Thursday, April 18, 2019

Slave and slave literature: Booker T Washington and Lorraine Vivian Hansberry

Slavery is the condition that individuals have the right to control who lives and where they work. Simply put, becoming a slave is owned by another person who is called his master. A slave is a person who is classified as a property and is forced to do nothing. In many places and many times, slavery has been exhausted in history. The ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Incas and the Aztecs all had slaves.

Slavery in the United States of America began in the colonial period of 1619, when 19 African blacks were brought to the North American colonies by James Dutch, Jamestown, Va. They were mainly engaged in the production of tobacco crops and later cotton. Slavery was practiced in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and it has been popular for nearly 250 years.

According to historians David Brian Davis and Eugene Genoves, the treatment of American slaves is harsh and inhumane both during and outside of work. The slave is physically abused, and the shocking fact is that the government allows this behavior. Although the treatment of slaves varies by time and place; it is usually cruel and degrading. Most masters regard their slaves as objects like their land. This is something that "wears, does not improve".

The slaves are allocated in the plantation area in order to live in the dormitory. In some plantations, the owner will provide housing for the slaves, while in other plantations, the slaves must build their own houses. They live in rough houses. One person recalled: "We live in a wooden house. On the bare ground, the wooden floor is a little-known luxury, and there is no description of the furniture. Our beds are a collection of straw and old rags." .

The clothes worn by slaves are made of rough materials and often do not fit. In addition, slaves are punished by whipping, beating, mutilation and insult. Punishment is often driven by disobedience, but the master sometimes falls or punishes them to maintain their dominance. Abuse does not end here; it also includes rape, sexual abuse of women, and beating of pregnant women. This type of cruelty is more prominent in the southern states than in the north.

Teaching slaves to read is frustrating. However, in the 18th century, the abolitionist movement began in the north, and the country began to split the North and South. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise banned slavery in all new western territories, which the South believed was a threat to slavery itself. In 1857, the Supreme Court's ruling was called "Dred Scott's decision", claiming that blacks were not citizens and had no citizenship; therefore, slaves fleeing to a free country were not free, but retained the property of their owners and must be returned. give them. The 1860 presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, a Republican member of the anti-slavery, made many southerners believe that slavery would never be allowed to expand, and therefore should be abolished. Some southern countries responded to this, which led to civil war. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the famous "Declaration of Emancipation", which liberated slaves from all parts of the country that was in rebellion at the time. In the end, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution officially released American slaves.

African-American literature is written by African-Americans and sometimes even African-American literature. Fashion began in the 18th and 19th centuries, and writers such as poet Felix Whitley and the speaker Frederick Douglas reached an early climax during the Harlem Renaissance, and today continue with Tony Morrison and Maya. Writers such as Angelo have become one of the top writers in the United States. African-American literature tends to focus on topics of interest to blacks, such as the role of African Americans in larger American societies, as well as African-American culture, racism, religion, slavery, freedom and peace. The focus begins with the earliest African-American writing, such as slave narratives, a literary work composed of written records of enslaved Africans. The slave narrative contains a detailed description of the above slave conditions.

The first famous African-American writer, the poet Philis Wheatley, published her book "The Poetry of Various Themes" in 1773, the first three years of American independence. Whitley was born in Senegal, Africa, and was arrested at 7 years old and sold as a slave. She is owned by a Boston businessman. Although she did not speak English at first, she had mastered the language when she was 16 years old. Her poetry has been praised by many American revolutionary leaders.
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  Still, many whites find it hard to believe that black women can write poetry so intelligently. As a result, Whitley had to defend himself in court by proving that she actually wrote her poems.

In order to present the true reality of slavery, some former slaves such as Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglas wrote slave narratives. After the end of slavery, some African writers continued to write non-fictional works about the conditions of African Americans in the country. The most famous of them is WEB Du Bois. Another famous writer of this period was Booker Taliaferro Washington [1856-1915], who represented Du Bois in many respects. He is from the previous generation of black African leaders who were born in slavery and became the main spokesperson for former slaves and their descendants. He is known for his "Atlanta Compromise" speech. He called for the advancement of blacks through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to directly challenge the "Jim Crow" segregation and deprivation of citizenship by black voters in the South.

In stark contrast to Dubois, who is more confrontational in ending the ethnic conflict in the United States, Washington believes that Blacks should first upgrade himself and prove that he is equal to whites before demanding racism. His autobiography "The Story of My Life and Work" was published in 1900 and is aimed primarily at African Americans. At the same time, between 1900 and 1901, Washington began publishing a serial report "Up From Slavery" about his life in the popular magazine "Outlook." "Getting out of slavery" tracks his journey from slave to educator. This book begins with the hardships of childhood in Washington, starting with the slave life of Virginia Plantation. The lack of surnames and history can bring identity to his existence and it is painful and difficult to understand. He mentioned the loyalty and loyalty of the slave to the owner, but he emphasized the cruelty of this institution: lack of spirit in life, poor diet, bad clothes, and ignorance as slaves. a lot of. The struggle for literacy is the focus of recent chapters. In the final chapter of "From Slavery," Washington described his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. He is an educator and the founder of the Alabama Black College Tuskgee Institute. His other published works include "Afro-American Wealth" [1899], "Tuskgee and its People" [1905] and "My Larger Educ" [1911].

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was the first black woman to perform on Broadway. Her most famous work, The Raisins in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans living in segregation in Chicago. Hansbury's family opposed apartheid, challenged restrictive contracts, and historically provoked the Supreme Court case Hansberry Vs., Lee.

In New York City, Hansberry works in the Pan African newspaper Freedom magazine. There she worked with intellectuals like Dubois. Most of her work during this time involved the struggle for freedom in Africa and its impact on the world. Hansbury is considered a lesbian, and sexual freedom is an important topic in her work.

Her play "Raisins in the Sun" was translated into 35 languages ​​and performed around the world. "Raisins in the Sun" are full of conflicts: intergenerational conflicts, gender conflicts, ideological conflicts, and perhaps the most important dream conflicts, which are at the heart of drama. Dream is one of the featured themes of the show. Each character in the play has a very specific dream. Walter dreams of success, Mom dreams of having a home for family growth, and Beneta dreams of becoming a doctor. These dreams both stimulated the characters and frustrated them, because every day there was no plan to realize them.

African Americans have suffered a lot of wonderful literary works both physically and mentally, not only in the United States but also in the world. Their work mainly reflects their pain and struggle to achieve identity in white society. They have provided tremendous service to English literature and continue to do so.




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