Slavery in the Pre-Twentieth Century Society
This is an exploration of the portrayal of slavery in pre-20th century
society, through the poetry of F.E.W.Harper (1825-1911) and T.Hood
(1799-1845). I will be discussing points and ideas suggested in the
poetry by Harper and Hood. These two poems portray two different
aspects of slavery.
The first poem, 'The Slave Mother', by Harper is about a woman
imprisoned in slavery, having her only son taken away from her. This
is quite a moving poem. The other poem, 'The Song of the Shirt',
written by Thomas Hood focuses on the working days of a slave. He
talks about the non-stop work and the poor living conditions, which
shows us how badly slaves were treated. Both these poems take an
anti-slavery viewpoint.
Frances E. W. Harper was a black American poet who was born in 1825 to
a free family at a time when most black people were still slaves.
However, at an early age, she was orphaned. She grew up in an
anti-slavery group and became a lecturer, famous for her speeches in
favour of womens' rights and the abolition of slavery. She wrote her
own poetry and it was a highlight of her lectures. 'The Slave Mother'
was just one of these poems. The poem describes vividly the pain and
despair of the slave mother as her child is cruelly taken from her,
leaving her with absolutely nothing to hold on to in her life.
It is written in four-line verses, each stanza having a regular abcb
rhyming scheme, common in ballads. The poem begins by portraying
graphically the anguish of the mother, using emotive phrases such as
'burden'd heart', 'breaking in despair', 'sadly clasped', 'grief' and
'dread'. T...
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... is also one of
pessimism and despair.
Both poets have used language effectively to highlight the plight of
slaves and their inability to change their situations. They have both
attempted to portray the sense of hopelessness that these people
experience and the ignorance and thoughtlessness of the rest of
humanity. Both of these poems have made me think more about the way we
take other people for granted. Nowadays we imagine that slavery no
longer exists, but unfortunately there are many countries in the world
where people live and work in terrible conditions, in return for a
pittance, to line the pockets of their rich employers. It is only
through poetry such as this, that these wrongs can be highlighted and
we are made to think about others. I always remember the phrase
-'There, but for the grace of God, go I'.
The author was born in Washington D.C. on May 1, 1901. Later, he received a bachelor’s degree from Williams College where he studied traditional literature and explored music like Jazz and the Blues; then had gotten his masters at Harvard. The author is a professor of African American English at Harvard University. The author’s writing
Gwendolyn Brooks was born on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas, to KeziahWims Brooks and David Anderson Brooks. Brooks’ family didn’t have much income. Her father David Brooks was a janitor. Keziah Brooks, Gwendolyn’s mother was a school teacher. Soon after Gwendolyn was born her family moved away from Kansas. The Brooks family relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where Brooks remained the rest of her life. Brooks, as a child, loved to read. She was encouraged by her family and friends to do so. She spent most of her childhood immersed in her writing. Gwendolyn became a published poet at an early age. At age 13, Brooks’ poem Eventide was published. Her poem appeared in “American Childhood.” Brooks’ poems were frequently published in the Chicago Defender. At age 16, Brooks had written over seventy poems (J.Williams 28).In Brooks’ early years of writing she spoke on a lot. She talked about racial discrimination and praised African American heroes. Also, Brooks satirized both blacks and whites (A.williams1). In 1993, Gwendolyn meet poet James Weldon Johnson and writer Langston Hughes. The two influenced Brooks’ writing tremendously. The influence lead her to write over seventy poems (Bloom 12).
The life and art of the black American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, began on June 7, 1917 when she was born in Topeka, Kansas. She was the first child of Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks. When she was four, her family moved to their permanent residence on Champlin Avenue in Chicago. Her deep interest in poetry consumed much of her early life. For instance, Brooks began rhyming at the age of seven. When she was thirteen, she had her first poem, 'Eventide', published in American Childhood Magazine. Her first experience of high school came from the primary white high school in the city, Hyde Park High School. Thereafter, she transferred to an all-black high school and then to the integrated Englewood High School. By 1934, Brooks had become a member of the staff of the Chicago Defender and had published almost one hundred of her poems in a weekly poetry column. In 1936, she graduated from Wilson Junior College.
Following the success of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas in the early16th century, the Spaniards, French and Europeans alike made it their number one priority to sail the open seas of the Atlantic with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new territory. Once there, they immediately fell in love the land, the Americas would be the one place in the world where a poor man would be able to come and create a wealthy living for himself despite his upbringing. Its rich grounds were perfect for farming popular crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. However, there was only one problem; it would require an abundant amount of manpower to work these vast lands but the funding for these farming projects was very scarce in fact it was just about nonexistent. In order to combat this issue commoners back in Europe developed a system of trade, the Triangle Trade, a trade route that began in Europe and ended in the Americas. Ships leaving Europe first stopped in West Africa where they traded weapons, metal, liquor, and cloth in exchange for captives that were imprisoned as a result of war. The ships then traveled to America, where the slaves themselves were exchanged for goods such as, sugar, rum and salt. The ships returned home loaded with products popular with the European people, and ready to begin their journey again.
Between 1800 and 1860 slavery in the American South had become a ‘peculiar institution’ during these times. Although it may have seemed that the worst was over when it came to slavery, it had just begun. The time gap within 1800 and 1860 had slavery at an all time high from what it looks like. As soon as the cotton production had become a long staple trade source it gave more reason for slavery to exist. Varieties of slavery were instituted as well, especially once international slave trading was banned in America after 1808, they had to think of a way to keep it going – which they did. Nonetheless, slavery in the American South had never declined; it may have just come to a halt for a long while, but during this time between 1800 and 1860, it shows it could have been at an all time high.
This paper examines the drastic differences in literary themes and styles of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, two African--American writers from the early 1900's. The portrayals of African-American women by each author are contrasted based on specific examples from their two most prominent novels, Native Son by Wright, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. With the intent to explain this divergence, the autobiographies of both authors (Black Boy and Dust Tracks on a Road) are also analyzed. Particular examples from the lives of each author are cited to demonstrate the contrasting lifestyles and experiences that created these disparities, drawing parallels between the authors’ lives and creative endeavors. It becomes apparent that Wright's traumatic experiences involving females and Hurston's identity as a strong, independent and successful Black artist contributed significantly to the ways in which they chose to depict African-American women and what goals they adhered to in reaching and touching a specific audience with the messages contained in their writing.
The first arrivals of Africans in America were treated similarly to the indentured servants in Europe. Black servants were treated differently from the white servants and by 1740 the slavery system in colonial America was fully developed.
Slavery in the eighteenth century was worst for African Americans. Observers of slaves suggested that slave characteristics like: clumsiness, untidiness, littleness, destructiveness, and inability to learn the white people were “better.” Despite white society's belief that slaves were nothing more than laborers when in fact they were a part of an elaborate and well defined social structure that gave them identity and sustained them in their silent protest.
Slavery also known as "Peculiar Institution" was a very cruel thin that happened back in the day. Some slaves have escaped and that was when they started to come out and think about Life as a slave which included a lot of survival. Slaves had to survive without their family which didn’t make them be close. Some of the slaves didn’t have their family or spouse because some of them were taken away to slavery.
Slavery was created in pre-revolutionary America at the start of the seventeenth century. By the time of the Revolution, slavery had undergone drastic changes and was nothing at all what it was like when it was started. In fact the beginning of slavery did not even start with the enslavement of African Americans. Not only did the people who were enslaved change, but the treatment of slaves and the culture that each generation lived in, changed as well.
Slavery was the main resource used in the Chesapeake tobacco plantations. The conditions in the Chesapeake region were difficult, which lead to malnutrition, disease, and even death. Slaves were a cheap and an abundant resource, which could be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake region’s tobacco industries grew and flourished on the intolerable and inhumane acts of slavery.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper who is known as Frances Harper was born on September twenty fourth on 1825 in Baltimore, Maryland. She died on February twenty two in 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was African- American abolitionist, suffragist, poet and author, and she was also in the women’s right movement. At the age of three she had lost her mother and father in 1828. After that Frances, had become an orphan and was raised by her maternal uncle and aunt who were civil rights activist. Frances was able to attended a school which was founded by her uncle called the “William Watkins Academy for Negro Youth” she was also able to attend school because she was the daughter of free black
3. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 51: Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940. A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book. Edited by Trudier Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Gale Group, 1987. pp. 133-145.
...t social injustices (Weidt 53). Because of her quest for freedom, she gave way to writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Countee Cullen. Countee Cullen wrote "Heritage," which mixes themes of freedom, Africa, and religion. It can be said, then, that he gave way to writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks wrote "Negro Hero," which is about the status of the African American during the 1940s. Clearly, these poets followed the first steps taken by Phillis Wheatley towards speaking out against social issues, and today's poetry is a result of the continuation to speak out against them
Wheatley was the first African American woman living in America to publish a book of poems at the age of 19, Wheatley was brought from Africa to