Analysis Of Phillis Wheatley's On Being Brought From Africa To America

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Throughout American literature, as settlers faced opposition and challenging circumstances starting in the 1400s, many writers referenced divine providence as the main determinant of their success. This belief has continued into the writings of former slaves from the 1700s and 1800s. The influence of God’s protective care and spiritual power can be examined in Phillis Wheatley’s poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” and Frederick Douglass’s memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Although these literary works take different approaches toward explaining the role of providence in their lives, both reference the influence of God throughout their turmoil, while shedding light on the hypocrisy of American …show more content…

After being kidnapped at age seven and taken to America on a ship, where one in four enslaved Africans died on the journey, to be sold into slavery, many would expect this experience to foster a sense of despair within Wheatley (Carretta). On the contrary, this journey, which inspired the title of her poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” Wheatley sheds light on the benefits of her situation.
While it is remarkable for Wheatley to come out of her devastating childhood with a strong relationship in God and a thankful heart, it is important to recognize Wheatley’s unique slavery experience. Wheatley’s owners gave her the opportunity to learn to read, write, and pursue poetry, all aspects of learning typically prohibited to slaves (Carretta). Perhaps this knowledge helped Wheatley find the good in God’s influence over her life because of the opportunities granted to her in America. If she had faced harsher treatment, her praise of divine providence might not shine as bright throughout her …show more content…

J. Kameron Carter explains in his narrative “Race, religion, and the contradictions of identity: a theological engagement with Douglass’s 1845 narrative, “Douglass’s central, explicit aim in the Narrative is to tell the story of his life as a movement from bondage to freedom, from property to prophet, from chattel to abolitionist spokesman and public intellectual” (Carter 37) and how divine providence led to this transformation. By traveling to Baltimore, Douglass believes this movement was the first of many acts of providence in his life that led to his desire for freedom and

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