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Essays on the topic faith
Essays on the topic faith
Essays on the topic faith
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1.) Phillis Wheatley's religious perspectives were extremely evident all through the content. Wheatley communicated her perspective all through different poems that she has composed, for example, in “To the University of Cambridge in New England”, lines 12-20 truly demonstrate her commitment to God and where she remains as a Christian. Lines that truly emerged among the poems were “How Jesus’ blood for your redemption flows”, and “See him with hands outstretched upon the cross; Immense compassion in His bosom glows”. Wheatley also has another poem that sheds light on her pious religious views in “On Being Brought from Africa to America” Wheatley talks about her Pagan land, in doing so she expresses the fact that she knows there is a God, and …show more content…
This specific piece of the poem exemplifies her belief in living for God. Despite the fact that Wheatley was purchased she was indicated sympathy and gave the privilege of education… Wheatley didn't harp on the negative parts of her past life, Wheatley appeared to be exceptionally grateful for religion. It is really Wheatley's conviction that religion is the thing that spared her. Wheatley expressed in “To the University of Cambridge in New England” that the “Father of mercy” is what brought her to safety. Wheatley was able to express her feelings throughout her poetry, poetry seemed to be a sense of freedom to Wheatley. Christianity wasn’t just religion to Wheatley, it was more along the lines of a way of life for her. She expresses that there was redemption that she neither sought nor knew in line 4 of “On Being Brought from Africa to America”- Wheatley ensured she expressed all of her emotions, but was still giving God all of the …show more content…
She additionally communicates that both white and dark individuals would both combine on the "angelic train". With this, Wheatley symbolizes that God's eyes don't see the shade of their skin. In his eyes, all are profoundly equivalent. She utilizes herself for instance as she uncovers "the whiteness of blackness" is in profoundly. The poem itself uncovers the artist's acknowledgment of the ordinary "shrewdness" of the day and uncovers the "whiteness of blackness" in colonial America. This line demonstrates to us that Wheatley acknowledged her race and whites as being predominant (as was thought in that era) however she likewise observed that white culture could impact dark individuals and dark individuals could turn out to be similarly as refined as whites. Wheatley was fully aware of her status in the community, whites were ultimately the superiors in that time. Wheatley among many others didn’t have a problem accepting this, however, she felt like there should be more open-mindedness on the fact that you can “mold” people to become what you want. If whites had an issue with blacks being refined why couldn’t they help teach and educate
Wheatley explains in her works that there is a God that believes in you, no matter what race or religion. The idea of hope is so strongly engraved into Wheatley’s stories because hope is all she had to cling to while in Africa and then while being separated from her husband after arriving in America. A man named John Wheatley purchased Wheatley and gave her a much better life than she ever imagined. From her journey across the ocean upon her arrival to the United States of America, she expressed her love for writing as an illustration of God’s unfailing love to share with people. She became familiar with the true meaning of the bible and God’s providence. God’s providence is how he cares and watches over her during the life’s passage. In “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”, she is able to write to the college students about the main goals. Wheatley heavily emphasizes to them that they should not get so wrapped up in their schoolwork and studies that it hinders their personal relationship with God. By having a balance in schooling and daily walk with God, it will help the student’s life more efficiently than just doing one action. The author’s main point in her poetry
Readers unfamiliar with Phillis Wheatley may wonder of her background and who she was in particular to be able to gain rights to be mentioned in early American literature. Wheatley was born in 1753 and was captured by Africans, and sold to an American family known as the Wheatley’s. She quickly became a member of the Wheatley family, living in the home, and being tutored on reading and writing.
Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1750, and was captured when she was 7. John Wheatley purchased Phillis for his wife, Susanna; together they taught Phillis how to read and write, and as early as 12, Phillis was writing poetry and her first poem had been published. Wheatley’s poems implicitly advocated for racial equality, while condemning slavery. Her work received some negative feedback from political figureheads, such as Thomas Jefferson. White America classified a human as having the ability to read, write, and reason; therefore, leaving no room for the uneducated Africans, seeing Africans as nonhuman. Jefferson claimed Wheatley’s work was not literature because the moment he admitted Wheatley’s work was indeed literature, he would have had to admit she was a human being. The way Phillis Wheatley handled the adversity she faced is admirable. Wheatley definitely impacted American history, and “owes her place in history to advocates of inequality” (Young 1999
During the time both the poem and sermon were written people believed different things and lived differently. Jonathan Edwards and Phyllis Wheatley wrote with reference to the way people thought in their society, they wrote about what people believed, for example, Phyllis Wheatley rarely mentioned god but Jonathan Edwards only talked about God and the reason for that was because during Rationalism people believed god did not interfere with people through miracles, he created everything and everything in nature has the ability to be explained by natural laws; with Edwards people did everything for god, to basically please him due to the fact that during that time period God was involved in their daily lives. To them if you were a sinner you
Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, West Africa in 1753. She was kidnapped in 1761 at age eight and bought by John Wheatley so she could serve his wife Susan. Due to the fact that Phillis was extremely intelligent and a fast learner Susan did not train her to be her servant. Phillis was taught English, Latin, and Greek, and other subjects including the Bible. She slowly became a part of the Wheatley family. Thanks to the lessons that Phillips received she started writing poems, one of the poems she is known for is “Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem Phillis Wheatley uses some poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, hyperboles to illustrate color and darkness, multiple meanings of words, and the relationship between skin tone and salvation.
Throughout the poem, “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”, Phyllis Wheatley suggest that she accepted the colonial idea of slavery, by first describing her captivity, even though this poem has a subversive double meaning that has sent an anti-slavery message. Wheatley’s choice of words indicates that her directed audience was educated at a sophisticated level because of the language chosen. Her audience was assumingly also familiar with the bible because of the religious references used. The bible was used as a reference because of its accessibility. Wheatley uses religious references to subversively warn her readers about slavery and its repercussions and to challenge her reader’s morals.
To further analyze a more spoiled African American of the time, Phillis Wheatley did address the issues of her race as much as Sojourner Truth did. Wheatley mainly wrote “to Whites, for Whites and generally in the Euro-American tradition at that time” (Jamison 408). Her content focused on Christianity, morality, virtue, and other non-African-American-related topics. Her poetry has an underlying attitude of a white, not an African American. She shares the same views and attitude as a Caucasian, therefore she is part of African American literature because she was born into it, but she did not share the particular views and struggles of the African American population. She was heavily praised, because it was not expected from an African such as herself, although her upbringing should be considered. Some white men admired her work, because it was more than
Phillis Wheatley marks the beginning of the African-American literary tradition. Although she is the first African-American to become a published author, it is Wheatley’s work that proves her originality as it reflects a specific time in American history, her status as a slave, and a young woman of Christian faith (Harris). Each of these inherently contribute to her fresh African-American perspective. Wheatley is ingenious in the way she subtly ties in the roots of slavery and racism in a way that whites did not feel guarded. Not only does her work allow those with a conscious to at least somewhat consider the African-American point of view, but it invites criticism by those who care not to see African-Americans as intelligent equal beings that deserve respect. Some of the African-American community also criticizes that Wheatley did not speak enough about the injustices of slavery and prejudices of her time (Scheick). These critics are simply unable to see the Wheatley’s intent as her writing breeds originality and attention to a young and well-educated African-American woman whose words could stifle her freedoms if put any other way. In evaluating Wheatley’s On Being Brought from Africa to America, An Hymn to the Evening, and To the University of Cambridge, in New-England it is clear to see that she could only be imitative in style perhaps, but nuances of her heritage is what places her “writing at the heart of any definition of an African-American canon” (Harris).
Wheatley, Phillis. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. New York: AMS Press, 1976. Rpt. of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Philadelphia, 1786.
She also showed a sense of ambition throughout her life. People did not believe that Phillis was actually writing her books and poems so she had to get the Wheatley’s to publish her books for her. She had to go through many difficult incidents just to get her works published. Although people tried to bring her down and stop her from achieving her goals she still over came those obstacles and found the right support that she needed in order to achieve the purpose of having her voice heard to the people who read her works. Her faith in God was absolutely exceptional. She knew that everything happened for a reason and that God would spare her and would allow her to live a better life. In “On Being Brought From Africa To America” she states “Remember, Christians, Negros, Black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.” The purpose of this part of the poem was to make sure that people knew that color or race was not a part of the test to make it into heaven. Christianity is not based on a person’s gender, race, or color. She thought that all Christians were entitled to live freely and not under slavery and still be able to make it into heaven. This was another reason why she was so successful in changing the
Phillis Wheatley was a black slave born in Africa. She was taken to Boston in 1761 when he was eight years old and was purchased by a wealthy tailor who brought her to America. Wheatley was fortunate to learn how to read and write taught by her master Susannah (419). One of Wheatley’s poems “On Being Brought from Africa to America” describes her discovery of her identity in this world. In the first two lines of the poem “‘Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand (lines 1-2)” Wheatley expresses that moving out of Africa and being exposed to the religion of Christianity was a good thing for her. She feels that her “benighted,” or dark soul is now a lighter soul. In the next two lines “That there's a God, that there's a Savior too: / Once I redemption neither sought nor knew (lines 3-4).” Wheatley is pleased ...
Each of Phillis Wheatley’s poems is crafted with a specific purpose in mind. Although her use of heroic couplets stays mostly standard, she does leave room for adaptations that offer some insight into her ultimate purpose. While many of her poems humble her own position, often it is indeed for a specific cause, usually to convey a point she could not have otherwise communicated without fear of chastisement. On the other hand, speaking on religious matters she seems to feel bold enough to elevate her own position to that of an authority figure, giving guidance and hope to those in need of it.
In her poem “Thoughts on the Works of Providence,” Wheatley explains that she senses the presence and infinite love of God visually, through beauty in the natural world. In both the earth, and all the earth’s creatures. Seeing the beauty that God created, led her soul to rapture and soar. Woolman feels the presence of God in his soul “like a consuming fire." Declaring the importance of outwardly expressing love to fellow man, in his journal Woolman states, "my heart was tender and often contrite, and universal love to my fellow creatures increased in me." Despite their different religions, Wheatley and Woolman both view loving the Lord’s creations as an important step to take when becoming closer atoned with
Phillis Wheatley overcame extreme obstacles, such as racism and sexism, to become one of the most acclaimed poets in the 18th Century. Her works are characterized by religious and moral backgrounds, which are due to the extensive education of religion she received. In this sense, her poems also fit into American Poetry. However, she differs in the way that she is a black woman whose writings tackle greater subjects while incorporating her moral standpoint. By developing her writing, she began speaking out against injustices that she faced and, consequently, gave way to authors such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen.
In “On Being Brought From Africa To America” Phillis Wheatley speaks directly from her experience of coming to America, and how she became very religious on her arrival, so she uses her religious beliefs to explain how lucky she was to be in America and how she made a lot of achievements. Phillis Wheatley was a young black female poet, who started discovering her love for writing when she came to America, although it was illegal to educate black people she found a way to teach herself to read and write, even though a lot of people of her race were told that they weren’t good enough to deserve to be Christians and also to enjoy the advantage of being a citizen in America, Wheatley overcame these immense obstacles and she was so grateful for the chance to be a part of the Christian word and also to hear the word of Christianity, she was also very happy that she was brought to America where she has the opportunity to read and write. “Phillis” wasn’t her real name but her master named her that because the slave ship she boarded to come to America was named Phillis.