The Characteristics Of Resistance Literature In African American Literature

Resistance Literature is a kind of literature which “aims to limit, oppose, or reject hegemonic institutions and cosmologies and systems, strategies and acts of domination” (Collins, 147). It is an expression of rebellion for the powerless spirits around the world, and a defiance of hegemony practiced on the oppressed. Resistance literature is a global phenomenon that has emerged out of the political conflict between western imperialism and non-western indigence resistance movements. Besides, the purpose of this kind of literature is to express particular sentiment against a colonizer or an aggressor either directly or indirectly. In addition to the colonized non-western writers, African-American writers have used this literature to speak for …show more content…

Since its beginning, writers of Afro-American literature have invented their own characteristics and their own unparalleled point of view. Some of the main characteristics which can be used to identify the African American literature are: writing the point of view of the African-American majority, mentioning historical African legends and African myths, indicating cultural values, using Biblical verses, proverbs and aphorism, using direct address-conversational tone, and using fringe characters such as criminals, as protagonists to highlight “the marginal place of African American in society.” Besides, African American literature has had its own language at the beginning, but it has slightly changed at the end. At the beginning, this language has been combined from mixing people who speak different African languages- as their owners have wanted them to communicate in English. As a result, the Afro-Americans have invented a new language to communicate called “Pidgins”. In addition, they have spoken English a little bit, but their spoken English has been called “African-American Vernacular English” and it has been considered slang. At the end, their English has become more comprehensible, and a little bit similar to the American English Language. Furthermore, African-American writers use frequently very common thematic concerns such as: the role of African-American within the …show more content…

To begin with, Harriet Ann Jacobs was born on February 11, 1813 and died on March 7, 1897. She was born into slavery to Elijah and Delilah Jacobs, and she had got a brother. Jacobs and her brother grew up in Edenton, NC. Her father was a skilled carpenter. When she was 6, her mother died and she was sent to live with her mother’s owner and mistress, Margaret Horniblow. Horniblow welcomed her into the family and taught her how to write, read and sew. After Horniblow’s death, Jacobs’s happy life ended. Furthermore, she was inherited by Horniblow’s three-year-old niece, Mary Matilda, the daughter of Dr. James Norcom. At the age of 11, Jacobs and her brother moved to the physician’s household, where their life was miserable. In 1835, she managed to escape. She lived seven years in her grandmother’s attic, before escaping in 1842 to the North by boat to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moreover, she was taken in by anti-slavery friend who had helped her to go to New York, where she worked as a nursemaid. Through her life she had written one novel only. Correspondingly, Harriet Jacobs narrated her journey in life, in her outstanding