english test (slave narratives)
what is a slave narrative
an account of the life, or a major portion of the life of a slave, either written or orally related to the slave personally
high-sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people
bombast
Phillis Wheatley wrote
On Imagination On Being Brough from Africa to America
what did wheatley's poems mainly focus on
- death of a particular person - greek/roman mythology - biblical references
what to the salve is the 4th of july
- delivered on July 5th, 1852 in Rochester, New York - we celebrate independence on the 4th
incidents in the life of a slave girl
- makes direct appeals to the reader's humanity - published under the pseudonym Lina Brent
Themes of the Interesting Narrative include
- slavery in West Africa vs. slavery in the Americas - African slave's voyage from Africa to the America - Cross-Cultural and geopolitical journey from slavery to freedom and heathenism to Christianity
The Interesting Narrative...
- the entire book describes Equiano's time in enslavement - the book itself made Equiano very rich - it is believed that he was the richest man of African descent in Europe when he died
Olaudah Equiano
1745-1797
Phillis Wheatley
1753-1784
Sojourner Truth
1797-1883
Harriett Jacobs
1813-1897
"The fact is, ladies and gentlemen, the distance between this platform and the slave plantation, from which I escaped, is considerable—and the difficulties to be overcome in getting from the latter to the former, are by no means slight. That I am here to-day is, to me, a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude. You will not, therefore, be surprised, if in what I have to say... I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and trusting to your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you..."
Douglass-What to a Slave - His life went from rags to riches in the most difficult way it could have. He prepared this speech to bring to light all the historical context that blind and spoiled whites might not be able to handle on their own time.
"At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake..."
Douglass-What to a Slave - Imagery is the main point of this passage because of all the description used. It is not just a bit of discomfort that is needed from the whites in the north, but a 'storm, earthquake, whirlwind' of thoughts to make them realize how terrible slavery actually is. Pathos
"What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters?"
Douglass-What to a Slave - With the platform he has, people in the north expect him to speak against slavery. Why should he use a platform on independence day to help the slaves if he already knows that the government and people in the north will do absolutely nothing to help those slaves, no matter what he says. Imagery, Pathos
"O, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you? Is it not enough that we are torn from our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of gain?"
Equiano-The Interesting Narrative - Calling out Christians, the life of a Christian and the life of a slaveowner should not have much in common when it comes to fulfilling the golden rule. Stating the golden rule here, Equiano points out that there is more purpose to life than simply being beaten for not being a good enough item for the slaveowner. (Rhetoric - Ethos - Source: Bible)
"The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so in tolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time... The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died..."
Equiano-The Interesting Narrative - Imagery, pathos, giving us reality of his life
"...My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favorite with my mother, and was always with her; and she used to take particular pains to form my mind..."
Equiano-The Interesting Narrative - Shows his life before and after slavery and how perfect his life and childhood was before slavery ripped it away. Pathos is visible because every person has a childhood and Equiano shows that he can relate to all of them, the good and the bad.
Harriet Jacobs wrote
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
"Pity me, and pardon me, O virtuous reader! You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of a chattel, entirely subject to the will of another... Still, in looking back, calmly, on the events of my life, I feel that the slave woman ought not to be judged by the same standard as others..."
Jacobs-Incidents of a Slave girl - Addressing her audience in the north, she claims that no one like them can understand anyone like her. With this in mind, the slave women should have more leniency when it comes to judgement because they have had to endure a lot more than the north people who have had everything handed to them.
"There is something akin to freedom in having a lover who has no control over you, except that which he gains by kindness and attachment. A master may treat you as rudely as he pleases, and you dare not speak; moreover, the wrong does not seem so great with an unmarried man, as with one who has a wife to be made unhappy. There may be sophistry in all this; but the condition of a slave confuses all principles of morality, and, in fact, renders the practice of them impossible."
Jacobs-Incidents of a Slave girl - Tells that she had experienced forced and unforced love that comes from true love. Gives insight on how truly distorted the life of a slave, more specifically a young women, can be. Pathos, Logos to us but not to other slaves.
Olaudah Equiano wrote
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or the African
Frederick Douglass wrote
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July
This family taught them how to read and write
Wheatley
This slave was the first African-American author of a published book of poetry
Wheatley
after being rejected for publication in American, this salve sent their poems and pamphlets to London where they were published by a wealthy abolitionist
Wheatley
this family did not excuse this slave from their domestic duties just because they were skinny and frail
Wheatley
who was seized from Senegal/Gambia when they were 7 years old
Wheatley
who wrote the poem "To the King's Most Excellent Majesty"
Wheatley - she praised King George III for repealing the Stamp Act
What family in Boston brought them in
Wheatley's
"Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, / May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train."
Wheatley-On Being Brought - She is calling out Christians because they were seen as the 'best' people but they refer their skin to the soul of Cain, the Christian's first murderer, telling them that Negro people can be changed and join them if given the chance because the color of one's soul has nothing to do with the color of their skin.
"'T WAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand..."
Wheatley-On Being Brought - a. Her life got a lot better from compassion because of her being taken from her non-Christian home in Africa to Christian or better land in US. She would have never understood or sought out God if it hadn't been for her being taken.
"Winter austere forbids me to aspire, / And northern tempests damp the rising fire; / They chill the tides of Fancy's flowing sea, / Cease then, my song, cease the unequal lay."
Wheatley-On Imagination - Symbolism is big in this excerpt. Winter is the cold reality of her slave life. The fire her imagination gives her makes her feel some sort of hope that is quickly put out by the winter of reality. Fancy is symbolizing the freedom of her imagination. They have to stop her as a whole in order to stop her imagination. Imagery of nature
"Imagination is an "imperial queen... [with a] hand...wand'ring eyes... [and a] sceptre o'er the realms of thought...[that before her] throne the subject-passions bow."
Wheatley-On Imagination - The imagery that Wheatley uses here is so large that we have to use our imagination to even comprehend it. It causes us to go beyond space and time and sets up the mindset for the rest of the poem. Knowing that she is a slave, imagination is her only freedom and she respects everything about it, giving it the name of queen and giving it total control over her emotions.
having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion (skill and deception)
cunning
the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way (tyranny)
despotism
he became more and more prevalent in the abolitionist movement
douglass
he escaped slaver in 1838
douglass
he was transferred to a harsher slave owner who regularly whipped him
douglass
his mother was of Native American descent and his father was of African and European descent
douglass
He taught himself to read and write
douglass - he would teach other enslaved people to read and write using the Bible
he was separated from his mother as an infant
douglass, he lived for a time with his maternal grandmother
he married Anna Murray
douglass, she was a free Black woman from baltimore
He fled to England to avoid getting captured
equiano
He was kidnapped at age 11
equiano
he became an active abolitionist, agitating and lecturing against the cruelty of British slave owners in jamaica
equiano
he received some education and went through two slave owners before he bought his own freedom in 1766
equiano
he was also a very good sailor and was part of some successful sea battles
equiano
he was purchased by sea captain (Michael Henry Pascal)
equiano
he was taken to the West Indies. from there he was taken to Virginia.
equiano
he is often regarded as the originator of the slave narrative
equiano because of his firsthand literary testimony against the slave trade
use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself
equivocate
revel the presence of (a quality or feeling)(to show clearly)
evince
the beginning or introductory part, especially of a discourse or treatise
exordium
incidents in the life of a slave girl is arguably one of the most
famous and most comprehensive slave narratives written by a woman
peel the skin off (a corpse or carcass)(to whip)
flay
he was born into slavery around 1818 in Maryland
frederick douglass - he was never sure of his exact birth date
incidents in the life of a slave girl does not shrink
from discussing the sexual abuse of slavers or the anguish felt by slave mothers - Jacobs recounts how her abuser threatened to sell her children if she did not accept her advances
her friend encouraged her to write down her experience in slavery
harriett
she escaped slavery and spent seven years hiding
harriett
she had two children with a young white lawyer
harriett
she was born into slavery
harriett
she was still taught how to read and write
harriett
she worked in the antislavery reading room above Frederick Douglass' newspaper
harriett
lack of piety or reverence, especially for a god
impiety
lacking discretion, wisdom, or good judgement (offensively bold behavior)
imprudence
stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action
obdurate
When did wheatley die
on December 5, 1784 - her infant son died soon after
express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or action
rebuke
split apart
sunder
TPCASTT
title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shift, title, theme
became an important advocate for human rights
truth
born into slavery but escaped in 1827
truth
claims she didn't run away, she instead "I walked away by daylight"
truth
died in Battle Creek Michigan in 1883
truth
she continued to speak out for the rights of African Americans and Women during and after the Civil War
truth
delivered one of the most famous abolitionist and women's rights speeches in american history---
truth--"Ain't I a Woman?"
"On Immagination"
used personification and allusions
She was given her education despite being an enslaved person
wheatley
their favorite form was the couplet
wheatley
who does incidents in the life of a slave girl address
white northern women who fail to comprehend the evils of slavery
he eventually was given to a man in Baltimore
whom Douglass credits his wife for first teaching him the alphabet
