Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is an insight about how she feels about her life in America as a slave. This poem in particularly gives an insight on how Christianity, racism and other factors shaped her perspective as a slave. She uses various literary tools to convey her messages and background as her life as a slave. These messages include the use of Christianity, race and referencing Cain which are all connected back to slavery. Only focusing on the last three lines of the poem, it is evident that Wheatley uses various Biblical allusions, metaphors and double entendre to describe how Christianity and race impacts slavery in America.
One of the techniques that Wheatley uses is making references to the Bible. …show more content…
Cain is known as the first person to commit murder. There is a belief that Cain is cursed because of the sin he committed and because of this sin his descendants are also cursed. It is also insightful to know that Cain is associated with black skin and therefore his descendants that are suffering are black people. This could be a possibility as to why they are known as the “diabolic die”, because essentially, they are suffering the consequences caused by Cain’s sins. Historically the story of Cain, was used as a pro-slavery argument to ensure that black people remained as slaves to be tamed to ensure that they will not commit the same sin as Cain. However, Cain can also be a metaphor for sugar cane. Sugar cane was a major crop that slaves had to work on and here Wheatley is making a connection refining sugar to refining black people. When Cain is mention, Wheatley states, “black as Cain” (Wheatley 7). When sugar is harvested it is a black color, but when it is refined it becomes white. Just like Wheatley mentioned, “May be refine’d, and join th’ angelic train” (Wheatley 8). Christianity was a method used to refine black people. By saying anyone that is black as Cain, either sugar cane or Cain from the bible, can be refined with the help of
One of the techniques that Wheatley uses is making references to the Bible. …show more content…
Cain is known as the first person to commit murder. There is a belief that Cain is cursed because of the sin he committed and because of this sin his descendants are also cursed. It is also insightful to know that Cain is associated with black skin and therefore his descendants that are suffering are black people. This could be a possibility as to why they are known as the “diabolic die”, because essentially, they are suffering the consequences caused by Cain’s sins. Historically the story of Cain, was used as a pro-slavery argument to ensure that black people remained as slaves to be tamed to ensure that they will not commit the same sin as Cain. However, Cain can also be a metaphor for sugar cane. Sugar cane was a major crop that slaves had to work on and here Wheatley is making a connection refining sugar to refining black people. When Cain is mention, Wheatley states, “black as Cain” (Wheatley 7). When sugar is harvested it is a black color, but when it is refined it becomes white. Just like Wheatley mentioned, “May be refine’d, and join th’ angelic train” (Wheatley 8). Christianity was a method used to refine black people. By saying anyone that is black as Cain, either sugar cane or Cain from the bible, can be refined with the help of