African American Literature - Essay Example

African American Literature African-American Literature refers to the body of literature created in the United s by Americans of African descent. This literature lays emphasis on the black people, their way of life, as well as their history (Bruce 5). The writers responsible for this literature were born in Africa and migrated to settle in the United States of America between the 18th and 19th century. The writers of this body of literature were intelligent realists who centered their writings on the struggle for freedom, slavery, culture, as well as plead for equality in the world history. African-American writers include Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Paul Dunbar, Phillis Wheatley, Fran Ross, Toni Morrison, among others (Drexler 45). African American literature was launched on in North America in the second half of the 18th century (McKay and Gates 23). The African American writers at that time sought to agitate for their position in the society and seek to be treated equally. They were basing their argument on the US Declaration of Independence which asserts that all men are equal. They felt that black Americans needed to be treated equally, just like the white Americans. Basing her argument on the universal humanity brotherhood, as well as the Christian gospel, Phillis Wheatley devoted her poems on subjects that revolved around religion and morality (Drexler 50). Her main agenda was to prove to everyone that in as much as the blacks were as black as Cain; they were not intrinsically inferior to the whites regarding spiritual matters. This prompted her to make the assertion that blacks were able of joining the angelic train to be spiritual equals to the whites. Wheatley composed several poems in several genres since she was determined to demonstrate her mastery of form through her pious and learned subjects. Her literary work, Poems on Various Subjects gave a strong argument opposing the pro-slavery notion that the African people’s failure to write serious literature demonstrated their intellectual insufficiencies; thus, their fitness to be enslaved (Jarrett 34). Olaudah Equiano, one of Wheatley’s black literary contemporary printed his autobiography titled, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. He was a British citizen of African descent who had been enslaved by the Americans (McKay and Gates 200). His autobiography has made him, alongside Wheatley be regarded as the founders of African literature in English. This is ascribed to the fact that they both pioneered slave narrative, a literary testimony to oppose slavery which was a common phenomenon during the 19th century. One of the outstanding features of Equiano’s literary writings was the use of African origins to establish himself as a credible critic of the European imperialism. His literary work, The Interesting Narrative, has remained a crucial text since it portrays Africa as a model of social harmony that has been ruined by the Euro-American greed, and not a culturally backward or morally ignorant society. In the beginning of the 19th century, several African-American literature writers spoke with urgency the need for addressing the sins of slavery. These writers used poetry, essays, fiction, as well as conventional journalism to lobby for the abolition of slavery (McKay and Gates 356). David Walker, filled with his literary black nationalism wrote warning the white Americans that there was a looming racial violence in case slavery was not ended. Echoing Walker’s sentiments, Maria Stewart issued her publications titled, Productions of Mrs. Maria Stewart, to encourage black women to champion for their rights and have an outspoken role in fighting for the civil rights of the black community. The slave narrative dominated the African-American literature from the 18th century to the 20th century. After the Nat Turner rebellion in Virginia, antislavery movements intensified their action. Frederick Douglass wrote a narrative titled, The Life of Frederick Douglass, depicted himself as a slave who struggled alone in pursuit of education, literacy and independence (McKay and Gates 567). By depicting himself as a self-made individual who triumphed against all odds of life, Douglass piece of literature appealed the middle-class white Americans. The narrative, Incidents of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs also demonstrated the slavery and oppression that black women were facing in the hands of the whites. She describes the sexual exploitation that she was facing, as well as her life’s war. Jacob’s literary piece demonstrated the inadequacy of image that the female slaves were facing. Victor Sejour’s narrative, Le Mulatre is also a narrative worth mentioning that strongly opposed slavery. Le Mulatre talks about a man who was born after a slave was raped by her master. As if this is not enough, the master goes ahead to rape his son’s wife; thus, prompting the son to kill him in revenge. Sejour’s narrative demonstrates how the white people looked down upon the black people. There is no way a man can rape his daughter-in-law, unless he despises his son (McKay and Gates 700). Toni Morrison’s award-winning literary piece, Beloved is an exceptional piece of work that inspired slaves that they can escape from slavery. The main character in the story, Sethe managed to escape slavery from Ohio to return home in Kentucky. This literary piece demonstrated that there was light at the end of the tunnel and that it was a matter of time for the slavery to come to an end. Slave narrative opened up prose and dramatic literature genres. The first black-American novel title, The President’s Daughter was written by a universally renowned fugitive slave narrator, William Brown. The narrative explicated how Clotel lost her life in her attempts to save her enslaved daughter. Five years later, William Brown published another dramatic literature piece titled, A leap For Freedom. In this literary piece, he demonstrated themes and scenes that fugitive slaves experienced. In doing this, he meant that fugitive slaves were escaping from the bondage of suffering and were leaping to enjoy their freedom (McKay and Gates 890). Other prose narratives that touched on slavery included; The Two Offers by Frances Harper, Our Nig by Harriet Wilson, just to mention, but a few. The communal consciousness of the many slaves in America is one of the reasons that contributed to the success of the African American writers. This is ascribed to the fact that the oral traditions in terms of the story and song that characterize slaves gave substance and form to the successive literature produced by black Americans (Drexler 134). For instance, Douglass asserted that the spiritual phrase, ‘Run to Jesus’ gave him thoughts of escaping from slavery. Furthermore, slaves constantly sang “I am free at last, thanks to God.” It is not clear what they meant by this assertion. This is because some people believed they were thanking God for setting them free from the bondage of slavery; while others believed that were thanking God for saving them from their sins. Southern black folklore that originated from Africa is characterized by beast fables. These fables made slaves understand the mechanisms of human psychology, as well as the everyday justice. It is worth noting that the slaves had a preference to trickster narratives, for instance, the Brer Rabbit. This is because they were focused on combating their strong antagonists through guile, skillful usage of deceptive masks, as well as guile in order to leap into freedom and escape slavery. In conclusion, the African-American literature played a significant role in addressing issues that affected the society. The African-America writers used their pen and paper to condemn slavery strongly. They used the strongest terms possible to inform the white Americans that what they were doing was against humanity, and at the same time encouraged the blacks that there was a way out of their problem (Jarrett 78). It is because of the antislavery literature pieces written by African-American writers that the anti-slavery movements and civil groups rose, leading to the eventual end of slavery in the United States of America and other parts of the world. Works Cited Dickson D. Bruce, Jr. The Origins of African American Literature: 1680-1865. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2001. Print. Drexler, Michael. Beyond Douglass: New Perspectives on Early African-American Literature. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, 2008. Print. Jarrett, Gene Andrew. A Companion to African American Literature. Chisester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print. McKay, Nellie Y., and Henry Louis Gates. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003. Print. Read More