ENGL 229 - African American Literature - Exam 1 Flashcards
First Black person to publish a book (poetry); Published in London in 1773
Phillis Wheatley (1754-1784)
The man who bought Wheatley and defended that she wrote her poetry.
John Wheatley
What did Phillis Wheatley write?
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious, and Moral
Phillis Wheatley Poems
(1) “To Maecenas”
(2) “To the University of Cambridge, New England”
(3) “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
(4) “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield”
(5) “To the…Earl of Dartmouth”
(6) “To Samson Occom”
(7)”To His Excellency General Washington”
How did Phillis Wheatley write?
Heroic couplets and religious arguments
Phillis Wheatley Themes
Religion (Sin, Israelites and Exodus), Greek References.
Common Themes in Douglass
Separation of family, Dehumanization, Power of Learning to Read and Write, Abolition, Evils of Slavery
A self-educated slave who escaped in 1838, Douglas became the best-known abolitionist speaker. He edited an antislavery weekly, the North Star
Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)
Title of Douglass’ Narrative
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
How did Douglass learn to read?
He would takes a book and some bread with him when he went to run errands and would give the poor children of his neighborhood bread in exchanging for helping him read the book.
Examples of dehumanization in Douglass’ narrative.
(1) Few clothes, (2) Harsh punishment, (3) Separation of children from their mothers, (4) Low quality of food
Who taught Frederick Douglass the basics of reading?
Sophia Auld (Hugh Auld’s wife)
A notorious slave “breaker” and Douglass’s keeper for one year. Known as “The Snake”
Mr. Covey
Why did Douglass hate religious slave owners?
Religious slave owners excused and rationalized slavery through Christianity. These men were oftentimes the cruelest men.
Who was Douglass’ audience?
Religious, Female, White women
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”?
Frederick Douglass, 1852; Calls action to abolition and the potential of America as well as arguing the hypocrisy in the 4th of July because Black people were still enslaved.
United States abolitionist and feminist who was freed from slavery and became a leading advocate of the abolition of slavery and for the rights of women
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)
Ar’nt I A Woman
- ‘Whar did your Christ Come from”
- ‘Ar’nt I a woman”
- Allusion to Eve in the garden
Established literary tradition of the tragic mixed woman (the Slave Mother)
Frances E. W. Harper (1825-1911)
Poems of Frances E. W. Harper
(1) “Eliza Harris”
(2) “Bury Me in a Free Land”
(3) “Ethiopia”
(4) “The Slave Mother”
Common Themes of Frances E. W. Harper
Motherhood, Separation of child and mother, Pain of losing a child
An African-American writer who escaped from slavery and was later freed. She became an abolitionist speaker and reformer
Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897)
Title of Harriet Jacobs’ Narrative
“Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”
Who was the woman that cared for and freed Harriet Jacobs?
Mrs. Bruce
How did Jacobs escape being raped by Dr. Flint?
She had two children out of wedlock with Mr. Sands
Tragic Mixed Slaves
(1) Near white heroines
(2) Privileged slave conditions
(3) Increase in age increases worsening of treatment
(4) Death before dishonor
(5) Appeals to common sense of humanity
What was the Cult of Domesticity?
Women were expected to take care of all matters of the home and be obedient wives and good mothers
Well known for his poetry that was written in the dialect of southern Black people. 1st African-American to gain national prominence as a poet.
Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
What poems did Paul Laurence Dunbar write?
“Ode to Ethiopia”
“A Negro Love Song”
“We Wear the Mask”
“The Haunted Oak”
“An Ante-Bellum Sermon”
“When Malindy Sings”
Dialect Verse (Dunbar Poems)
presents aspects of African American rural life
Standard English (Dunbar Poems)
poems that have an overt racial consciousness to them and emanate an overt pride or protest
Why was Dunbar controversial?
(1) His verses pander to White audiences
(2) His dialect poetry pandered to Plantation Tradition
Plantation Tradition/Dialect Literature
the celebration of slavery and the plantation; enslaved individuals are written as racist caricatures
Plantation Tradition
Literature that encouraged a sentimental, romantic view of the Old South and slavery and often perpetuated stereotypes about African Americans.
What did Dunbar pioneer?
The usage of African American spirituals and folk culture in literature
African American author, essayist, political activist, and lawyer. Best known for novels and short stories exploring issues of racial and social identity in the Post-Civil War South.
Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932)
What works has Charles W. Chesnutt written?
The Conjure Woman (1899); The Goopheard (Goophered) Vine & The Passing of Grandison
Who were the central characters of “The Goopheard Vine”?
John (husband) & Annie (wife), Julius McAdoo (freeman), & Mars McAdoo (slave owner)
Who was the Conjure Woman?
Aunt Peggy
What happened when Henry ate from the vineyard?
Henry’s life force was tied to the seasons of the vineyard.
Who were the central characters of “The Passing of Grandison”?
Dick Owens, Charity Lomax, The Colonel, and Grandison
What was the ending of “The Passing of Grandison”?
Grandison returned to the plantation and escaped to Canada with his family.
How does Chesnutt use the Plantation Tradition?
(1) Enslaved people are threatened with violence
(2) Hunger/Starvation
(3) Henry is sold 5 times
(4) Julius laughs about the death of his old master
Frame narrative
A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story
Goophered
A word for conjure, voodoo, hoodoo, juju, or grisgris
Trickster Characters (Chesnutt)
(1)McAdoo tricking slaves with conjuring; (2) Northern man tricking McAdoo, (3) Julius tricking John + Annie; (4) McAdoo tricking slave owners by buying and selling Henry
African American progressive who supported segregation and demanded that African Americans better themselves individually to achieve equality.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Booker T. Washington and Slavery
While writing for a white audience to fund Tuskegee Institution, he claimed that while Black individuals were satisfied with emancipation; however, it was an institution that harmed both Black people AND White people. Black people were left without property or education, and White people were unfit to care for themselves.
Common Themes of Booker T. Washington
(1) “Separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress”; (2) Economic progress BEFORE civil rights; (3) Physical labor over higher education; (4) Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
What was the title of Booker T. Washington’s narrative?
“Up From Slavery” (1901)
What was Booker T. Washington’s message in his “Atlanta Compromise” speech?
He argued Black people should prove themselves through hard work and monetary success prior to asking for civil rights and liberties
Opposed Booker T. Washington. Wanted social and political integration as well as higher education for 10% of African Americans-what he called a “Talented Tenth”. Founder of the Niagara Movement which led to the creation of the NAACP.
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
Double Consciousness (Du Bois)
a concept conceived by W.E.B. DuBois to describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly maintained by African Americans
Why did DuBois argue that Washington’s belief system was ineffective?
He believed Black Americans could not achieve economic progress without having (1) political power through voting; (2) civil rights; and (3) aid from institutions for higher education
What did W.E.B. DuBois believe?
In full political, civil, and social rights for African Americans
Talented Tenth (Du Bois)
an intellectual and political vanguard which would lead all Black people to a freedom and a higher level of human life; elitist viewpoint, DuBois revised ideas and other people
What did Du Bois believe to be true of Booker T. Washington?
He believed Washington was the leader of the North, South, and Black people
Who was Linda Brent?
Harriet Jacobs assumed name when she published “Incidents in the Life of a Slave”
