Charles W. Chesnutt, an Afro-American writer, who lived during the American Civil War, was the first black American to publish fiction stories. Through many of his literary work, such as, his journal or The Wife of His Youth, Chesnutt left his mark on the modern society who still discusses his writing. Charles W. Chesnutt’ use of characters and themes and mainly trough the use of rhetorical devices such as examples and comparisons in his fictional stories or in his journals address the societal issues of the Reconstruction Period for the African American. The themes Chesnutt used in his work were a relatively good representation of the black mentality of the Reconstruction period. He demonstrated that this period was not just a matter of freedom for the black man but mostly a matter of being treated equally as the white man.
Simultaneously, he chooses these events for how they will affect the northern audience’s opinion of southern slaveholders (Quarles ii). By using the written word, Douglass targets educated northern whites because they were the only group capable of changing the status quo. Illiterate northern whites and free northern blacks could not vote, while white Southerners would not vote because they did not want change. For that reason, Douglass used his life story as an instrument to promote abolition among literate northern whites (vi). Douglass uses family relationships, starting with his own birth, to gain the compassion of his target audience.
He was one of the first Afro-American writers to have his stories distributed and also one of the first African-American writers to be published in a white reading journal. This encouraged his reading audience to consist primarily of white readers. Charles Chesnutt was a dark American writer who approached his publishers for the option and freedom to treat racial and social issues from a colored person’s point of view: a few of the issues, for example were work and labor practices as well as racial intermarri...
Many of Hughes’s poems stand out in their description of the black experience. Some of the poems that stand out include “Ku Klux,” “House In the World,” and “Children’s Rhymes.” These poems delve into the world of fear, segregation, and the lost innocence of black culture. These poems genuinely demonstrate the difficult lives most black people had to live. Langston Hughes was one of the most influential black poets of the twentieth century. He took part in the Harlem Renaissance and taught the world about black life and culture.
He moved down South to get closer to the racial tensions in America and get inspired. That is when he decided to write another one of his best sellers, The Fire Next Time, this novel showed the readers what it was like to live as an African American. As it also offered the White race a view of themselves through the eyes of an African American. This was one of his most powerful novels, selling over one million copies and making the best sellers list; alongside Nobody Knows My Name. Shortly after Baldwin moved back into the United States, he was a huge hit with still a ton of inspiration inside of him and more he wanted to say about America and slavery; he was even on the cover of Time Magazine
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a novel about a young boy who is trying to find his place in society. Huck was born to believe that African-Americans were property, and were not meant to be treated as equals. Despite what society says, Hucks best friend is a runaway slave named Jim. Jim and Huck go through countless adventures to reach freedom, and through the adventures the two become inseparable. Huck knows that helping a runaway slave gain his freedom is against the law, and morally unjust.
Black and White Following the Civil War, just prior to the turn of the century, many American novelist were writing more freely of the previous slave culture. Two of these writers being Mark Twain and Charles Chesnutt. Mark Twain was a popular “white” author by this time. Charles Chesnutt, the son of free blacks, decided to pursue a dream of becoming an author in order to remove the spirit of racism. By studying these authors in particular, the views of a white raised in the slave holding south are juxtaposed with the views of free black.
College students tell stories about how when in the north, he is called Mr. Doctor Bledsoe. Yet in his letter addressed to Mr. Emerson, he ended the letter with, "I am your humble servant." It is this cowardly submission that Bledsoe uses to "gain power." He enjoys what little power he has in the African American community, so much in fact that he says that he would rather see every black man in the country lynched than give up his "power."
The “New Negroes” included poets, novelists, and blues musicians creating their art out of their own African folk, her... ... middle of paper ... ... the development of black literature, and The Harlem Renaissance, or the New Negro Movement, marked a turning point for this literature. Prior to this time, books by African Americans were primarily read by other African Americans. With the Renaissance, African American literature as well as black fine art and performance art began to be absorbed into mainstream American culture. What is important in reading this literature, or listening to the music, is to fully understand the underlying meaning behind the words; the sorrowful experiences of the writers, the insistence in self-definition, the search for self-expression, and self-determination, and a striving after what Alain Locke called "spiritual emancipation." The African American history so rich and deep rooted with sorrow, grief, and struggles have and still influence African artist all over the United States.
It is the most accurate and detailed document available on the revolt. Frederick Douglass, on the other hand, after gaining his freedom, published literary works that include his own narrative of his life and some short stories. One of his short stories is a fictional account of a slave revolt called The Heroic Slave. Although it is based on a real life slave revolt, Douglass' work is mostly literary creativity glorifying a strong black leader. By examining the non-fiction document on Turner's revolt and the fiction story written by Douglass, along with various aspects of the authors backgrounds, conditions under slavery, and education, this page compares and contrasts the fiction versus non-fiction characteristics of slave revolts.