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18th century Black American Literature
Key themes in Black American Literature of l8th century
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​Appeal of Christianity

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​Quest for Liberty, Freedom and Equality in the struggle against the institution of
slavery

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​Enslavement/Bondage​ as chattel slaves during and after the historical period of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade—buying,selling and enslaving for life African people and their
descendants for economic profit

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Important Historical Moment/Rediker Lecture​: Transatlantic Slave Trade, l5l7-l808
and Institution of slavery in America up to l863-l865/l3th amendment which abolished
slavery/The economics and greed of slavery as an institution were based on free slave
labor and economic exploitation/brutality and inhumanity of African people
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Oral traditions of song and talk remained intact, however
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Alex Haley later
articulated that oneness and commonality in Black experience in story of Roots and how
Kunta’s life experiences and generational ancestry in ​Roots​ symbolized those of many
Blacks)

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Double Consciousness​ (sense of dual identity/twoness says DuBois: Blacks identify
themselves in two images: as slave in white man’s image and as man in their own
concept of self )—master perceives slave one way as property, but the wise slave also
has a strong sense of his own humanity and worth
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”

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Resistance to/Denial of Black identity​—some blacks of privilege denied allegiance to
Blackness and chose to pass and assimilate and absorb traditions, beliefs, and customs
of dominant race
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Olaudah Equiano​: wrote in the literary genre of autobiography/his life story written in the
first person by himself
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“​The interesting Narrative of the life of
Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, The African​” Prior to Equiano there was no
book written by an African American
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Authenticates that Africans were not a primitive culture as Europeans claimed
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Phillis Wheatley​: first black woman to publish a book of poems
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Mastered colonial literary traditions
in poetry (heroic couplet, elegy, didactic/instructive tone, iambic pentameter, biblical and
literary allusions) Raised and identified as christian
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“​On being brought from Africa to America​”
was a powerful poem about slavery, mixed themes of slavery, christianity, and salvation
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Married man who forced her family into poverty, had to

obtain job as dishwasher, it deteriorated her health, her 3 children and her died
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3
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Had roots in Rhode
Island and Massachusetts
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Served political and social importance and had no reference to her being black
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Benjamin Banneker:​ first black known for writing first letter of argumentation and
persuasion to Thomas Jefferson
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Also
sent Jefferson an almanac in which he wrote to demonstrate his intelligence
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5
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They found freedom at sea where
they were judged on skill rather than race
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Wrote
diaries, poetry and letters at sea
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g
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Abolition​ (ending of slavery) of slavery

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Freedom/Liberty/Democracy​: Relevant non l9th century writers who speak about
Democracy: Banneker, Cullen, “Incident,” Hughes, “I, Too, Sing America,” Lorde,
“Incident”

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​Social Protest

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Conflict:​ struggle between opposing forces or points of view or individuals; Conflict can
be internal or external: internal (individual’s mind) or external which can be: against
another person, against some element of society (laws, customs and traditions), against
natural forces (animals or some other disaster such as flood or fire), against fate or some
uncontrollable power

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Resistance and Violence​: Methods of resistance… Sabotage (Destruction of crops and
property), Self-Injury (Mutilation), Violence (Attacks on masters and overseers),
Uprisings (slave revolts: Gabriel Prosser, Nat Turner), Escape (Underground Railroad)
and Masking (Deceptive behavior/meek and mild in appearance but resistant and
conniving in actuality)

19th century represents first African American Literary Renaissance

James Monroe Whitfield
Henry Highland Garnet
David Walker
William Wells Brown (most important)
Frederick Douglass
Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, Maria Steward, Solomon Northup, Victor Sejour, Elizabeth
Keckley,Harriet Wilson,Hannah Craft
Black Whalers of the High Seas
Martin Delaney, Frances Harper

Genres (types of literature frequently written and spoken in l9th century)
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Drama

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Slave Narrative​: first authentic form of Black literature in America
5​
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Folk Tales of Play and Deception​ (folk tales/Brer Rabbit, the trickster who “puts one on ole
massa”)
7
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Also calls for whites to
realize they’re not the superior race
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Provides appeal for christianity which is evident in his life and his writing
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Equiano Chapter 1
From part of Africa Known as Guinea
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Agriculture is their
chief employment growing indian corn, tobacco and cotton
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Both sexes wore similar clothing of blue cloth draped across their body
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They’re a nation of dancers and every great event was
celebrated with song and dance
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They had slaves but they were
captures of war and treated like family
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The head of the family always ate first and alone
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Olaudah means favorite/fortune
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Equiano Chapter 2
He was the youngest of seven siblings and was trained in agriculture and war
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One
day while on watch kidnappers snatches his sister and him
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Began as a slave for chieftain in Africa, planned to escape but plan was ruined when
he accidently killed old slave womans chicken and hid in fear of wrath
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Sold again to a widow and her son
of Timnah, he was barely treated as a slave and was close with the son
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Six-Seven
months after capture he was loaded onto a slave ship to never see his native country again
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He was not chained
because he was young
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Theme of
brutality, sorrow/fear, relocation and middle passage
Equiano Chapter 3
From Barbados shipped to North America, treated better on this journey and had more to eat
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All of his slave friends
were sold to traders and he was alone and miserable on the plantation
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He was called jacob and
previously michael
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On the ship he made a white friend,
Richard Baker
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Started to attend church to learn more
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Owner was appointed lieutenant of King’s ship and equiano
and webster joined him
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Then went to holland and accompanied his master on
another ship
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Equiano Chapter 4
Stayed in England for 3-4 years
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Wanted to be baptized and was in Feb
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His job on the
ship was to run power to the guns
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”
Page 130-131 “slave ship: the first object
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Kunta Kinte and Descendents
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Excerpt page 57-53: ​describes slave ship and the horrors on board
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Describes the horror, stench, being whipped, watched woman jump over edge and get eaten by

sharks
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Theme of a sense of being together
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First African American
to serve as Poetry consultant to the library of congress in 1976
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Middle passage inspired by scholarly research on transatlantic slave trade
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Defines middle passage as a voyage through death to life upon these shores
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177 lines that blend lyric, dramatic and narrative techniques in
recounting a panoramic view of the slave trade
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Projects economic angel, religious frame, and literary frame of
the trade
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Styles like collage art (passing various material on a single
surface)
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Collage in words using phrases from hymns, voices of slave traders, description of slave mutiny,
parties by african kings, storms at sea, slave ships and sharks
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Part 1: thought of slave officers, ending
with story of fire aboard ship
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Part 3: story
of a slave rebellion aboard a cuban vessel, Amistad and slaves eventually returned to Africa
due to U
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Sullivans Way
Major historical moment in african american history
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During revolutionary war was the
site of battle at Fort Sullivan
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He visited Charleston
Church during a prayer service and shot and killed 9 people
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Placed by Toni Morrison Society on July 28th
2008
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Bench memorializes the slave trade and slave lives
that were lost
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National Museum Of African American History and Culture
40,000 artifacts collected, less than 10% actually on display
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Only national museum devoted exclusively to black people
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Langston Hughes “Aunt Sue’s Stories”: ​thirst for freedom, survival of oral tradition
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Emphasises storytelling tradition
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Brown developed
memorable portraits of southern black folk
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His
american hero would be simple, plain southern black worker who despite racism and prejudice
remains with dignity
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coming on
The strong men gittin’ stronger
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Stronger
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​He was writer and activist born to free blacks in New Hampshire, Whitfield began
publishing writing in support of African American rights by age 16
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He was​ born into slavery on a Maryland plantation in
1812
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The only fugitive slave narrator to report a whaling voyage
James Henry Gooding “The Sailor Regret”: ​poem comprised at sea aboard whale ship called
the sunbeam
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Sea Chanty, a work song: ​work song that whales sang while processing a whale aboard a
whale ship (song to sing while working)
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Victor Sejour “The Mulatto”: ​Born 1817-1874, wrote to protest the institution of slavery in the
West Indies
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The child’s name
was Georges who was not allowed to know the name of his father till he was 25
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Georges came to kill Alfred when he was
married and had a child
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In which Georges killed
himself
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The tragic Mulatto
theme, slavery, revenge, murder, rape, psychological effects of slavery upon families and slave
masters, patricide
Senorees: ​were shrewd, rich and very powerful slave merchants of mixed heritage who
negotiated the sale of African slaves once they arrived in the slave markets of Barbados,
according to Equiano

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