Boston King Thesis

While reading An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, and Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, a Black Preacher, Written by Himself, nothing appeared to be majorly contrasting between the two documents. Both included an enslaved, and deeply religious, African American man who survived the American Revolution and ended up settling in Sierra Leone for the last bit of his life. However, after reading these two documents for the nth time, a few key differences appeared within the information hidden in the titles of the documents and the diction in which each man recounted his journey. Titles are usually skipped over. A reader thinks that almost no information can be found in the title considering

Boston King had the privilege to be able to read and write at an early age and even helped others learn to do the same later on in his life. In fact, King’s literacy is what sets the tone and diction for his memoir. At the beginning of Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, a Black Preacher, Written by Himself, King does not immediately recount his family background like David George does. Instead, he begins by thanking God for bringing him out of his suffering and by stating that he believes his education is inadequate for writing his own memoir, yet he writes it anyway in hopes that it will “be of some use to mankind.” King also incorporates more than just the details of his life, he elaborates by stating profound and intelligent ideas that differ from those objective observations that George makes. King’s comprehension of the English language is evident in the flow throughout the document. This is opposed to An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, where George lacks the privilege of being literate. In fact, George had to learn how to read and write by having literate children help him. You can see the lack of a literacy background by how George’s account was executed; much less advanced than that of King’s and lacking a profound introduction. George also recounts the moments in his life factually, lacking in rhetoric flow such as King’s memoir. In An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, George uses a great deal of numbers, “17 or 18 miles into the woods” and “over five or six weeks”, in the report of his journey and never fails to disclose the race of whomever he is discussing, such as “The White people”, “The Black People” or “The Indians”. George seems to only describe observable traits while King sees in more of an intelligent manner. Though the lack, or sufficiency of education did not make a