Writing from the soul about one’s own life experiences can take on a much different feeling than any other style of writing. There is an intrinsic, gut-churning feel of risk within the process of telling the truth. A risk that gives a certain adrenaline rush, all while allowing one to reflect. The adventure of sharing ones own story can feel scary and relieving, both chaining and freeing. Harriet Jacobs and John Edgar Wideman undergo this while telling their stories, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Jacobs) and Our Time (Wideman). Each author is self-conscious throughout their stories. Both authors speak about a minority in their stories; Jacobs speaks of the female slave and Wideman speaks of the African-American gangster. Because they tell the story of a minority to a majority, they can't afford to be misunderstood. They express their point through analysis, but also appeal to the hearts and minds of their audience. Through analysis and rhetorical techniques, which put you in Jacobs’ and Wideman’s shoes, both authors inform the reader of what their lives were like, all while overcoming their individual self-consciousness.
To do so, both authors must bring their readers as close to the slave plantation, ghetto, and the prison cell as possible. To do so, both authors refer to the reader with questions. This rhetorical method forces the reader to place him/herself in the life of the main character. For example, when discussing the abuse she took from her master, Dr. flint, Jacobs asks, "But where could I turn for protection?"(Jacobs 384). Here Jacobs makes the reader understand that the everyday rules that hold true for us, such as police or divorce, didn't apply to her. She makes it clear that she wasn't weak, but just lack...
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...ove. This is evident in the drastic change of tone when he switches voices within the essay. When speaking as himself he speaks in the voice of the scholar. When he speaks as Robby he speaks in the voice of the gangster. This variation is effective because Wideman writes for scholars, not gangsters.
Both essays end unresolved, not because the authors could not resolve them, but because the issues that they wrote about do not have resolutions. I, as a reader, felt left with the same feeeling as both authors, thinking the past can't be erased, roles can't be traded, and sympathy can't be transformed into understanding. But Jacobs and Wideman’s act of writing and publishing their stories is a resolution in itself. Through their writing process they each come to terms with their own lives and find resolution purely in the explanation itself, even if it ends unresolved.
Literature is written in many ways and styles. During his time, Frederick Douglass’s works and speeches attracted many people’s attention. With the amount of works and speeches Douglass has given, it has influenced many others writers to express themselves more freely. Though Douglass lived a rigorous childhood, he still made it the best that he could, with the guidance and teaching of one of his slave owner’s wife he was able to read and write, thus allowing him to share his life stories and experiences. Douglass’s work today still remain of great impact and influence, allowing us to understand the reality of slavery, and thus inspiring many others to come out and share for others to understand.
Moreover, Wideman ends up having difficulties trying to represents what his brother is “saying” because he ends up writing his own personal opinions and thoughts. Although it was something he was trying to avoid considering it would be a manipulation of the story. Throughout the essay, the reader can observe how Wideman analyzes his past experiences with Robby, and how their relationship has transformed over the years. For instance, the author conveys the bonds he had with his brother in order to express that after all this years they still shared “common history, values, and style developed within the tall stockade of family, and that was enough to make us care about each other” (Wideman 674). In addition, he tells the reader how he wanted Robby to know that he was thinking about “Our shared roots and destiny” (Wideman 674) and how that thinking was getting him closer to Robby.
The literary device, author’s voice, affects the meaning of a text in almost everything you read. This is especially true for the classic book Night as well as the short story “ A Spring Morning”. Some of the examples of when text is affected by the author’s voice include: when the author is foreshadowing, when the author is writing about someone is being told to obey what another person is saying, and when the author is writing about a loved one dying.
These two novels spoke about real powerful momentous events that occur in the authors’ lives. The authors emerged from the shadows and transformed their mishaps into motivation of overcoming life’s hardships. These two stories exemplify ways of overcoming Life’s hardships and finding sense of oneself. These authors break their vows of silence to prove the beauty of a broken person. They both converse on racial discrimination, relationships with God, & coming into themselves.
Jacob 's did not write this book merely for storytelling, she wants an impact, and thus she actually addresses her reader 's directly. “As you can imagine, better than I can describe, what an unpleasent sensation...”9 Jacob 's is asking the reader only imagine at this point, “you” inrefernce to those she hopes reads her books. She does more than speak in terms of trying to create imagery, she fully includes those reading her book in her writings. “Reader, I draw no imaginary pictures of southern homes. I am telling you the plain truth.”10 No longer does she vaguely address “you” but makes contact with whom ever is reading the book by speaking outside of Linda. It becomes a powerful tool, breaking a wall between fiction and real life, bring the reader to the reality of what she went through. “Reader, Can you imagine my joy? No, you cannot, unless you have been a slave mother. 11 Jacbo 's narrative uses many examples and showcases many times that slave women have shown that they may have fallen under true womanhood, but yet she tries to instill that even in reading these horrors, even if the reader tried her hardest, she would fail because of the unique issues of being a slave mother. “Reader, my story ends with freedom; not in the usual way with marriage. I and my children are now free!... The dream of my life is not
The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass can be interpreted in many ways. It is an autobiography that details Douglass’s experiences while he was enslaved. However, it is evident that he has been forced to censor the content of his narrative. Douglass mentions more than once that he is not able to say everything he desires. Moreover, on the surface the book is about the harshness of his life as a slave, but on a deeper level Douglass uses irony to give a compelling criticism of the institution of slavery. In his account he gives sarcastic descriptions of the privileges the slaves receive and what it looks like for slaves to be treated well. Nevertheless, both techniques of writing are effective
When handling a controversial subject, it is important to recognize the opinion of everyone, not just of oneself. If an author does not recognize, at least to some degree, the opinion of everyone in their audience, they risk losing the interest of readers whose opinions are different. African American writers must consider how it feels to be an African American to their audience; they must understand that there is no such thing as one identity for an entire race.
...f Jacobs’s narrative is the sexual exploitation that she, as well as many other slave women, had to endure. Her narrative focuses on the domestic issues that faced African-American women, she even states, “Slavery is bad for men, but it is far more terrible for women”. Therefore, gender separated the two narratives, and gave each a distinct view toward slavery.
Harriet Jacobs takes a great risk writing her trials as a house servant in the south and a fugitive in the north. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a true account of the brutality slavery held for women. A perspective that was relatively secretive during Jacobs’ time. Jacobs’ narrative focuses on subjugation due to race but it also portrays many women an strong and often open roles. Women in these roles were minimal and often suffered for their outspoken roles.
The reader is first introduced to the idea of Douglass’s formation of identity outside the constraints of slavery before he or she even begins reading the narrative. By viewing the title page and reading the words “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by himself” the reader sees the advancement Douglass made from a dependent slave to an independent author (Stone 134). As a slave, he was forbidden a voice with which he might speak out against slavery. Furthermore, the traditional roles of slavery would have had him uneducated—unable to read and incapable of writing. However, by examining the full meaning of the title page, the reader is introduced to Douglass’s refusal to adhere to the slave role of uneducated and voiceless. Thus, even before reading the work, the reader knows that Douglass will show “how a slave was made a man” through “speaking out—the symbolic act of self-definition” (Stone 135).
In, “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, readers get a first person perspective on slavery in the South before the Civil War. The author, Frederick Douglass, taught himself how to read and write, and was able to share his story to show the evils of slavery, not only in regard to the slaves, but with regard to masters, as well. Throughout Douglass’ autobiography, he shares his disgust with how slavery would corrupt people and change their whole entire persona. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to help establish his credibility, and enlighten his readers about what changes needed to be made.
Slave narratives were one of the first forms of African- American literature. The narratives were written with the intent to inform those who weren’t aware of the hardships of slavery about how badly slaves were being treated. The people who wrote these narratives experienced slavery first hand, and wanted to elicit the help of abolitionists to bring an end to it. Most slave narratives were not widely publicized and often got overlooked as the years went by; however, some were highly regarded and paved the way for many writers of African descent today.
The narrative enables Douglass to flaunt his hard-earned education. As stated before, his diction brings pathos to his work. He describes his experiences in a way that lets his audience feel the indignity of being owned by another person. For example, D...
Narrative is a form of writing used by writers to convey their experiences to an audience. James Baldwin is a renowned author for bringing his experience to literature. He grew up Harlem in the 1940’s and 1950’s, a crucial point in history for America due to the escalading conflict between people of different races marked by the race riots of Harlem and Detroit. This environment that Baldwin grew up in inspires and influences him to write the narrative “Notes of a Native Son,” which is based on his experience with racism and the Jim-Crow Laws. The narrative is about his father and his influence on Baldwin’s life, which he analyzes and compares to his own experiences. When Baldwin comes into contact with the harshness of America, he realizes the problems and conflicts he runs into are the same his father faced, and that they will have the same affect on him as they did his father.
In 1861, Harriet Jacobs published her book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The story is based in Southern United States of America during the time before Jacob escaped from slavery in 1835 (Reilly 649). Jacobs uses the name Linda Brent as a pseudonym (Reilly 649) and describes her experience as a female slave through a first person narration. The purpose of the selections featured in Kevin Reilly's, “Worlds of History,” is to show the victimization and emotional suffering female slaves feel against their white masters vs. the physical pain a male slave endures.