Comparing and Contrasting: Slave Literature
Many events haunt America’s past, most not so daunting as the demon slavery. In a time where the African American voice was silenced to the fullest extent, Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and the minister from the text “A Dialogue Between a Virginian and an African Minister” screamed out to the masses in an effort to expose the treachery and hypocrisy of such an institution being upheld in a nation “under God”. Through the use of allusions, contrast, and upper level diction, they both strengthen this argument and dispel the myths that labeled the African American people as simple minded. While both texts may seem very different on a surface level, they truly connect on a deeper level in order to portray the idea that if slaveholders were to walk in their shoes, they would see the injustice in such a system.
Allusions
Even the most educated men of the time believed African Americans were infact an inferior race, unable to comprehend higher levels of thinking or contribute anything beautiful to the world. However, by alluding to sophisticated and well known documents, both authors …show more content…
Diction While the content of the argument is incredibly important, it would hold no value without the correct words and phrasing; this is where diction comes to play. Both authors showcase high levels of diction in their works that goes beyond creating an interesting read. By displaying their broad vocabulary, both make a case against African Americans being the ‘lesser race’ without directly voicing this argument. When Jacobs thinks back to a Northern woman who had helped her she describes the kindness she had shown by not bringing up her sins: “I presume it was the delicate silence of womanly sympathy”(1861,
Many events haunt America’s past, most not so daunting as the demon slavery. In a time where the African American voice was silenced to the fullest extent, Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and the minister from the text “A Dialogue Between a Virginian and an African Minister” screamed out to the masses in an effort to expose the treachery and hypocrisy of such an institution being upheld in a nation “under God”. Through the use of allusions, contrast, and upper level diction, they both strengthen this argument and dispel the myths that labeled the African American people as simple minded. While both texts may seem very different on a surface level, they truly connect on a deeper level in order to portray the idea that if slaveholders were to walk in their shoes, they would see the injustice in such a system.
Allusions
Even the most educated men of the time believed African Americans were infact an inferior race, unable to comprehend higher levels of thinking or contribute anything beautiful to the world. However, by alluding to sophisticated and well known documents, both authors …show more content…
Diction While the content of the argument is incredibly important, it would hold no value without the correct words and phrasing; this is where diction comes to play. Both authors showcase high levels of diction in their works that goes beyond creating an interesting read. By displaying their broad vocabulary, both make a case against African Americans being the ‘lesser race’ without directly voicing this argument. When Jacobs thinks back to a Northern woman who had helped her she describes the kindness she had shown by not bringing up her sins: “I presume it was the delicate silence of womanly sympathy”(1861,