Whitman's Influence On African American Literature

It is hard to pinpoint the beginning of American writing, the exact time it separates from European culture and gains its distinct character. Despite the nationalistic texts written by Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman, American literature was not treated as independent tradition for a long time. Even in American schools when national authors were discussed they were always somehow fused with British ones until the end of the 19th century. Within the literature of The United States we can find a significant number of various influences such as Native American legends written down long after they were told, New England novels, African American songs and stories, women's prose or journals, all of forged the classical canon of America. Just like any other national literature, America's was shaped by the country's history which is why African American writers are an inherent part of the American literary tradition. The history of blacks in America was captured vividly and often illustrated the cruelty of white men during the times of slavery. It is the history of people who tried to adjust themselves to a world whose laws, customs, and …show more content…
The novel is based on the author's life, she goes into detail about her sexual exploitation, her time spent in hiding in a tiny crawlspace above the ceiling of her grandmother's shed for seven years and eventually her escape. Similarly to Phillis Wheatley, Harriet Jacobs also needed someone to vouch for her before publishing her book. It was her activist friend Lydia Maria Child who wrote a preface to her novel and only then was it published by the “Thayer and Eldridge” publishing house in 1861. Through their literature both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs document their journeys from servitude to freedom, in fact they were able to give themselves a new beginning by telling their story to the world subsequently casting aside their status as