Feminist Criticism Of The Slave Mother

“And ain’t I a woman?” exclaims the enigmatic persona titled Sojourner Truth. Her words are coated in southern batter and hickish grime. She speaks to a crowd of like-minded individuals, an array of women gathered before her, listening with bated breath, clinging to her relatable dialect. “Ain’t I A Woman?” is a speech that wears a veil of innocence and confidence and purity over its steely passionate cries for female equality. However, its actual conception was not so simple; the speech was first written, and then rewritten to bear the southern drawl that it is famed for, and which made it so relatable to her desired demographic at the time. The speech is an inconspicuous display of effective grammatical systems at work.

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

African American women have long been stereotyped, discriminated against and generalized in this country. They have had to face both being black in America while also being a woman in America. African American women encountered and still do encounter double discrimination of both sex and race (Cuthbert, 117). Women like Elise Johnson McDougald, Marion Vera Cuthbert and Alice Dunbar-Nelson all tried to shed light on what it was like to be an African American woman living in the 20th century yet literature often portrayed them as emotional, hypersexual, unintelligent and of lesser worth. The literature highlighted that African American women have to serve both their employer and their husbands and families. They are not supposed to have an opinion or stand up for themselves, especially to a white man. ***Concluding sentence?

In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet Jacobs writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (64). Jacobs' work shows the evils of slavery as being worse in a woman's case by the gender. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slave's desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing.

Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” using the pseudonym Linda Brent, and is among the most well-read female slave narratives in American history. Jacobs faces challenges as both a slave and as a mother. She was exposed to discrimination in numerous fronts including race, gender, and intelligence. Jacobs also appeals to the audience about the sexual harassment and abuse she encountered as well as her escape. Her story also presents the effectiveness of her spirit through fighting racism and showing the importance of women in the community.

Writing has been an outlet and a platform for people who have endured hardships and discrimination, leading Sojourner Truth to write a speech that later becomes an anthem in the anti-slavery movement. Her original speech was delivered on May 29, 1851, to the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio, where she reached out to fellow women and people of color rhetorically asking why she was discriminated against with hopes to rally the audience and bring change to the pressing issues in America. Specifically, through her arrangement readers, 150 years later are still moved because of how successful it was, much of which can be attributed to the strategies Truth used in arranging her speech.

By expressing this with the African American society of women who are continuously torched by the demanding words of men, McLune appeals strongly to all American women’s intellect of equality and respect. Women should not have to be judged by men and expect to be treated as if they owe anyone something, let alone have to be mistreated and belittled, if that were to be the case then men should be treated the same, therefore McLune’s audience, should understand that that is not how you define a black woman in any terms.

Inside the town of Akron, Ohio within the 12 months of 1851, an African American female added a shifting speech at the women’s convention that would be remembered for its rawness, genuineness, and effectiveness. Sojourner Truth spoke about the way she was treated for simply being a “black woman”. Not only being black was the problem, also being a woman had a vast effect on the way she was treated. She used personal and emotional experiences to connect with her audience. Sojourner Truth petitions to her audience for the push of women rights – for all women – through a variety of rhetorical devices.

The first time I heard “Ar'nt I a Woman?” was freshman year of high school, during our annual African-American Heritage assembly. The crowd, always restless and inattentive, chattered and snapchatted away as the speech and presenter were announced. A lanky girl shuffled on stage, folding in on herself as she walked, arrived center stage, and began to speak. As she went on, her spine straightened, her murmurs turned to phrases enunciated so clearly her tongue seemed to be working three times as hard as a normal person’s. By the end of the speech, she had the undivided attention of the audience, all holding their breath because of how passionately and honestly she presented this glimpse into life as a black woman. Both Chapter 4 of A Shining Thread of Hope by Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson, and Sojourner Truth’s “Ar'nt I a Woman?” speech serve the same general goal: showcasing the mistreatment of African American Women by society . While Truth’s speech is from her perspective, full of rage and frustration, A Shining thread gives her experiences important context. .

The poem, “A Woman Speaks” by Audre Lorde is a both a confessional and identity poem. She is not only addressing her internal battle and self-suffering, but also discussing the societal inequities African American women were suffering in the United States. The poem’s diction, on the surface, produces a tranquil tone to the poem. This facet of tranquility in the poem is used to express how her battle against inequity will not be fought with violence or hatred, and how she is not blaming any specific party or institution for her personal suffering. She instead plans to use the power and beauty of words to communicate the flaws of the image of women, fight against injustice and racism, and alleviate her internal despair. “A Woman Speaks” by Audre Lorde is an anthem for African American women and uses vivid imagery, ancestral references, and a call to action to connect to the reader and enact a fight against the underrepresentation of African American women.

Woman’s suffragist and anti-slavery activist, Sojourner Truth, in her iconic speech, Ain’t I A Woman, testifies that the black woman and white woman have one common enemy that thwarts their movement of achieving equality: men. Truth’s intent is to instigate woman into rallying for their rights, and to enlighten men on their oppressive and illogical arguments. She establishes a relaxed but highly respectable tone as means to connect to the audience, so not to see her as a stranger exclaiming the injustices of men, but as a woman who has grown up in the same tyrannical environment these black and white women have.

“Black in a white society, slave in a free society, woman in a society ruled by men, female slaves had the least formal power and were perhaps the most vulnerable group of Americans.” (Gray, 70) Deborah Gray White’s Ar’n’t I a Woman? is a much needed insight into the realm of the enslaved African-American woman, whose struggles transcended that of any other peoples. In her narrative, White explores the multifaceted identities of enslaved women in the South. She explains the prevalent images of the “Jezebel” and the “Mammy” that were designated to African American slave women. Each chapter in her text is accumulative, adding to the story and experiences of the archetypal enslaved African American woman.

No one in today’s society can even come close to the heartache, torment, anguish, and complete misery suffered by women in slavery. Many women endured this agony their entire lives, there only joy being there children and families, who were torn away from them and sold, never to be seen or heard from again.

Sojourner Truth’s words in her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” served as an anthem for women everywhere during her time. Truth struggled with not only racial injustice but also gender inequality that made her less than a person, and second to men in society. In her speech, she warned men of “the upside down” world against the power of women where “together, [women] ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” Today, America proudly stands thinking that Truth’s uneasiness of gender inequality was put to rest. Oppression for women, however, continues to exist American literature has successfully captured and exposed shifts in attitude towards women and their roles throughout American history.

The simple fact is that everybody has heard of the Underground Railroad, but not everyone knows just what it was. First of all, it wasn=t underground, and it wasn=t even a railroad. The term AUnderground Railroad,@ actually refers to a path along which escaping slaves were passed from farmhouse to storage sheds, from cellars to barns, until they reached safety in the North. One of the most widely known abolitionists in history is a slave by the name of Harriet Tubman. She is best known as the conductor of the Underground Railroad and risked her life to help free nearly 300 slaves. The primary importance of the Underground Railroad was the ongoing fight to abolish slavery, the start of the Civil War,