TMP English

Week 8 English 4: We are giving close readings to several articles, essays and primary sources on the concept of slavery in the United States. We will be using these sources and others to prepare a document that examines the nature of forced immigration to the United States.

We will be using the following sources:

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
On Being Brought From Africa to America, by Phillis Wheatley
The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Lecture
Beloved, by Toni Morrison.

Homework: After reading the poem by Phillis Wheatley, answer the following questions:

To whom is this addressed and what idea does it convey?
Is the tone rebellious or apologetic?
How do you think that readers of the time (1767?) would have read the poem?
How might it be read differently today? Do you think that African American readers would have a distinctive reading?
How would you summarize the poem in your own words?
What would you consider the key words or phrases in the poem?
How would you describe your personal response to the poem?

On Being Brought From Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley

"Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour is a diabolic die."
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin'd and join th'angelic train.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass complete text is available.

Douglass_Narrative.pdf
Size : 798.812 Kb
Type : pdf

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Lecture complete text is available here:

http://www.neh.gov/print/861