you read the article you are forced to ask questions, to reconstruct the past with Warren as he reconstructs this history of the slaves. Even in the lyrics of the song he asks “Now stop and imagine that's you. Now stop imagining, reveal the truth and ask yourself who this is happening to." (Veit, “The Travelers” Lecture) In both sources, imagination is a fundamental element in reconstructing the past. We cannot go back in time, resurrect the dead and ask ourselves if they are true or false, we depend solely on our imagination to do this reconstruction, which is why our imagination is important to understand and construct life during the time of slavery.