Adaptation of Modern African-American Writers

All throughout his entire story, Equiano’s use of pathos gave the person reading the text the feeling that slavery had to be taken out of the realm of socially acceptable things. On page 87 Equiano's story states; “This wretched situation was again aggravated by the

Captivity narratives were popular with readers in both America and the European continent during the era of North and South American discovery and colonization. They related the experiences of whites being enslaved by Native Americans and of Africans being enslaved by whites. Two captivity narratives that were widely read during the time are A Narrative of the Capture and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano. They relate the experiences of a married white Puritan woman captured by Native Americans and an African boy captured for the American slave trade at a young age respectively. They were often used as propaganda, Europeans during this time created stereotypes for Native Americans as being cruel and warlike and helped whites to start to see the slavery of African-Americans as wrong. The two narratives are similar in the use of diction to describe each author’s fear of their captors. Further examination reveals several other similarities and differences in the purposes of the narratives as well as in the experiences, reactions, comforts, and views about religion of these two captives.

The second half of the eighteenth century introduced a new expression to the literary world. The new expression was a voice that belonged to the African American writers. The African American writers wrote with a flair and brought a new perspective to the realm of literature. Literature, as America had known it, consisted of works from Christopher Columbus, John Smith, William Bradford, and Mary Rowlandson; these writers captured the essence of life, through their eyes. Through their eyes, the readers were able to see what life was like for Christopher Columbus through his letters capturing details of the voyages. Another famous writing in the eighteenth century was a voice from a different perspective than voyages but, it was a voice dealing with savages, as they were called. This voice was the voice of Mary Rowlandson, one of the first female writers in American Literature. Rowlandson’s narrative was based on her captivity with the Indians and the reestablishment of her life after she was returned to her hometown. Through narration and translation, the Native Americans were able to capture their literature in their native tongue. What type of literature could the Native Americans have to contribute to the literary world? The Native Americans, like other cultures, have stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, in the form of oral expressions. The oral expressions the Native

As African Americans ' spot in American culture has changed through the hundreds of years, thus, has the center of African-American writing. Before the American Civil War, the writing fundamentally comprised of journals by individuals who had gotten away from subjection; the class of slave stories included records of life under subjugation and the way of equity and recovery to flexibility. There was an early qualification between the writing of liberated slaves and the writing of free blacks, who had been

Narratives by fugitive slaves before the Civil war are necessary to help our understanding of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of American history and literature. These slave narratives acted as sources, telling of the experiences from the point of view of those who lived through slavery as slaves themselves. Written primarily in the 1840s and 1850s, slave narratives revealed the struggles that southern slaves faced such as poor living conditions, working conditions, and excessive punishment and abuse. Two former slaves that addressed these concerns in their narratives were Frederick Douglass and Mary Prince. In their narratives, they share the hardships faced as well as the effect they had on their physical and emotional well-beings.

Critics struggle to fit Douglass’s narrative into a literary genre, some believe it fits within the realm of Romanticism while others argue his narrative belongs under Realism. In nineteen century America, the African American voice was missing from literature. Slave narratives were not taken seriously and most slaves were not taught how to read or write. Douglass’s was a self-taught slave his narrative was a game changer Douglass was considered an intellectual and respected by most as a reputable author. Douglass’s narrative is difficult to place within genre because it has aspects of both realism and romanticism. It is realistic to have a narrative explaining the horrors of slavery: some of the horrors so terrible it is hard for someone

After years of enslavement, the African slaves became Americanized and later converted to African-Americans, understanding English but not all could read or write English. The master’s thought their slaves Christianity; the stories of Moses, Jesus and the Bible in whole. The slaves endure hardship after hardship, that today Americans couldn’t hold the strength capacity to survive. The slaves had white masters that looked at them as nothing more than cattle or property; not all but most. The slaves were field workers of inhuman tolerances, house workers, toys for the master’s children, and forced sexual objects (rape). The slaves may have not known yet how to physically escape the endeavors of their white slave master’s but

Equiano therefore develops in his novel, the claim that if his white companions and his audience are “true” Christians, they could not help but to see that the treatment of many African slaves contradicts Christian morals and disregards African slaves as humans with worth and value as individuals.

In our society, specifically the south, African-American men are constantly viewed with negative connotations. It is so disturbing to know our society has molded our minds into believing this misconception. This fallacy originated from generational hate that has been in existence since slavery, and is apparent in many forms of African-American literature. Black Men in a Public Space did a phenomenal job of depicting the negative connotations presented to black men in the south. As I read the literature, it allowed me to picture these senseless acts and sympathize with African-American males. I noticed Staples brought to his readers’ attention that despite class, race, and gender of a black man, he would be viewed with adverse connotations.

In the memoir of abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, he describes the “enormous cruelties” committed by white slave traders on captured Africans during the eighteenth century transatlantic slave trade, which still flourished as he penned his 1784 narrative (Equiano, 5). While Equiano seeks to characterize the innocence and humanity of his African brethren and therefore justify the unethical nature of their

Slavery was an intrinsic part of North American history from the founding of the Jamestown colony in 1607 to the legal abolition of servitude in 1865. But our nation continues to grapple with the economic, political, social, and cultural impact of that peculiar institution to this day. Over seventy years after the end of the Civil War, the WPA Federal Writer’s Project sought to understand the impact which slavery had on the lives of African Americans who once lived under its yoke. In 1936-38, the Writer’s Project sent out-of-work writers to seventeen states to record the personal narratives of former slaves; the result was an outpouring of nearly 3,000 stories from

Being African-American and a writer was rare to say back then since many people viewed African-Americans as uneducated and illiterate. Till this day many people still see African-Americans as less competent than any other person from a different race. Throughout history we’ve seen many accomplishments from African-Americans, either it being in sports or in the educational field. I’ve never doubted African-Americans on their capacity on what they can and cannot do. African-Americans have broken many barriers and stereotypes of what prejudice and racist people view them as. It’s nice to be alive knowing and seeing how currently our president, Barack Obama is an African-American who ran for presidency and won the two terms he ran for. I hope educators and leaders of this country start shifting their views on Africa-Americans and stop downgrading them because they are humans as well and they’re capable of doing anything they set their mind to. May educators motivate African-American students and help them achieve instead of giving up on them and not seeing their potential. Throughout this course I have learned many knowledge from African-American authors who have shown the world what they’re capable of and their creativity in their writings. Two authors who I found very interesting while reading their writings were Nat Turner and Malcolm X. The purpose of writing this paper is to compare and contrast Nat Turner and Malcolm X of what I have learned from their writings and as well

Slave narratives written by slaves reveal the harsh treatment slaves experienced, in order to, end slavery. My favorite slave narrative and writer is, Olaudah Equiano because I believe his narrative provides an analysis of the treatment slaves experience and witness. Reading From The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, describes a typical slave who faces challenges while being separated from his family, but also has an opportunity most slaves don`t have which is, the ability to purchase his freedom. Equiano embodies the self of a slave who doesn't have the freedom to create his own identity. Equiano also embodies the belief, that God will determine whether he will

When referencing the statement “black as Cain,” Wheatley alludes to the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The story told in the bible, shows the dangerous result of jealousy and anger. In the story, Cain and Abel two brothers who God asked them to both bring a sacrifice. Abel brought his sacrifice to God the way that God requested, while Cain didn’t and his sacrifice was rejected. As a result, Cain became angered and projected that anger onto Abel, eventually killing his brother. In order to rationalize and continue the injustice of slavery, white slave owners people used the concept of the ‘rejected brother’ to validate the enslavement of Africans. But, Wheatley opposes this view by saying that even Africans who bare the “stain of Cain” can become refined and be forgiven when they accept Jesus Christ.

A slave narrative is a work of literature that tells the first hand account of slaves. Slave narratives are in a sense they autobiography for slave culture. Slaves in these stories usually go through great turmoil and stress, overcome many obstacles, and contribute many a tale of the perseverance of their culture, family and religion. All these characteristics are found in the story of Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings, as well as the narrative of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Both of these real life accounts have these tropes, but in comparison do not exclusively only both contain these points. The narratives of both these men have a great deal in common even though Equiano’s death and Douglass’ birth were separated by twenty-one years, though Douglass’ birthdate is debateable; for even he does not know his own date of birth. Both Equiano and Douglass use a great deal of religious moments throughout their stories, Equiano having a great deal more points on the subject as his story was written longer and was infused much more with religious stories and voice. These writers also both put an emphasis on the acquiring of literacy even during their time as slaves, though there most common comparison has to be their stories containing their childhood moments. These men did a great deal to get their stories out to the world and had to show utmost poise in order to be taken seriously by a largely