Resistance From Oppression in Horton and Wheatley's Poems Essay

Dunbar wrote in black dialect also, although it wasn’t his ideal way of writing. His readers favored his poems in black dialect instead of his preferred way of standard English so in spite of his success he was disappointed that his greatest gift had gone unappreciated. The need to survive financially in the literary world had forced him to compromise his talent. Dunbar often wrote about the difficulties the black race encountered and the ongoing race for equality in America; a subject Wheatley rarely touched in her poems.

Within sixteen months of her arrival, she was reading astronomy, geography, history, and British literature. Wheatley was able to break a language barrier that had held so many others of her race back. Her desire for learning increased and the quest for knowledge became embedded in her spirit, mind, and soul. By her teenage years, Wheatley was a well known author, reciting poems for the New England elite in homes where blacks could not even sit at the table with whites.Phillis Wheatley made many contributions to American literature. Other than successfully representing and expressing the feelings of anger, frustration, and impatience of African American people abroad, she has paved the way for young aspiring African American writers.

The brutality that slaves endured form their masters and from the institution of slavery caused slaves to be denied their god given rights. In the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," Douglass has the ability to show the psychological battle between the white slave holders and their black slaves, which is shown by Douglass' own intellectual struggles against his white slave holders. I will focus my attention on how education allowed Douglass to understand how slavery was wrong, and how the Americans saw the blacks as not equal, and only suitable for slave work. I will also contrast how Douglass' view was very similar to that of the women in antebellum America, and the role that Christianity played in his life as a slave and then

Phillis Wheatley’s, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ is a testament to writing that utilizes irony and satire to produce a salient argument. As Susan Martin, states in her analysis of Wheatley’s poem, “a young woman who sought to assert her views on the passage from freedom to slavery, ignorance to knowledge, darkness to enlightenment” (Martin, 157). In particular, Wheatley’s aim was to construct a piece which addresses the ideals expressed by Martin utilizing irony and satire. Moreover, Wheatley, at the time of writing this poem, was amongst those enslaved. In fact, Wheatley published her first book in 1773. This is a time before America’s independence and most certainly a time where slavery was prominent. This book, which contained numerous poems, proved those enslaved were more intelligent than previously thought. Within Wheatley’s book, her famous poem, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ was read. Read by those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. Typically, Wheatley addresses Christianity and avoids any discussion of race. However, this poem addresses racial issues straight on. On the surface of this poem lies words that when first perceived, appear to support slavery and her deposition from Africa. Moreover, Wheatley utilizes irony and satire to provide a deeper message that speaks out against slavery. More importantly, satire and irony allow two views to form. Through analysis from authors, Levernier, Loving, and Martin, their multiple perspectives can be formed into one. This analysis, will allow a better understanding of Wheatley’s intent with each line and a closer analysis of her clever rhetoric. Furthermore, Wheatley aims to reveal the improper treatment of, “Negros, black as Cain” (Wheatley), while also allowing the poem to be perceived as an appraisal of slavery. Furthermore, Wheatley utilizes each line to provide discussion on different issues regarding slavery in terms of criticizing white Christianity. Furthermore, Wheatley makes her viewpoint of slavery clear; an improper treatment that will not last.

All their dazzling opportunities, were theirs, not mine…. With other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny…. Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in my own house? The shades of the prison-house closed round about us all: walls strait and stubborn to the whitest, but relentlessly narrow, tall, and unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly, watch the streak of blue above.

While some verses in Phillis Wheatly’s poem On Being Brought From Africa to America seem to fit Isabel’s story perfectly, others are the complete opposite of her view on life. Looking through the poem, the first couplet starts out representing the opposite of Isabel’s ideals while the last two are closer to them.

In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood

Injustice is a prevailing theme in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Tubman, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Spider Woman 's Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond and Great Speeches by Native Americans by Bob Blaisdell; the diligence of several characters have made it possible for them to preserve and overcome injustices. America has not always been a land of the free for colored people; white settlers destroyed the meaning of freedom when they robbed the land from the indigenous people. Freedom was also destroyed when slaves in America were not treated as full human beings. Despite of many obstacles the oppressed faced, their thirst for freedom and determination helped them in reaching their goals.

In the beginning of this essay, Hurston describes the superiority dynamic between herself and White Northerners passing through her hometown. Specifically, Hurston reflects that the passing white travelers only valued her as a source of amusement: “They liked to hear me speak pieces and sing and wanted to see me dance the parse-me-la.” (Hurston 42). Almost as if Hurston was a common servant; the passing white people would pay to see an innocent black girl dance and sing just as a king demands a show from his jester. Furthermore, Hurston’s youthful naivety in the racial hierarchy of Jim Crow America made her exploitation all the more grotesque. Hurston includes this reflection in her essay to show how black people were degraded by white society even as young children. Which creates the impression that the social hierarchy of races was thoroughly integrated into the lives of African Americans. Essentially, it was part of an African Americans social identity to be inferior due to their complexion.

Phillis Wheatley was an African American poet who contributed to American literature, but also influenced African Americans living in America, and inspired their knowledge about how they were treated during the Revolutionary War. Phillis Wheatley was an African American female who was born in 1753 in West Africa, and she died on December 5th, 1753 in Boston Massachusetts. (“Phillis Wheatley.” Discovering Biography). In 1761, she was captured and brought to America and was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley. Unlike other household slaves, Wheatley was treated well and had a very upright education. (“Phillis Wheatley,” UXL Biographies). Wheatley started to write poetry when she was twelve years old and published her first poem when she was fourteen years old. Later in her life, having not yet found her sense of freedom, Wheatley promoted her work and became well known during the Revolutionary War. (“Phillis Wheatley.” Discovering Biography). She was granted freedom in 1773 and moved to Providence, Rhode Island where she pursued her career once more. Later in 1784, she died after a miserable marriage to John Peters, but her legacy still lives and emphasized problems of equality during the Revolutionary War. (“Phillis Wheatley,” UXL Biographies). Phillis Wheatley’s, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” demonstrates her personal experiences upon leaving Africa as a slave and demonstrates African equality beyond her Pagan background and life living as a servant in

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

Hughes’s descriptive writing prompts the reader to visualize strong images of oppression in America. The speaker provides an image of an extremely suppressed group of people in the statement: “I am the red man driven from the land” (Hughes 21). This simple phrase creates a picture of the Native Americans being driven from their lands and forced to live on undesirable land, and, as a result, this invites the reader to acknowledge their severe oppression. Similarly, the speaker mentions the people who were “torn from Black Africa’s strand” (Hughes 50). This generates an image of boats packed with a depressing amount of broken people, waiting to be sold into slavery. These visual examples portray the severity of the situation that many Americans found themselves in. These

The African-American authors of this time period wrote stories describing life during and after slavery. Real life issues that these authors lived through and experienced through the world around them. The excerpts that we read of Booker T. Washington’s “Up From Slavery,” told a compelling tale of his life of being born into

African American literature is the body of work produced in the United States by writers of African descent. This particular genre traces back to the works from the late eighteenth century by writers such as Phillis Wheatley to later reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem Renaissance, and thus continuing today with authors such as Colson Whitehead and Maya Angelou. Among the themes and issues explored within African American literature are the roles of African Americans within the larger American society, African-American culture, racism, slavery, and equality. African American writing has also tended to incorporate oral forms such as spirituals, gospel music, jazz, and rap. Dating back to the pre-Revolutionary War period, African American writers have engaged in a creative dialogue with American letters. The result is a literature rich in culture and social insight. These pieces offer illuminating assessments of American identities as well as its history. Since the time of early slavery African American literature has been overlooked within the literature criticism. This essay thrives to show that within the English profession African American literature does belong alongside the great works such as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and poetry as A Road less taken by Robert Frost. I will dive deep into history to not only investigate what critics think about African American literature, but why is it not held to a higher standard just as American

what is a pioneer? Is just being first to take the path. Or is it something more. The few that choose to take the off-beating path not only face the unknown but also criticism. Phillis Wheatley was a pioneer literature. At eighth, she was bought to America and sold into slavery. Her owners John and Susanna Wheatley taught the young girl to read Greek, Latin, and passages from the Bible. Wheatley starts to compose poems 1767 and her first volume of verse, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. Wheatley’s poems gained her vast notoriety amongst colonist and people aboard. At the same time, she has a few critic who didn’t believe she wrote the poems because she was a slave. One of her critics wrote, “this Negro poetess so well fits the Uncle Tom syndrome” (McBride) However, this doesn’t change that she is a founding figure of African American literature. One poem is subject to criticism is her poem “On being Brought from Africa to America.” In the poem “Wheatley chose to use the meditation as the form for her contemplation of her enslavement.” (Frazier) In the poem “On being Brought from Africa to America." Phillis Wheatley uses different poetic devices like figurative language, form, and irony to express the hypocrisy of American racism.