To see any negative view of the slave-trade, the reader must turn to the perspective of Oroonoko. Through him the reader sees how horrible the treatment of slaves is and how inhuman the slave-trade is. It might escape me, but I do not recall any moment in the story where the narrator takes its upon herself to discuss the slave trade. It seems that in that way that she is disconnecting herself from any responsibility. One could immediately say that this is because of her position at the time.
She has to make emotional pleas for abolition, but she also wants to make sharp, pointed critiques of whole institution of slavery- including Northern complicities. Jacobs often uses exclamations such as “O, reader,” when she is going after the emotional appeal: “O, what days and nights of fear and sorrow that man caused me! Reader […] I do it to kindle a flame of compassion in your hears for my sisters who are still in bondage, suffering as I once suffered” (29). But then she will sharpen that up with a catchy, biting aphorism, like “Cruelty is contagious in uncivilized communities” (45), or “hot weather brings out snakes and slaveholders” (159). She is also not afraid to lay on sarcasm, as when she writes, of the rare slaveholder who is good Christian, “Her religion was not a garb put on for Sunday, and laid aside till Sunday returned again” (48).
In the two autobiographies, “Story of My Life” and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”, both authors describe their challenges they faced to learn how to read and write. There are similarities in the situations they faced, but they addressed them differently. Helen Keller, the author of “Story of My Life” describes her learning process as she begins to understand language use. On the other hand, Frederick Douglass, the author of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” writes about his difficulty in learning to read and write because of the restrictions of his mistress. In “Story of My Life”, Keller has difficulty understanding that “everything has a name”.
The hyperbole doesn’t come off as over- dramatization, but rather shows the negative significance of slavery. Banneker directly addresses his reader in saying, “there was a time in which you saw into the injustice of a state of slavery.” When saying this, Banneker proposes the question to his reader, you saw the insidious acts of slavery then, can’t you see it now? During lines 26-53, Banneker makes use of strong diction, allusion, and a repetition of ideas to gain the support of the reader against slavery. Strong diction is used when Banneker says, “so numerous a part of my brethren under groaning captivity and cruel oppression.” After gaining the reader’s respect in the first half, Banneker now pleads to help his “brethren” and he does so by using this indignant diction. Banneker also makes use of an allusion when saying, “imbibed with respect to them and as Job proposed to his friend.” This biblical allusion is meant to be an emotional appeal.
While Joey’s character means well, it is her constant acknowledgement of Dr. Prentice being a “negro” that seem to contradict her claims to be so liberal and his being black to not matter. When introducing Dr. Prentice to her mother and father and informing them of their engagement she reassures them that she understand their shock by saying, “It never occurred to me that I would fall in love with a Negro…” (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner). In the first few scenes Joey herself addresses her fiancé as being a Negro at least 6 or 7 times, bring more attention to the fact that
Essay Zora Neale Hurston, writer of “Dust Tracks on a Road”, was criticized by her contemporaries for not including much material regarding racial oppression in her writings. I firmly believe that this is a valid criticism. Throughout her writing, she lacks evidence in her story; there is only one racial slur and that too by her grandma. Hurston often praises the white people more than she realizes the very fact that they are mocking her in a manipulative yet crafty way. Hurston is ignoring that at one point; African-Americans were segregated and enslaved by the “supreme race” the whites in this case.
Her book Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852, showed not only how slavery brutalized the men and women who were forced to endure it, but also how the establishment of slavery affected slaveholders. Stowe personalized the experiences and effects of slavery and convinced many Americans that slavery was morally wrong. This book later served as fuel to the abolitionist cause of ending the war. Uncle Tom's Cabin is dominated by a single theme: the evil and immorality of slavery. While Stowe has other subthemes throughout her text, such as the moral authority of motherhood and the redeeming possibilities offered by Christianity, she emphasizes the connections between these and the horrors of slavery.
It was not yet revealed the racial background of each character, although some underlying clues give notion that the young girls have already been exposed to negative racial stereotypes, but as scholar Susanna Morris writes “Women's friendships in "Recitatif" are mitigated and mediated by oppressive power relations that are highly visible and important even when race is radically destabilized.” Twyla recalls a time when her mother stated that ‘they never wash their hair and they smell funny’, which was directed at white people. Twyla’s initial reaction was to follow her mother’s teachings and not befriend a white girl. However, in this instance both Roberta and Twyla were on the same power level and in the same class. Because of this, race did not matter. (Morris,
Dee only wanted to lord over them her superior intelligence and education, therefore boosting her own ego. Dee does not hide her shame for the way that her mother and Maggie live by writing “no matter where [they] “choose” to live, she will manage to come see [them]. But she will never bring her friends.” Dee's harsh criticisms are not just pointed at her mother and Maggie as can be seen when the narrator points out “When [Dee] was courting Jimmy T she didn't have much time to pay us, but turned all her faultfinding power on him. He flew to marry a cheap city girl” (Walker 105). Notice the emphasized word flew.
A Modern Review of the story “Everyday use” By: Christopher Jiang Closely capturing the story “Every day use”, we can assert our empathy and imagine the difficulties African Americans experienced, for they were discriminated, forced into quandaries, and served with pain. Alice Walker created the narrator as an obstinate masculine mother, who refused the exchange of a quilt between her two daughters. She refused Dee for her betrayal and granted Maggie for her loyalty. Although, the three characters all expressed their feelings, However Dee, the new generation, disbelieved her heritage was the key, and carries contradicted attitudes with that of her mother. Dee believes she has successfully adapted survival therefore, deserves to frame the memory tree.