Inclusive Spirituality in the Works of Linda Brent, Toni Morrison, and Sapphire - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Song of Solomon, and Push What would it be like to be torn from your home and sent so far away you could never return? And what would it be like to have your history stripped from you, your name discarded, and your own religion replaced with one that had few, if any, ties to your previous life? When slaves were brought to America they were taken from all they had known and forced to live in a land of dark irony that, while promising life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, provided them with only misery. In a situation such as the one in which the slaves found themselves, many people would rely on their religion to help them survive. But would slaves be able to find spiritual comfort within the parameters of a religion that had been passed on to them from the slaveholders? In each of the three texts "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," Song of Solomon, and Push, African-Americans struggle to find a spirituality that is responsive to their needs and that encompasses their experiences in a way that the religion of the dominant culture does not. Of the three texts to be examined, Linda Brent's Autobiography, "Incidents," most explicitly shows the inability of the dominant culture's religion to fulfill the needs of the minority. From the tone of her story, one realizes that Brent felt "true Christianity," if it could be found, might comfort the slaves and fulfill their needs. But Brent also felt that slavery created a paradox which made "true Christianity" impossible. Many times in her text Brent points out the irony that, as slaveholders, the masters treat their slaves as property; yet, as Christians, they should treat them as humans. For example, Brent's mother's mistress promises that Brent and her siblings will "never suffer for any thing" (343). Brent assumes that this means they will be given their freedom when the mistress dies; however, they are not freed but passed along as property. Brent says that her mistress taught her the biblical principles that she should treat others as she would wish to be treated, and that she should adhere to the biblical commandment to "love thy neighbor as thyself," but then she pointedly adds, "But I was her slave, and I suppose she did not recognize me as her neighbor"(344).
This paper elaborates on the diverse contributions peoples of African descent have made to the pluralistic religious landscape of America and replicates various passages from our textbook. It focuses on the personal narratives of non-religious to religious leaders—exemplifying their influence on the African American religious movement during slavery and the reconstruction of America. Each section represents different historical periods, regional variations, and non-Christian expressions of African-American religion.
Toward the end of Beloved, Toni Morrison must have Sethe explain herself to Paul D, knowing it could ruin their relationship and cause her to be left alone again. With the sentence, “Sethe knew that the circle she was making around the room, him, the subject, would remain one,” Morrison catches the reader in a downward spiral as the items around which Sethe makes her circles become smaller in technical size, but larger in significance. The circle traps the reader as it has caught Sethe, and even though there are mental and literal circles present, they all form together into one, pulling the reader into the pain and fear Sethe feels in the moment. Sethe is literally circling the room, which causes her to circle Paul D as well, but the weight
For centuries religion has played a huge role in the black community. From slavery to freedom, religion has help black folk deal with their anger, pain, oppression, sadness, fear, and dread. Recognizing the said importance of religion in the black community, Black poets and writers like Phillis Wheatley and Richard Wright, use religion as an important motif in their literature. Wheatley uses religion as a way to convince her mostly white audience of how religious conversion validates the humanity of herself and others. Wright on the other hand, uses religion in order to demonstrate how religion, as uplifting as it is can fail the black community. Thinking through, both Wheatley and Wright’s writings it becomes apparent that religion is so complex,
Slaves were required by their masters to attend church. The slaves soon realized that many of the biblical stories they learned about in church paralleled their own...
The personal insight and experience Zaru brings to the article provides an insightful perspective into the subject of oppression and liberation. The author states her argument clearly, but with obvious presuppositions deriving from her life as a Quaker (Zaru 123), thus making her argument slightly confusing at times. For example, as a Quaker, Zaru calls for justice, peace, and nonviolence in all situations, but fails to account for how justice should be sought, and simply acknowledges that a tension exists between peace and justice (135). Additionally, Zaru paints a relatively bleak picture of Old Testament accounts, even claiming that “the God of that portion of the biblical account is the God of people’s consciousness and perception rather than the God who really is” (125). This claim proves incredibly bold and seems to suggest inconsistency between the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament, a claim quite abrasive to those who, like myself, view the Bible as authoritative. Additionally, throughout the article, the author read her own experience into several Biblical accounts (Zaru 127), a practice that can provide clarity into one’s own experience, but should carefully avoid presentism. Despite these few critiques, Zaru offer incredible insight and perspective into the life of someone often viewed as “unchosen” and oppressed due to such views. In her
Toni Morrison makes a good point when, in her acceptance speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, she says, “Narrative . . . is . . . one of the principal ways in which we absorb knowledge” (7). The words we use and the way in which we use them is how we, as humans, communicate to each other our thoughts, feelings, and actions and therefore our knowledge of the world and its peoples. Knowledge is power. In this way, our language, too, is powerful.
Douglass continues to describe the severity of the manipulation of Christianity. Slave owners use generations of slavery and mental control to convert slaves to the belief God sanctions and supports slavery. They teach that, “ man may properly be a slave; that the relation of master and slave is ordained by God” (Douglass 13). In order to justify their own wrongdoings, slaveowners convert the slaves themselves to Christianity, either by force or gentle coercion over generations. The slaves are therefore under the impression that slavery is a necessary evil. With no other source of information other than their slave owners, and no other supernatural explanation for the horrors they face other than the ones provided by Christianity, generations of slaves cannot escape from under the canopy of Christianity. Christianity molded so deeply to the ideals of slavery that it becomes a postmark of America and a shield of steel for American slave owners. Douglass exposes the blatant misuse of the religion. By using Christianity as a vessel of exploitation, they forever modify the connotations of Christianity to that of tyrannical rule and
Racism in America's religious institutions can be traced to the very roots of America. Original religious views on other races had little bearing in everyday life. White Christians `paid little attention to slaves' souls' (22), and often viewed them as less than human. In the early 1730's, evangelicalism began to gain strength amongst slave holders. It was believed that being Christian made the slaves better workers and obey their masters more fully. The movement to `Christianize' slaves was fully put forth by evangelist George Whitefield in 1740 (25). He traveled the countryside, `saving' slaves from all parts of the country, and Christianizing them to become better slaves. George Whitefield's main point in the Christianizing of slaves was simple, ."..God allowed slavery for larger purposes, including the Christianization and uplifting of the heathen Africans." (27).
Charles Ball’s Fifty Years in Chains and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were both published in the early 1860’s while Kate Drumgoold’s A Slave Girl’s Story came almost forty years later I believe there were things overshadowing Charles’ attention. While the man does give credit to a supreme being, his relation to the Christian culture comes from his encounters to which he documents in great detail with fellow slaves. As previously stated, I believe the significance of the slave’s ability to maintain reverence for the religion they practiced provided insight into what gave them hope. The story of Exodus is linked to many slave narratives and it was no different for these three Slave-owners looked upon the African Americans as lesser people who were in desperate need of support.
In the story, “Recitatif,” Toni Morrison uses vague signs and traits to create Roberta and Twyla’s racial identity to show how the characters relationship is shaped by their racial difference. Morrison wants the reader’s to face their racial preconceptions and stereotypical assumptions. Racial identity in “Recitatif,” is most clear through the author’s use of traits that are linked to vague stereotypes, views on racial tension, intelligence, or ones physical appearance. Toni Morrison provides specific social and historical descriptions of the two girls to make readers question the way that stereotypes affect our understanding of a character. The uncertainties about racial identity of the characters causes the reader to become pre-occupied with assigning a race to a specific character based merely upon the associations and stereotypes that the reader creates based on the clues given by Morrison throughout the story. Morrison accomplishes this through the relationship between Twyla and Roberta, the role of Maggie, and questioning race and racial stereotypes of the characters. Throughout the story, Roberta and Twyla meet throughout five distinct moments that shapes their friendship by racial differences.
In Frederick Douglass’ Narrative, Christianity is a prominent feature of both slave and slave-owners’ lives. However, Douglass highlights the discrepancies between the religions of these two groups, finding the Christianity of slave holders to be false, malicious and hypocritical. Though he makes clear he is not irreligious himself, Douglass condemns the insincere ideology of slave owning America.
Mobley, Marilyn Sanders. “ Toni Morrison.” The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Eds. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith, and Trudier Harris. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.508-510.
The Kingdom of God and its significance can be found within the gospel of Luke. First off who is Luke? Some experts think that “evidence points towards him being a physician and a companion of Paul" (Franz, 2014). “Luke the physician was one of the disciples who wrote the longest gospel, and it has been speculated that he also was the author of the book of Acts” (Franz, 2014). Within Luke’s gospel it contains a vast amount of information and attention that was documented on the life accounts of Jesus and the kingdom of God. Jesus knew what his mission was early on, as it was described in the early chapters of the gospel of Luke. This paper is being written for personal exploration of the Kingdom of God and is intended to examine information
It is the most dehumanizing and intrusive aspect of every human’s life that it touches. Slavery is the very institution that affects the social, economic, and cultural aspects of every person’s life. Although many people viewed slavery as a necessity, others have strong critiques of the institution. We are able to gain knowledge of these very critiques by the first-hand accounts of Mary Prince in the narrative The History of Mary Prince and From the Darkness Cometh the Light by Lucy Delaney. In the narratives, Prince and Delany communicate to the reader a plethora of critiques to slavery. The most powerful critiques that Prince and Delaney agree upon are the destruction of family, the condition of the slaves, and the moral that it creates on the lives of the people most affected.
Jesus explains that the Kingdom of the Father is a treasure that lasts forever. He describes it as a pearl that a merchant found and did all he could do to buy it so that he could cherish it for the rest of his life (GTh 76). Jesus tells another parable in which the Kingdom is a treasure buried in a father's farm and he and his son never find it but the next man that owns the farm finds it (GTh 109).