The main goals for this paper is to compare and contrast the main ideas and views of the great pieces of literature: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King and “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Both authors attempt to argue for the rights to disobey authority is there is social injustice. Both of these authors seem to have the same ideas and views, but Thoreau was writing during the mid 1800s during the time of slavery in America and King was writing in the 1960s during the time of severe racial discrimination in America. Because Thoreau came before King, he was a big influence for King and his writing. Although Thoreau was not the first to introduce these ideas, he may have been the first to bring it to the attention of many Americans.
Upon first reading Aphra Behn's work Oroonoko, one might get the impression that this is an early example of antislavery literature that became so popular during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the short biography of Behn from the Norton Anthology of British Literature, we learn that Behn's story had a great impact on those who fought against the slave- trade. Although the horrors of the slave trade are clearly brought forth, I do not feel Behn was using these images towards the antislavery cause. I think it is more likely that the images were merely devices used in her travel narrative of Oroonoko. To see any negative view of the slave-trade, the reader must turn to the perspective of Oroonoko.
In the early 70’s, the common genre of blaxploitation set the stage for African-American films we see today. Two films in particular, Superfly and Shaft, brilliantly use stereotypes and imaging to tackle racial controversies in our society. Although the plots of these films are quite different, they both deal with the idea of black characters “sticking it to the man.” Contrary to earlier films that presented black characters with inferior roles of slavery and/or poverty, the main characters are depicted with positions of authority and power. The directors use these characters to defy the stereotypes and misconceptions that blacks are labeled with. In addition to exciting and intense storylines, these two movies provide insight into the urban lifestyles African-Americans held in our society during the 70’s.
While they are both slave narratives, they are written from the perspectives of different genders, bringing two very different experiences. Both narratives appeal to pathos, but Douglass’ is more realistic and appealing, whereas Jacobs’ is overdone and almost petty. Both of these narratives have a strong appeal to pathos. This is very common throughout slave narratives because the purpose of them is to make the reader feel what they felt and sympathize with them. The audiences for these narratives at the time were abolitionists, with the purpose of calling them to action to abolish slavery.
American Slavery Many authors and historians have analyzed slavery from only a negative perspective, showing only the extreme cases of poor treatment. Due to the recent discovery of new primary sources about slavery, scholars have been able to reexamine the facts and provide a more accurate depiction of enslaved life. In Peter Kolchin’s book American Slavery, the author uses these new facts to portray slavery in a new light. The primary goal of this novel is to provide the facts about slavery. Other goals that the Kolchin hopes to achieve are the analyzing of the relationship between the slave masters and slaves and to show how slavery has adapted over time.
However, there are sometimes raised vignettes, such as servants management to run a successful mutiny or broker to return home. "The Slave Ship" is a fascinating account of cruelty and torture, greed and dishonesty, defiance and resignation. Rediker apparently trying to appeal to the emotions of readers, a technique which is not as often as possible. However, it remains an intriguing tale of academic level, so even if the stories do not go to the heart, they certainly apply to the
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.
African American Cultural Influence on an Author In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," and Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the irony and ambiguity in the Negro way of life can be found in the distorted concept of new found "freedom" that was granted to blacks during this time through the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation. Through these documents blacks were granted the right to be viewed as separate but equal to whites however, the promise of equality had not been realized and the oppression that continued and its effect on the black family and specifically sibling relationships can be seen in the works of both Baldwin and Walker The ambiguity lied in the promise of "separate but equal," which was really "separate
Moreover, a number of revolutionaries saw the glaring contradiction between demanding freedom for themselves while holding slaves. Although the economic center of slavery was in the South, northerners also held slaves, as did African Americans and Native Americans. Moreover, some southerners opposed slavery. Blacks were in the vanguard of the anti-slavery movement. Abolitionist literature began to appear about 1820.
Slavery in Early American Society, a Remembering Many topics of American history raise debate and controversy. From the taking of land from the native to election processes, and even terrorism, most of these can be viewed from many political and moral viewpoints as wrong, necessary, immoral etc… Most of these seem to pale in comparison to the ideology of slavery in our history. Whether thought of in modern society as wrong from a moral perspective, curtailment of human rights, slavery existed for reasons of the time and abolished some time later for other reasons that are surprising to some. From the emergence of written history we see evidence of slavery, in one form or another. The most ancient civilizations--ancient Mesopotamia, Old Kingdom