Moving From Africa To America Essay

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That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. Some view our sable race with scornful eye, “Their colour is a diabolic dye.”Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train. (Wheatley, 12;

Literature is a discipline that has been used for centuries as a way of expressing people’s feelings as well as an avenue for passing across messages about important issues. Artists use their pieces of writing to communicate to the general public and bring about change concerning various issues that affect society. Phillis Wheatley’s

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Analysis shall be provided in this paper. The paper gives the explanation to the meaning of Wheatley’s short poem and addresses its contributions in American literature as well.

The above passage is a poem by Phillis Wheatley that talks about a slave shipped from her native land to another continent. The poet implies that the subject’s homeland practiced paganism, and the exposure to a new setting made her aware of Christianity.

The subject finds something positive in her slavery; Christianity, which she and the other slaves embrace. Religion was a significant theme in most works of art written by African-American writers during the era of the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries in America. They dwelled on Christianity because it was a form of solace that gave them hope. The excerpt goes on to say that many people, especially Christians, view the black man as being sinful hence uses this to scorn them.

On Being Brought From Africa To America Essay Example

What does Wheatley imply in these lines from “On Being Brought from Africa to America”?The poet implies that the White American judges the black man solely on the color of his skin and nothing else. To the White, the color of the black man prevents him from doing good, including being intelligent and even being creative. But the poet reminds them that though they might be black, they also have a chance of getting in Heaven. She also implies that being black-skinned is not a hindrance to greatness.

This poem reflects on the woes of the black people who were brought into America from their motherland due to forced migration, Africa, to work as slaves. The phrases “mercy brought me” and “on being brought” are ironic in that they imply that Africans moved to America on their own free will, which was never the case (Wheatley, 12). But in the real sense, women, men, and children were kidnapped and forced into ships where most of them died due to hunger and sickness as they were shipped off to America to be slaves.

Wheatley does not want to come out as a slavery critic, that is why it seems as though she is thanking ‘mercy’ and not the slave traders for bringing her from her pagan land. As is clear from

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Summary, “m ercy” is a symbol of a higher power that saved her from heathenism. Readers could also conclude on the ambiguity in her poem in the fact that Wheatley does not want to give power to the slave traders by not crediting them for her redemption from paganism to them.

The white American, especially the ones who practiced Christianity, judge the black immigrants harshly because he did not practice Christianity; hence, they labeled him a pagan or a heathen. The phrase “view our sable race with scornful eye” in the above passage is purposely used to incite the audience to take a critical approach to slavery, which considers both the negative and the positive sides of the story. This is because sable is desirable and valuable.

Hence, the black man’s race is valuable, and the color of his skin makes him desirable. But in the next line in her poem, Wheatley uses the phrase “

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” contrasting the previous expression (p. 12). This phrase in the context reflects the perception white men had for black men then and in the present world. Emphasis is put on the black man’s weaknesses, and little regard is placed on the positive. Africa, the cradle of the black man, is viewed as the home of ‘evil, ’ and nothing good is expected to come out of there.

The poet disapproves of this notion saying that, “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train” (p. 12). Wheatley uses this line to point out the fact that God does not discriminate, therefore, ‘the angelic train’ will consist of both the white man and the black man (p.12). Towards the end, she reminds the readers of the message in the poem by using the term ‘remember, ’ which is a command to imply “lest you forget.”

Brings out Wheatley as a preacher. She dwells on Christianity and how those against slaves should act, especially if they are Christians. The major themes are slavery, Christianity, and redemption. Redemption in that, the subject is saved from her pagan way of life. Wheatley’s work is convincing based on its content.

The Origins Of Slavery

The African-American’s place in society has been and still is a sensitive issue in America. Her work may be an expression of her own experiences. She proved that Africans could be educated and produce quality and creative work, just like white people. During the era of slavery, the white Americans did not believe that an African, let alone a woman, could write poems.

In this regard, before she could publish her work, Wheatley was forced to legally defend the authenticity of her literary ability, which worked in her favor when the court concluded that she did indeed write those poems. On the contrary, publishers in Boston, all of who were whites, refused to publish her text, forcing her to publish her work in London (Gates, p. 5). This goes to show just how much the white Americans were rigid and did not want to accept the fact that the black Americans were just as good as them in whatever field.

The poem can be said to be a reflection of Wheatley’s personal experiences. Wheatley was bought by John and Susanna Wheatley and brought to America in 1761, where she worked as a house-help for the Wheatley family in Boston. She was forced to take up the name Wheatley as she now belonged to them.

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This shows that were not only the Africans deprived of their freedom but also their sense of identity. Even though she was a slave, her slavery had some positive impact on her life as her mistress insisted on educating her hence developing her skills in poetry. Despite this, she was still aware of the fact that she was a slave and was only allowed to write because of the kind-heartedness of her master (Gates, p. 5).

‘Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent – of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. ‘Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now’ (Paine, 1; Lauter, 455)

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Essay evidences, Paine is referring to America’s politics in the above quote. He says that the issue of prospering politics is not the sole responsibility of one city or country, but it should be the concern of the whole continent. The quote symbolizes unity among all humankind.

That is, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that countries are governed in a manner that leads to prosperity. The success resulting from prospering politics or the struggle towards achieving prospering politics cannot be realized in a day or a year; it takes time, probably years. His arguments were based majorly on the idea of American independence from England.

He questioned the English monarchy and the English Parliament, thus the need for America to gain independence. His political style of writing makes this quote powerful, as he was more concerned with the issue of freedom. Paine’s work contributed significantly to the discussion about independence in the public debate, a topic that had initially been considered ‘taboo’ to discuss in the public arena.

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The central theme in Paine’s writing was independence, and his ideas contributed to American literature in such a way that branded him the founding father of the United States. In his book, Paine urges Americans to fight for their independence from the British. He did not agree with the British government and their views, so he did not understand why Americans should remain under their rule hence advocated for independence.

Likewise, Wheatley indirectly attacked the white American through her work during a time that it was a taboo to do so. While Paine uses his literature to campaign for the independence of America, Wheatley uses her poetry to advocate for the

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