Category: enslaved

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+ african american literature, alice walker, american history, american literature, cult of domesticity, enslaved, harriet jacobs, incidents in the life of a slave girl, slave narrative, the slave's narrative, Trimiko Melancon

Harriet Jacobs’ Challenge to the Cult of True Womanhood

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A while back, I wrote a post about the ways that Harriet Jacobs, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, challenges the Cult of True Womanhood. Specifically, she counters it by showing the ways that society denied her the chance to adhere to the four pillars of the Cult of True Womanhood. Thinking about this some more, I want to briefly look … Read More Harriet Jacobs’ Challenge to the Cult of True Womanhood

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+ african american literature, american literature, comics, early american literature, enslaved, graphic novels, kyle baker, literacy, nat turner, neo-slave narrative, slave narrative, slavery, the confessions of nat turner

Literacy in Kyle Baker’s “Nat Turner”

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In his preface to the graphic novel Nat Turner, Kyle Baker talks about his reasons for wanting to tell Turner’s story through the medium of comics. He states hat “[c]omic books/graphic novels are a visual medium, so it’s important to choose a subject with opportunities for compelling graphics.” The story of Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831 provides just that opportunity. More importantly, Baker wanted … Read More Literacy in Kyle Baker’s “Nat Turner”

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+ american literature, early american literature, edgar allan poe, enslaved, gothic literature, hop-frog, nat turner, slavery, solomon northup, southern gothic, Uncategorized

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog” and Slave Rebellion

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Ever since I first encountered Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog, or the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs,” I became intrigued by the issues Poe addressed through this Gothic story that takes place far away from American soil. The story first appeared in 1849, and we can read the story in an autobiographical manner, as some scholars have done. However, I would argue that we must also read … Read More Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog” and Slave Rebellion

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+ african american literature, american literature, early american literature, enslaved, frederick douglass, narrative, slave narrative, slavery, southern literature, the slave's narrative, what to the slave is the fourth of july?

Frederick Douglass’ Rhetorical Rebuttals of Stereotypes

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Over the past couple of semesters, I have taught Frederick Douglass’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? instead of teaching his narrative. I do this for a couple of reasons. One, I assign Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave, and during discussions about Northup, I bring in Douglass’ narrative and Harriett Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl because … Read More Frederick Douglass’ Rhetorical Rebuttals of Stereotypes

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+ african american literature, american literature, early american literature, enslaved, frederick douglass, Literature, louisiana literature, slave narrative, slavery, solomon northup, southern literature, the slave's narrative, thomas jefferson, twelve years a slave, william cowper

The Transmission of Racist Thought in Solomon Northup’s “Twelve Years a Slave”

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Why can’t we just move on? The past is the past.” In that post, I examine how Thomas Jefferson, David Walker, and Solomon Northup all argue that it is nurture, not nature, that produces within us thoughts of discrimination. I wrote about Northup’s descriptions of William Ford and Edwin Epps’ son in that post, … Read More The Transmission of Racist Thought in Solomon Northup’s “Twelve Years a Slave”

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