English 2650
Sections 150 and 201
Spring 2014
African American
Literature
Essay I
So far this semester, we have read and
discussed some of the key literary and creative productions of African
Americans in the New World. We have encountered the trickster figure and the
‘signifying’ functions of the African American folktales and songs; the
spiritual and gospel forms that provided solace and masking functions for the
slave and his descendants. We have looked at examples of early African American
biography’s antecedents in the Slave Narrative, beginning with Olaudah Equiano.
These texts convey to us many of the prevailing themes and preoccupations that
attended the African American struggle for freedom, recognition, and civil
rights in the years leading up to the turn of the twentieth century. For this
first formal essay, you are to choose at least one text that we have covered so
far, and analyze that text in accordance with one (or two) of the themes we
have covered. Your essay should be thesis-driven: that is, it should be shaped
and structured along one central point or observation you wish to make about
the texts you address in your essay, and the body paragraphs should strengthen
and reinforce that idea.
The following are some prompts that you
may follow:
o
Consider the peculiar situation of the female slave as
characterized in the excerpt from Harriet Jacob’s Incidents in
the Life of a Slave Girl. What ordeals did the female slave
face according to Linda Brent’s narrative? How does Linda Brent’s narrative
intersect thematically William Wells Brown’s depiction of the female slave’s
experience? In your essay, you should reference passages or scenes in each
narrative that illustrate these points of intersection.
o
In a similar vein, compare the experiences of Sojourner Truth and
Harriet Jacobs. How did slavery attempt to define their respective roles as
women and as mothers? How did the machinery of
slavery use their gender against them—particularly in the case of the Mistress
of the house?
o
Review the short stories we have read and discussed from Charles
Chesnutt and William Wells Brown. What common concerns do these writers share
over questions of race and color? How does each writer re-introduce the folk
figure of the trickster to convey a poignant message concerning the condition
of their characters?
o
Compare the projects of David Walker and Olaudah Equiano. While
each writer addresses the horrors of chattel slavery, Walker and Equiano choose
distinct methods in conveying that message. In what ways does each use language
(the master’s tools) to denounce slavery (the master’s house)?
o
As we have discussed, the conventional slave narrative assumed a
recognizable organization: each tends to be episodic, features an “I Moment,”
and depicts the awfulness of slavery. Compare one of the slave narratives we
have read so far to the film Twelve Years
a Slave. In what ways does cinema contribute to the tradition of the slave
narrative—particularly in its role as a mode of abolitionist propaganda?
You may use one of these prompts, or
formulate an original thesis of your own that compares or contrasts two authors
or texts. However, there must be a central point you wish to argue and prove.
You should use at least one outside source to
argue your thesis. You are only permitted to use sources made available through
the Southwest library’s
website, our website, gotheretoknowthere, or the college or public library, and
you must cite/credit those sources with MLA citation. You may not use SparkNotes, Wikipedia, Gradesavers,
or any other commercial cite as reference. Plagiarism of any kind will
result in a zero grade.
A Works Cited page is required.
*Essays should be formatted with
one-inch margins, double-spaced, STAPLED, and typed in 12-point font.
Due Date: (201): Monday,
March 17th
(150): Tuesday, March 18th
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