Slavery is the smudge that cannot be forgotten in the American history. The slaves were brought from their native Africa and forced to work in the plantations in the South. They stripped out from their human rights because they were considered as properties to their owners. In this paper, I'll try to name some female writers who contributed in the abolitionist movement and how their works raised an awareness around people about the savagery of slavery. The writers are Lydia Maria Child, Angelina and Sarah Grimké, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Select one of the poems and explain why the poet is effective in presenting his message. Consider such elements: rhythm, rhyme, diction, imagery, and purpose. In this Petrarchan sonnet, Dunbar makes clear his message and expression of the pain of racial injustices after the Civil War. Douglass, as depicted as a great leader, is called upon for comfort through this problem that America faces. The purpose of this poem I feel is to represent the struggles the African Americans had to endure during their time being slaves while offering hope for the black community, letting the reader knows that one day someone will lead them out of this struggle and into their promise land.
AP English November 15, 2013 Frederick Douglass Summative CSE Frederick Douglas wrote his narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to bring to the common person’s awareness the cruelty and torture dealt to slaves. He uses his life’s story as a slave wishing for freedom to expose gritty details about the slave trade and the slave owners behind it. With each chapter, he reveals more about the fate of particular slaves, the slaveholding culture of both the North and South, and a little about the persona he displays in the book, too. These points are made more relevant and more effective when used in conjunction with literary devices that include remarkable diction, imagery, syntax, and other devices. In fact, Douglass’ use of these in his narrative creates a stronger message that contributes to his purpose of educating the masses and advocating for the abolition of slavery.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Throughout the book professor Nash emphasizes on the struggles an early America had to deal with developing a country based on independence and freedom, the concept which is the foundation of the “Declaration of Independence”, and enslave the men, women, and children of Africa. Through the American Revolution it was discovered that there was inconsistency with slave system and the principle reasons for the problems between England and America. We have to ask, why was slavery protected as long as it was? Within the book there were many reasons that explained why the nation failed to end slavery but the main reason being the fear that Georgia and South Carolina’s would refuse to join the union if they were forced to abolish it.
Mary Prince delivers a vivid narrative in order to dispel the myths of the latent oppression occurring in the Caribbean, and the tripartite approach offered by Aristotle’s basic fundamentals of a persuasive argument develops a document that persuades readers to consider that the enslaved were not privileged or enjoying their enslavement. Before a book of this magnitude is considered for publication the author’s credibility is considered. Aristotle labeled this idea Ethos. Ethos is the way the writer is perceived by the audience and is concerned with establishing intelligence, character and the goodwill of the author (Differences). Since this narrative was written (1831) during the Antebellum, it was customary for each piece of anti-slavery literature to be authenticated.
By Condé’s own admission, the motive for writing the novel was to present “a reflection on the history of Africa and the reasons for the present day situation of decay and decline” (Condè 548). Based on the key events of the novel, religion is a conspicuous thematic element that is alluded to. The novel Segu demonstrates that, although religion forms an important part of a society’s identity, it is a divisive and destructive force in society that breeds intolerance, and is often used by influential forces to exert power or control over other groups, to obtain wealth and dominance. Secondary to the negative impact of religion, Condé demonstrates how racial and ethnic prejudices, hierarchical systems, and the slave trade have been destructive forces within societies. The novel, which is divided into five parts and further subdivided into chapters, spans the lives of the main protagonists.
This journey takes Rutherford into an enterprising passage of horror and self-discovery. The Middle Passage and The Book of Negroes are two novels written by African-American scholars, as they both clearly depict the social and psychological conflicts that result from the invasion of a self-contained African society by the white man and his culture. Thus, in this paper, I argue that post-colonial theory is a useful tool to analyze the dynamics of colonization, both in Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes and Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage. In particular, I investigate the novels depiction of truth and its betrayal according to the process of colonization from the perspective of the colonizer, the perspective of the colonized and the process of decolonization. The first step to utilize post-colonial criticism is to understand the impact of colonization through the perspectives of the colonizers.
Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, published in 1794, is a series of hardships from Equianos’ childhood to adult life that portray the transition from his cultural African traditions to the New World traditions. Some aspects of his stories; such as his suggestion of his Christian and Jewish ancestry may seem irrelevant to the reader but they help further his antislavery movement. They are incorporated to signify his view on African slavery. Throughout the narrative Equiano used the tool of signifying, also known as double taking, to further his antislavery argument throughout this piece of literature. The narrative begins with Equiano’s detailed description of the customs of the Eboe tribe.
After readin articles and stories like "The concepts of time" by Mbiti, "The racial contract" by C.W. Mills and "The heart of darkness" by J. Conard, it gives allot to think about, not just in African culture but other cultures as well. It seems that the only reason people go to
The phenomenon that Wheatley became in her day is indicative of the debates over human’s natural rights versus nature’s placement of them. Gates argues that the historical treatment of Wheatley’s work has “determined the theory of criticism of the creative writings of Afro-Americans from the eighteenth century to the present time” (229). The Spiritual Scheick suggests in Authority and Female Authorships in Colonial America that Phillis Wheatley consciously used biblical allusions to create a second narrative. One example is her famous poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” in which the surface meaning seems to be Wheatley’s gratitude for receiving religion and consequently salvation from her white captors. Yet her use of biblical allusions seems to criticize her white counterparts for not practicing the equality that they preach (Levernier 26).