British literature from the Restoration period to early Romanticism explores the formation of gender and race through varying forms of text. The slave trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas alone displays the mass mistreatment of the black race by white slave owners. Discrimination towards women is apparent in the patriarchal society as women are relegated to positions of inferiority and limited to work in the household. Many writers identify the divides based on these identifiers in their works and offer their criticisms on the injustices.

One of the earlier texts, Ooronoko by Aphra Behn, tells the narrative of an African man from his life as a high-status prince in Africa to a slave in the Americas. Behn characterizes Oroonoko as a well-educated man who can speak both English and French, “had nothing of barbarity in his nature,” and had a nose that was “rising and Roman, instead of African and flat.” He is well regarded by all, but through the lens that is he successful despite his race. Behn chooses to depict Oroonoko’s strength in terms of racist conceptions and European features. This whitening of Oroonoko may be in part to appeal to the white audience that is pro-slavery so that Behn can present her abolitionist, albeit limited, message. The extreme brutality that Oroonoko sees and experiences during the ultimate revolt illustrates the horror of slavery, a fact of which Behn’s audience may not have known the full extent. The mistreatment and killings would have revealed the true nature of slavery illuminating some abolitionist view.

Behn also comments on the role of women through the narrator’s telling of the story from the sidelines and the fate of the most prominent woman in the novel, Imoinda. The narrator reflects the role of women in society at large in that she tells the story of the leading man from the periphery, revealing some information in the first person on few occasions. Behn acknowledges the narrator in short phrases throughout the work, but the text reads like a third person narrative for long passages. On the other hand, Imoinda, Oroonoko’s love interest, is characterized in full detail, yet in the end, she is killed by Oroonoko out of mercy for her and her unborn child. Despite her willingness to fight against the slave owners exemplified by her hitting the English governor with a fatal blow, she too is killed at the end of the novel.

This subtle criticism with an appeal to a white audience is also seen in the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley. In “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” Wheatley reasserts herself as a Christian convert, denounces the oppression by white Americans and expresses that all people have the capacity to be redeemed. Wheatley writes that despite so many Africans having accepted the Christian faith “some view our sable race with scornful eye/ ‘Their color is a diabolic die,’” showing how unreasonable it is for this sort of discrimination to exist. As a whole, Wheatley’s poetry is in favor of America and having been brought to the country as a young child. Her work is a celebration of Christianity, with some criticism of black oppression in the States. Wheatley’s final message in this poem is: “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,/ May be refin’d, and join th’angelic train.” This means that no matter the race, all people have the ability to convert and go to heaven.

In further works on gender and race, Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Right of Man” (1790) stands a largely popular feminist critique of the society and the monarchy. In this political pamphlet written in response to a pro-monarchy pamphlet by Edmund Burke, Wollstonecraft argues that the inheritance and the subordination of women are among the most pressing issues in England. Wollstonecraft writes that “there are rights which men inherit at their birth… and that, in receiving these, not from their forefathers but, from God, prescription can never undermine natural rights,” meaning that their role as authorities is presented as divine and natural. Their role overrules all other rights. This not only suppresses women to a position of inferiority but also allows for the continuation of slavery. Wollstonecraft counters Burke’s argument for slavery, writing that “we are to submit to the inhuman custom, and term an atrocious insult to humanity the love of our country, and a proper submission to the laws by which our property is secured.” This is a result of “our ignorant forefathers, not understanding the native dignity of man” who have been and continue to rule over English society. Burke’s view only provides protections for the rich, property-owning men, while contentedly leaving the rest of society in poverty or slavery. Wollstonecraft argues against this single-minded complacency, showing that all aspects of society are affected by the treatment of women and slaves and thus must be considered with those criteria in place.

These writers are a sampling of the commentary on race and gender during this time period. Since these issues were contentious, the attention to an audience was key to making sure the argument made in the text is properly received. As a fictional work Oroonoko takes more figurative liberties in presenting some of the same abolitionist and feminist views that Wollstonecraft does in her essay in a narrative form. Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” also subversively calls for a just treatment of the black race. Though written in the late 17^th and 18^th centuries, these issues are still a major theme in literature. Similar injustices are apparent in our society today and have proven to still be relevant to modern discourse.

Jacqueline Aramboles

Professor Michael Rumore

ENG 302- British Literature II- Restoration Through Revolutions

May 17, 2020

            Throughout the semester we studied works from the years of 1660 – 1815. These years saw several drastic changes to our world. Slavery was in full effect with the Transatlantic slave trade, revolutions in America, Haiti, and France and the consolidating power of the British Empire in the Indian Ocean. In literature, the writings reflected what was going on in Britain and around the world. Women made an impact on how literature was written during this period. Women such as Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, and Phillis Wheatley wrote novels and poetry discussing how the period impacted their lives. Topics that these women touched upon were slavery, child kidnapping and women rights. These women all brought different writing experiences to the eighteenth century. Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, and Phillis Wheatley all brought different and similar impacts to English literature during the long eighteenth century.

             Aphra Behn is the author of the novel, Oroonoko, or the Royal slave it was first published in 1688. In this novel, she tells the love story and struggles that the main characters Oroonoko and Imoinda go through. Aphra Behn is a white woman writing a novel about slavery. Behn frequently inserts her own thoughts and opinions into the novel: “I was myself an eye-witness to a great part of what you will find set down” (Behn 9). Here she speaks in first person letting the reader know that she was present in most of what happens throughout the story. As a narrator, Behn contradicts herself several times when it comes to her opinion of slavery. She describes Oroonoko in such a way that one would think that she was against the way he was taken for Coramantien and brought to Surinam as a slave. However, when Oroonoko plans a revolt and escapes with the slaves from the sugar plantation, our narrator (Behn) first thought is to run away because they are afraid that the enslaved will hurt them: “ You must know, that when the news was brought on Monday morning, caeser had betaken himself to the woods and carried with him all the Negroes, we were possessed with extreme fear, which no persuasions could dissipate, that he would come down and cut all our throats” (Behn 68). Behn spoke very highly of Oroonoko in various parts of the novel, she speaks to his intelligence and his physical appearance in a positive light. But when Oroonoko wants to escape the sugar plantation, she only thinks of him as an angry slave who will kill the whites the first chance he gets. While our narrator was an unreliable narrator, she was able to give the readers actual gruesome details stemming from slavery.

            Another woman writer was Charlotte Smith, she wrote poetry during early romanticism. Charlotte Smith was a woman writing sonnets about several topics such as mental illness and the lack of women rights. In her sonnet, “On Being Cautioned Against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because It Was Frequented by a lunatic” written in 1797, she writes about envying the freedom that a lunatic has: “I see him more with envy than with fear” (Smith line 10). She is jealous of the lunatic for several reasons. First, she wants to be able to have freedom/rights that he was able to have. She also envies that the lunatic can come and go as he pleases but she cannot because she is a woman and was not allowed to enjoy those kinds liberties.

            Lastly, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to be a published poet. Wheatley brings in a different take to what women experienced in the eighteenth century. She was kidnapped from Africa at the age of 8 years old and sold into slavery. She was brought to Boston, Massachusetts to be a servant for John and Susanna Wheatley. Phillis Wheatley was taught how to read and write by her enslaver, Susanna Wheatley who saw that Phillis was very intelligent. Due to her being educated, Wheatley began writing poetry. Her poem, “On Being Brought From Africa To America” she writes about how she unknowingly was taken from her home: “’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand” (Wheatley lines 1-2). In this line she is telling us about her experience of being kidnapped as a child and taken from her home in Africa. She was a child of 8 years old and she was ignorant in knowing what was happening to her. Phillis Wheatley experiences writing as a woman was much different from those of Behn and Smith.

            To conclude, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, and Phillis Wheatley were women who during the eighteenth century wrote about what the world looked like at that time. These women wrote about hard topics like slavery, kidnapping, and women freedom/rights. Today we read these pieces of literature to get an idea of what the world was like during the years of 1660- 1815. We use them as a historical context to get a better understanding of how English Literature has evolved throughout the years.

Paula Castro

Professor Rumore 

ENG 302

18 May 2020

Capitalism and Transatlantic Enslavement 

            The course of English 302 covers different themes that can be explored through different texts. A powerful theme that is present throughout the course is how the emergence of capitalism led to transatlantic enslavement. As plantations grew, people in Europe and in the United States bought more slaves to work in the plantations and produce capital. Therefore, the growth of plantations and other industries that require human labor relied on transatlantic enslavement that brought their work force. The slaves had different experiences once they arrived to their destinations. In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley, she expresses how the relocation from Africa to America has saved her; in the book The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano, he recounts his experience as a slave and his attempts to gain his freedom; in the book Oroonoko by Aphran Behn, the narrator describes Oroonoko’s experience as a slave and his failed attempts on gaining his freedom. Also, it is vital to address that Oroonoko is a fictional character whereas Equiano and Wheatley describe their real experiences. They all expose the dehumanization that transatlantic enslavement brought to Africans, and the capital it brought to westerns. 

            In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley, she expresses that she sees her enslavement experience as one that will bring her salvation. Wheatley was the servant of a family that educated her and eventually emancipated her. Therefore, her experience was not the experience of a regular slave. However, the fact that she was bought as an object dehumanizes her. Wheatley was introduced to religion and was encouraged to believe that her enslavement experience became her salvation. She expresses her feelings of gratitude for being saved when she says “’twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land” (Wheatley, 1). Although, people in Africa have their own customs and believes, she feels that she has come near the real savior by being brought to America. The introduction to religion was a strategy to make slaves believe that they have been saved in order to make them submissive. Religion not only brings the idea of salvation, but also the fear of damnation; therefore, slaves would try to avoid damnation by following the rules of religion. Also, on lines 7-8 she states “remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train” (Wheatley), meaning that even though race has made them different everyone can be saved and can “join th’ angeliz train”. Even though, Wheatley felt that her enslavement experience brought her salvation, the fact that she was sold as an object dehumanizes her and fact that the Wheatley family acquired her as their property adds capital to them. Therefore, transatlantic enslavement brought dehumanization to the African and capital to the American. 

            In the book The Interresting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano, he narrates his life as a slave and his journey to freedom. During his enslavement he worked as a merchant producing money for the owner, while he was just property. Equiano viewed freedom as equality and being self-possessed. He acknowledged that transatlantic enslavement dehumanized Africans since he believed that everyone was born naturally free, but the enslavement robbed Africans of their freedom. Ironically, Equiano used what he had learned during the time he had been institutionalized to write this abolitionist text that intended to enlist white people to view slavery from an abolitionist point of view. In his narrative he not only addressed the lack of freedom, but also the fake versions of freedom that existed. On page 122, he talks about what he has heard happening in Philadelphia, where even when people had become free, they continued to be treated as slaves; even in courts their proof of freedom was not admitted. Then, he continued to say “in this situation, is it surprising that slaves, when mildly treated, should prefer even the misery of slavery to such a mockery of freedom?” (Equiano, 122), suggesting that there was no such thing as real freedom for slaves. Once again, his experience as a slave has proved that he has been dehumanized since all humans are born free, but he had to buy his freedom giving capital to his owner. 

            In the book Oroonoko by Aphran Behn, she offers an insight into the life of a royal slave that she has created, since Oroonoko is a fictional character. The narrator, a white Englishwoman, narrates the life of Oroonoko not only showing her position of power, but also making capital out of it. Also, during the narration of the fictional character’s life he is described as being beautiful because he did not have African features, suggesting that African features were less appealing. When they had Oroonoko in the ship, he refused to eat and decided to let himself die and his fellow friends that were also captured followed his example; at this moment, the narrator tells the reader “this did not a little vex the captain, and the more so because he found almost all of them of the same humour; so that the loss of so many brave slaves, so tall and goodly to behold, would have been very considerable” (Behn, 38) suggesting that the Captain’s thought of losing all of them annoyed him because he would lose goods that would make him a lot of money. Therefore, not only Africans were dehumanized because they were seen as goods and not people, but also they were seen as goods that would make westerns money. 

            Africans were dehumanized while westerns were benefiting financially from such dehumanization. Different slaves had different experiences; Wheatley in her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” narrates a journey of salvation, while Equiano in The Interesting Narrative uses how he has been institutionalized to try to convince whites of his abolitionist views. On the other hand, Behn uses her power as a white Englishwoman to create a fictional character in her book Oroonoko and narrate his life. Although, some slaves viewed their enslavement as a positive experience, they were all dehumanized since they were acquired as property and their owners benefited financially as slaves represented capital. Therefore, capitalism led to the transatlantic enslavement because transatlantic enslavement provided westerners with human labor that represented capital; and at the same time, such enslavement dehumanized Africans, since they were viewed as less than human and just as a labor force that provided capital.  

Bouazza Azzouzi

Professor Michael Rumore

English 302

May 18, 20202

The glorious of the eighteenth century established and affected the richness of English literature. From Aphra Behn “Oroonoko”, Jane Austen “Northanger Abbey” to “the World is too much with us” by William Wordsworths through these samples of works we can discover some important literacy elements that shape English literature today.

The emerge of novels through the eighteenth century was shaped by a historical and political context that we cannot ignore. these characteristics were central themes of writers in the long eighteenth century. The emerge of the novel as an important literacy element was a powerful tool to convey the historical events that happened in this period. Eighteenth-century was a period where colonialism and enslavement were the targets of big empires. Thus, The European powers started to colonialize most parts of the world, especially the British empire also enslavement was the dark face of this period. These events have spawned the history of fiction; novels found a flexible climate to flourish, therefore, enslavement as an example produced a large number of novels some of them are well known some are not. “Oronooko” by Aphra Behn conveys the tragedy of how enslave brought from Africa to work in the sugar plantation in India. Behn states “ I do not pretend, in giving you the history of this Royal Slave, to entertain my reader with adventures of a feigned hero, whose life and fortunes fancy may manage at the poet’s pleasure; nor in relating the truth, design to adorn it with any accidents but such as arrived in earnest to him.” (10) Aphra Bahn is an example successful women fiction writer who uses the novel to give us a clear image of what happened in the long eighteenth century. Through her novel, she shows us the tragedy and horror of slavery.

The Theme of slavery is not only the topic that grabbed the attention of novelists through the long eighteenth century, but also, writing and going back to nature was phenomenal that emerge in this period. Nature was admired by a lot of poets as a reaction against the industrial revolution, which leads people to lose the ability to think of relationships and emotions as a high value of humans. Thus, poets blamed the city for destroying the relationship between nature and humans. William Wordsworth responds to this dilemma

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,” (1-5)  Wordsworth admitted that the industrial revolution and nature cannot be in the same room. Unfortunately, it seemed that people have chosen the city over nature in the eighteenth century, for this reason, poets of English romantic  Era were in the front line to express their disappointment about the new world, the world that does not appreciate the values of nature. Work of Words Worth is important here because it can convey the relationship between humans and nature in terms of loss through the long eighteenth century.

The eighteenth century was also the time where the gothic novel become popular and got what they deserve. Before this transformation in literature, gothic novels were considered as unserious literature. Furthermore, novels were considered as women’s creation, thus, people tried to ignore the theme. However, during the eighteenth century, especially with the emerging of the middle class, gothic novels started to become part of literature, so thanks to the middle class who were able to read them and gave them a place in their library. Jane Austen describes novels as “ in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language” (36-37) this important because it shows the power of novels, in particular gothic novels, through the novels we can use our imagination and take long flight thinking about our life. Not only that novels were and still a perfect tool that addresses women’s experience especially in old English literature where men are the ones who dominate the different types of literature. So, the emerge of novels and gothic novels helped women to open their imagination and express their experience. Thanks again to the Eighteenth century, which allowed us to see this diversity in literature, and discovered themes from women’s perspective.

The work of Aphra Bahn, Jane Austen, and Wordsworth contributed literature in the long eighteenth century to be rich and diverse, also eighteenth century was a time where women found a place in English literature.

Work cited

Aphra, Behn. Oroonoko, Penguin.2003

Jane, Austen. Northanger Abbey. Penguin. 1995 William,

Wordsworth. The world is too much with us.

Destiny Vega

May 2020

            There are many elements that we can see within the eighteenth century. Historical and Literary are our most common elements that are seen in the literature that we have read. I think a majority of what we read is all connected to each other in one way. I also think that what we have read also connects with us in our real life. One connection that can be seen almost everything is slavery and racism. We could see this within Oroonoko and the story about his life. There was a part in the story where Alphra Behn writes, “He was adorned with a native beauty, so transcending all those of his gloomy race that he struck an awe and reverence even into those that knew not his quality; as he did into me, who beheld him with surprise and wonder, when afterward he arrived in our world.” This quote is important to what we learned and to the connection because though her words are trying to come off as normal, they are in fact racist. Behn is telling her readers that despite the color of his skin and his physical feature he is still beautiful. This is something that the black community hears often today in our society. Comments like “you’re pretty for a black girl,” are laced with racism because it is being said with the belief that people of color are not automatically beautiful. People assume that a person of color need other qualities to make them beautiful or pretty and that it is not simply just them.

            This reminds me of the poem On Being Brought from Africa to America. The speaker in the poem talks about how the Christian community views African Americans. She rejects the notion of racism because in her eyes all people are equal under the eyes of God. It is her way of saying that despite different shades of skin tones we all bleed the same way. Phyllis Wheatley writes “Some view our sable race with scornful eye, / ‘their colour is a diabolic die.’” A lot of people look down on African Americans because of the color of their skin. They believe that they are a creation of the devil. This goes back to the ideology that people of color are not deemed beautiful because of their skin. Wheatly also uses the word “sable” which is often used to describe an animal. This is often how white people view African Americans. They never considered people of color as human and used a word that emphasized on African Americans being savages. I think is an important takeaway because this is an issue that we are still having in the word today. There is a big difference between how white people and people of color are described. For example, when we think about the recent protests going on against COVID, majority of the protesters are white. We are being told that they hold no threat to us and that they are allowed to protest. However, when people were protesting for the Black Lives Matter movement, they were being abused and arrested. What we are reading is important for everyone to read because although the world is a better place now than it was before, we are still having similar problems. 

            Another major connection throughout the stories we’ve read is the notion of inequality. Mary Wollstoncraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was a book that was written about bettering women’s status in society. She believed that men and women should be treated equally. This is something that is still talked about today. Women face inequalities in every aspect of their lives. Women live in a world where patriarchal standards are normal and accepted. Many women grow up believing that they have to live under traditional gender roles. Wollstonecraft writes “I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them, that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness, and that those beings who are only the objects of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of contempt.” She wants women to live to their full extent and be all that they could be. She did not want women to be subjected to having to live with traditional gender roles. She saw potential in every person regardless of gender. It’s unfortunate that women still have to live like this. This is something that has been going on for a long time and still has long ways to go before they gain the equality Wollstonecraft wrote about. 

            One of the more recently discussed topics recently was Metafiction and how it’s important to the class. In order to explore this idea, we had to read Northanger Abby by Jane Austen. The purpose of metafiction is to deliberately make the reader aware that what they are reading is fictional. I think this is important because it forces the reader to distinguish between reality and fiction. We aren’t allowed to fall into the fictional world because once we think that we are, we are pulled right back out by the author. “The company began to disperse when the dancing was over… and now was the time for a heroine, who had not yet played a very distinguished part in the events of the evening, to be noticed and admired.” This line pulls us away from the story and forces us to acknowledge that what we are reading is not real. It is telling us that the character is the heroine without us making that this distinction for ourselves. This is important because given our time in the world today we need to be able to tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t. Sometimes we need to have a firm grasp on reality so we are not fed lies. 

Lili Whalen

Micheal Rumore

British Literature II: Restoration Through Revolutions

Writing Assignment #4: Period Recap

15 May 2020

                                                            The Effects of Slavery

            Throughout this class, I was able to obtain a deeper understanding of the eighteenth century by learning what enslaved Africans have gone through, and what enslaved woman have done in order to escape slavery. Aphra Behn, who was a white woman, focuses on the cruelty towards African Americans and how they were affected by slavery in the novel, Oroonoko or, The Royal Slave. Behn zooms in on the love affair between Prince Oroonoko and Imoinda. Little does Imoinda know that her love for Oroonoko will have major repercussions. On the other hand, Phillis Wheatley, who is considered to be the first African American to have published writing is also an emancipated slave. Wheatley writes about her own experience as a slave as well as her views on religion in her poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem, Wheatley writes as an enslaved person about how she is taken from her homeland to a foreign country. She also divulges how far from Christianity she is. Wheatley states, ” ‘Their colour is a diabolic die.’ / Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, / May be refin’d and join the’ angelic train” (6-8). In these lines, Wheatley places the sixth line in quotation marks to highlight what Caucasian people have said about African Americans. She also displays how far apart she is from the Christian religion, while referencing that God punished Cain for murdering Abel. In another poem of Wheatley’s, “An Hymn to Humanity,” she goes more into detail about her views on Christianity. For instance, she begins her first line by writing, ” … dark terrestrial ball” (1). Wheatley refers to the word, “ball” as earth, while challenging Christianity, since she sees the religion as rejecting African Americans. Throughout these works of literature, the class is able to see Imoinda and Wheatley’s journey unravel as African American women.

            In Oroonoko or, The Royal Slave, Imoinda’s love for Oroonoko comes with a cost when the king, Oroonoko’s grandfather, seeks to have a sexual relationship with Imoinda. However, when the king learns that she is in love with Oroonoko, he punishes both Oroonoko and Imoinda by selling them off as slaves. During Imoinda’s enslavement, she was able to rekindle her relationship with Oroonoko, who was surprised to see her, since his grandfather had him believe she was deceased. While Imoinda was enslaved, she displayed a strong and brave disposition as she stood by Oroonoko to fight against the slave owners. Behn states, ” … heroic Imoinda, who, grown big as she was, did nevertheless press near her lord, having a bow and a quiver full of poisoned arrows, which she managed with such dexterity that she wounded several, and shot the Governor into the shoulder” (Manifold). In this passage, Imoinda is pregnant with Oroonoko’s child, but continuously fights for her and her family’s freedom. This also reveals that Imoinda will do whatever it takes to make sure her family is safe. However, both Oroonoko and Imoinda were not able to free themselves and did not succeed in the revolt against the white slave owners. The only way Imoinda and her unborn child are able to be free is if Oroonoko puts them out of their miseries. Oroonoko stabs Imoinda to death. Behn writes: 

 … the lovely, young, and adored victim lays herself down before the sacrificer; while he, with a hand resolved, and a heart breaking within, gave the fatal stroke, first cutting her throat, and then severing her yet smiling face from that delicate body, pregnant as it was with the fruits of tenderest love. As soon as he had done, he laid the body decently on leaves and flowers, of which he made a bed, and concealed it under the same cover-lid of nature. (Manifold)

Imoinda was given an opportunity that not many slaves have, to die in peace by the hand of someone she loves. She agreed to be killed by her husband in order to liberate her unborn child from growing up not only as a slave, but being raised in a country filled with fear. 

            Phillis Wheatley was another woman who acquired the luxury of being liberated from slavery. Wheatley was emancipated from her slave owners after her published poems led to her fame. Wheatley was captured from Africa when she was eight years old. Her poems describe her experiences as a slave. In her poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” she reminisces about when she was forced to leave her country. She also discusses her views on religion by stating, ” ‘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” (1-3). When Wheatley says, “Pagan land,” she points out that she has different religious views than others. She then mocks the Christianity religion, since she is trying to comprehend if there really is a God that looks over her since she was enslaved. She then goes into more detail onto how she was treated as a slave. Wheatley says again, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye” (5). Throughout this poem, she writes about her views towards Christianity. When she touches on Cain and Abel in this peace, she is alluding that people see her and other African Americans as prodigies of Cain. 

            In another poem of Wheatley’s, “An Hymn to Humanity,” questions the world she lives in, as she implies that the “ball” is earth. She continues to examine the earth as she reflects of herself by calling herself a lyre. Wheatley states, “For when thy pitying eye did see / The languid muse in low degree, / Then, then at thy desire / Descended the celestial nine; O’er me methought they deign’d to shine, / And design’d to string my lyre” (25-30). In this fifth stanza, Wheatley speaks through an instrument as she describes how she was treated when she was enslaved. She recalls the slave owners making themselves look good by mistreating her. This piece explores the topic of humanity, while the slave owners are dehumanizing her and treating her as if she was an animal.

            Throughout Oroonoko or, The Royal Slave, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” and “An Hymn to Humanity” displays what Imoinda and Wheatley have experienced while they were enslaved. Although they have been through a lot, these two women showed their strength throughout their enslavement while Imoinda fought the white slave owners and Wheatley wrote down her experiences and feelings while she was enslaved. However, both of these women were able to become free of their slavery, even if it meant dying or becoming a famous poet. However, although Wheatley was an emancipated slave, but her years of slavery have made her so exhausted. Unfortunately, her life was cut short when she passed away at thirty-one years old. This displays that even though both Imoinda and Wheatley have tried so hard to separate themselves from the life of slavery, they never fully recovered from the wounds that it has brought them.

Slavery in the Eighteenth Century

The long-eighteenth century was characterized by many themes such as commercialism, capitalism, novels that talk about religion, slavery, Gothics, etc. However, one of the major themes of this time period was slavery. Writers and poets on their writing express the bad side of slavery. For instance, in Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings, Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko and Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” readers and students can appreciate and takeaway how was the life of the enslaved in that time period, and understand why some enslaved were desperate to buy their freedom, self-emancipation, and glad to escape from that horrible life.

            In The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano, the theme of slavery is very highlighted. He explains how many times he was sold. He went through many circumstances onboard of many ships and the grief of being separated from his family and his beloved sister. After many times of being sold, he came to the sea. When he arrived, he saw a slave ship waiting for his cargo (55). Equiano expresses “These filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror, which I am yet at loss to describe, nor the then feelings of my mind” (55). When he saw many black people chained together with expressions of profound sorrow on their faces, he realized what awaited him, and knew that he would never return to his native country (56). Equiano did not want to be there, and he suddenly wished to return to former slavery than to endure this new punishment. Equiano continues describing the sensation of being put under the decks and expresses, “…I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life; so that with the loathsomeness of the stench, and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything” (56).

After such situations that made Equiano got insane because of the abuse that he witnessed, he decided to work hard to buy his freedom because he was not going to experience this bad treatment anymore. Equiano expresses “EVERY day now brought me nearer to my freedom… I might have an opportunity of getting a sum large enough to purchase it” (131). Since Equiano was ill of experiencing the suffering that being enslaved could bring him his whole life, he was willing to do whatever it takes in order to self-liberate once and for all.

Furthermore, Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko is another book in which his main character, Oroonoko, suffered because of being enslaved and he did what he had to do in order to be free. Oroonoko was a strong and powerful man. Even though he was a prince, Oroonoko was captured and sold as a slave. Oroonoko was betrayed by his best friend, the Captain, who captured him and sold Oroonoko to Trefry. It is surprising because no one would not think that Oroonoko could be sold as enslave because he was an outstanding warrior, respectful, and the prince of his land. But the fact that Oroonoko was black, made him a target of slavery.

Once Oroonoko was sold to Trefry and reunited with his first love Imoinda, he wanted to be free to start creating a family with his beloved. Oroonoko realized as well as Equiano that being enslaved was not easy because they passed through bad circumstances, and he did not want this to him and Imoinda. So, Oroonoko started making plans to purchase his and his beloved freedom. However, “They fed him from today with promises and delayed him till the Lord Governor should come, so that he began to suspect them of falsehood, and that they would delay him till the time of his wife’s delivery, and make a salve of that too, for all the breed is theirs to whom the parents belong” (Behn, 48). The enslavers were not satisfying that Oroonoko purchases his freedom because they understood that he was better at their disposition as enslaved. They decided to make him believe that they were working in setting him free while it was not true. They nurtured him with false promises that he was going to be free in order that he was patient and would not plan a rebellion. However, Oroonoko knew their plans and prepare a rebellion against his enslavers because he could not allow that his expected son would be born in slavery because if that happened, it would be more difficult to purchase his freedom. Also, he desired a better life for his family, something that slavery could not bring them since being enslaved meant sacrifice, suffering, and terror.

Additionally, Phillis Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is another piece of writing that possesses many themes such as mercy, religion, racism, but it also deals with the theme of slavery, and it discusses the problems faced by the Africans. In this poem, the author is glad that she was brought from Africa to America because she considers that Africa is a pagan land. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word pagan means “Holding, characteristic of, or relating to those who do not subscribe to any major or recognized religion” (def. 1a). Wheatley states “’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / …that there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:” declaring that it is God’s grace which brought her out from Africa and has saved her from calamity. Even though she is glad and grateful because God helps her, she opens her heart out to talk about the ill-treatment black people face. They have to tolerate hatred, bitterness, and disrespectful behavior just because of their dark skin color. She points out “Their color is a diabolic die. / Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,” Being enslaved is not an easy task and it is the idea that Wheatley wants her readers to know. Because of the fact they are black, enslaved are seemed to be diabolic and compare to Cain as well. Phillis Wheatley wants to share in this poem her happiness because of being brought to America because at least she is not going to suffer from the prejudices that most enslaved suffered in that time period.

Finally, the long-eighteenth century brought many themes, but a huge one was slavery. In these two books and poem that I present above, readers can contemplate a little bit of the bad side of slavery. Additionally, readers and students can takeaway how these three pieces of literature are connected together with the purpose to show how these main characters did whatever it takes in order to liberate themselves and glad to be free from this oppression and ill-treatment that was driven them sad, insane, and ill because of the experience they witnessed.

Works cited

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko. Penguin Books, 2016.

Equiano, Olaudah, and Vincent Carretta. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2003.

“On Being Brought from Africa to America” from “Selected Poems by Phyllis Wheatley (1773).”https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/untitled-edbd5bb9-ec50-4524-b55d-d5d87ffd0e1e/section/f6d1defd-e474-4d04-9a64-c7f108e6028d

Jacqueline Medina

Professor Micheal Rumore

ENG 302

May 15, 2020

Period Recap: Finding the positive in a grime situation

Throughout the period of time the world has battled with different struggles and if you were lucky some found a way to look past their situation and find a way out or a way to make peace and survive it. Slavery was one of these downright awful situations. Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa, and still continues today in some countries.

Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In many African societies where slavery was prevalent, the enslaved people were not treated as chattel slaves and were given certain rights in a system similar to indentured servitude elsewhere in the world. When the Arab Slave Trade and Atlantic Slave Trade began, many of the local slave systems began supplying captives for Slave Markets outside Africa.

Slavery in historical Africa was practiced in many different forms: Debt Slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, slavery for prostitution and criminal slavery were all practiced in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa. Plantation slavery also occurred primarily on the eastern coast of Africa and in parts of West Africa. The importance of domestic plantation slavery increased during the 19th century due to the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Many African states dependent on the international slave trade reoriented their economies towards legitimate commerce worked by slave labor. Slavery and slave trading had been part of European experience long before the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade. It was most widespread in the continuing conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Mediterranean. There, and around the Black Sea, slaves were created as each side enslaved the other as part of the spoils of war. The numbers were enormous – indeed as late as the mid 17th century, far more European slaves were held in Islamic regions (where the ownership of Muslim slaves was prohibited) than Africans were shipped into the Americas.

There was, however, one striking difference to the transatlantic trade: no one really associated slavery with race or colour. Slaves could be Black or White, Christian, Muslim or pagan. Moreover, despite the fact that significant slave trading by Arabs to Black Africa had been going on since ancient times, the link between slavery and ethnicity (or, more popularly, ‘race’) – that is, between slavery and Blackness – was more or less non-existent … until, that is, it was forged by maritime Europeans in the form of chattel slavery.

One of the materials that relate to slavery and finding a solution while may not have been ideal, but the only option and ultimate sacrifice was in Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. Oroonoko’s tale is one of an exemplary man who falls in love with an exceptional woman, Imoinda. However, their love is thwarted by Oroonoko’s grandfather, the king, who desires Imoinda for himself. Despite the fact that Oroonoko and Imoinda are married, the King forces her to become part of his Otan, or harem, separating them. Imoinda refuses to submit to his desires, and Oroonoko manages to break into the Otan and consummate his marriage. As punishment, the King pretends to put Imoinda to death, when he has actually sold her into slavery. This sends Oroonoko over the edge with grief and leads him to find comfort in what he believed to be a friend but betrays him. He is bamboozled by the English sea captain, who ultimately tricks the prince into slavery, taking him to Surinam where he is sold to the plantation where the narrator resides. There, his true identity is discovered even as he is renamed Caesar and he is promised his freedom. There, too, he discovers Imoinda, now named Clemene and the reunited lovers finally live as husband and wife. But their joy is bittersweet. Soon after Imoinda conceives a child, Oroonoko begins to suspect further treachery on the part of the English and stages a slave uprising, attempting to lead his fellow slaves to freedom. The uprising does not succeed and Oroonoko is betrayed by the Deputy Governor Byam, who promised him his freedom only to mete out a cruel punishment instead. Jere is where we see Oroonoko come to terms with the fact that he and his family will never be free. But wants to do what is best for his family. He sees he must sacrifice everything he loves to be free the turmoil of slavery and to rid his unborn child from this lifestyle. So, he sacrifices his family and kills his wife and unborn child to save them from a life of torture and slavery. And plans on killing Byram but loses his strength after unwillingly killing his wife for what he thought would save her. He is then Brutally killed by Byram’s associate. And ironically freed from his life as a slave but he lost everything he loved and himself to be free. While this ending is awful it truly depicts the life of slavery in the 18^th century. Oroonoko was willing to do and sacrifice anything for the freedom he was promised but when pushed to the edge he realized he was just a fool and gave the ultimate sacrifice his family. He murdered them to free them from slavery, in his mind this was the right thing to do but in the end they all lost their life to slavery, but the royal Prince saved his wife and unborn child from a brutal life of pain and slavery and ended their misery.  

Phyliss Wheatley poems take on another approach to slavery she uses her religion to emphasize the trials and tribulations of slavery but has a way with words that makes seem survivable in a sense because God has her back if that makes sense.  Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman in America to publish a book of poems. If that’s not enough, she also survived being kidnapped from Africa and shipped to America as a slave, where she was taken in by the Wheatley family and eventually learned to read Latin and Greek. All this was in the late 1700s. So, although everything was against her in society back then wrong race, wrong gender, wrong country she succeeded as a poet despite all odds. I found the way she described her journey from Africa to America so uplifting yet painful as the same time. Although her poems typically address Christianity and avoid issues of race, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is a short, but powerful, poem about slavery. In fact, people could hardly believe that a slave could actually read and write, let alone write poems. She introduces Christianity in the very beginning of the poem. When the speaker says “‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, taught my benighted soul to understand”. Her conversion to Christianity parallels her transition from Africa to America, and while it becomes a source for her belief that all people are equal spiritually, she urges Christians to truly follow their Christian principles. Not only that, but the use of Christian imagery allows the speaker to discuss racial inequality in her aim to defuse assumptions about race differences. Pagan land which is referring to a polytheistic pre- Christian religion. She goes on to depict the images of slavery when she says “their colour is diabolic Remember, Christians, Negros black as Cain “, these lines emphasize her faith during a grime time of her slavery. I believe she is describing the slave owners and their slaves, and the injustice based solely off of the skin color. When she says their colour is a diabolic die which means showing cunning or ingenuity or wickedness. When she says black Cain is similar to when she uses “benighted” to describe the dark state of her soul. She could also be referring to “niggers” (as they were called during this time) as black as Cain because they are separated from God. While this connects the black race to the devil, readers could also interpret that the black race will still be protected by God because he doesn’t judge them by their skin color and therefore is their salvation. While we all know from countless history lesson how horrific slavery was reading it from her perspective and experience shows you that power of faith and how it can make any situation tolerable in a sense.

And I think a lot of victims of slavery all had their way of coping mechanisms to get them through each horrible day of being captive, beaten and constantly sold to a new owner. But even through tragedy they found a way to be at peace with the unfortunate events of slavery. Oronnoko fought until his last breath for freedom and while it cost him his life, he saved his wife and unborn child from slavery and a brutal dead. Even though he killed them it was for their own salvation in his eyes. And the speaker in Phillis Wheatley’s poems her salvation was God because he was the only one who didn’t judge her by her skin color and only, he knew her inside and out.

Dashawn Britt                                                                                                                                     

Course ENG 301

Professor Rumore

May 7^th, 2020

The Eighteenth Century was a prolific time period that helped change the course of literature. This time period provided a voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless. Two themes that grabbed my attention in this time period was the emphasis placed on nature and the way literature helped slaves survive through slavery. Even though the Eighteenth Century was filled with a lot of more revolutionary moments these two were monumental. They were monumental for different reasons but they both helped to change the world as we know it.

William Wordworth used his poetry to express his views on the world as a whole. He had a passion for nature, and he believed there was a mutual consciousness and spiritual communion between the two. If he was alive today, he wouldn’t be happy with the way technology has taken over our lives and how little we spend actually enjoying the world around us. The World is too much with us is a poem he wrote because he accused the modern age of losing its connection to nature. It’s true because often humans get distracted and indulge in their vices which can be harmful. While we are entertained with materialistic objects, the world around us is basically being wasted because we are not treating it with care. One of the most stand out lines in the poem “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; – Little we see in Nature that is ours.” After we work and get compensated, we spend immediately, and this becomes a ritual. We don’t find peace and tranquility in nature we find peace in the material items to make us happy, obilvious to the fact that those objects can be taken away. Nature on the other hand is here forever. If we prioritize better and focus on things that are important rather than something that provides us with temporary joy the world would be a better place in its entirety. I find this take away rather important because we should definitely try to find solace and fulfillment in the Nature around us. Nature was here before us and it will be here after us. Everything that took place in historical times repeat itself, but it mutates such as their vices verses ours, and ours might be worst. Taking time and becoming in tune with nature is essential and we should get onboard before it’s too late. 

 Hearing about the way slaves taught themselves how to survive during the dreadful treatment they endured. We hear how they used religion to cope with the torture. It’s astonishing to know that no amount of pain was able to destroy their spirits and stop them from documenting their lives as they were living through situations that could have destroyed the average human. I commended the bravery. One person everyone should know about is Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa. He wasn’t your typical African slave, in fact he helped influence British parliament to abolish the trade through the Slave Trade Act. Olaudah represented for his African countrymen and he created a petition to the Queen, hoping she can be merciful and help millions of the hopeless Africans suffering. This was brave of Olaudah because he identified himself as an African who was suffering along with his people, but he also ended the letter to the Queen by himself as “mostdutiful and devoted servant to command.” He didn’t demand freedom for his people he was asking and provided valid reasons on why they should be freed. Olaudah Equiano didn’t live to see his progressive ways come to fruition but if he did, he would have been pleased with the outcome. The abolition of slavery was achieved in 1807. Hearing about some of the common names of African freed slaves often makes us overlook the people who laid down the groundwork for the abolition of slavery in other places on the earth. Thanks to Equiano for being one of the pioneers. 

Learning about Phyllis Wheatly is significant during the Enlightenment period. Not only was she the first African American women to publish a book of poems, she was also the second women in general to publish a book of poems. She marked the beginning of a genre for African Americans. Most of her literature mentions religion, morals and some of the things she endured as a slave. Phyllis Wheatly used the world around her and allowed us a glimpse into her life so we can understand thoroughly what was taking place. One poem in particular, is “ON BEING BROUGHT FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA, was groundbreaking in my opinion. The title alone showed her ignorance because she was kidnapped and was a bit naïve at the moment, but could we blame her for not knowing? She was a slave and wasn’t privy to much of anything. She describes her experience as being brought from her pagan land to America as a good thing. Not understanding what was yet to come she detailed it as her “benighted soul” and finding God and salvation through her journey. Though many Africans were slaves, even more of them were uneducated or capable of writing. They either were not allowed, or they didn’t have anyone that taught them how to write. When literature was published by African Americans it gave Africans hope and it highlighted the struggles they have endured. This definitely was a prominent time during this period because it showed Wheatly was a person who wasn’t bitter, nor angry yet she used her experience as a slave to help her become educated and a profound writer. She was courageous and her writing was an example of her courage.

In conclusion the Eighteenth century or as some people may call it The Enlightenment Period was a time period of many achievements and many life changing events. Some of those events included literature being life changing for Africans, Nature and humans having a correlation, and Africans fighting for freedom hoping to eventually be freed along with their people.  Pioneers such as William Wordworth, Olaudah Equiano, and Phyllis Wheatley were a few of the people to start the groundwork for the freedom of expression and being free like we are now. This period helped shape the country we live in today for the better. If I had to teach a class, I would highlight these significant people and explain to them how much each of these people and their contributions were essential in changing the landscape of the world.  

Jacqueline Medina

Professor Michael Rumore

ENG 302

                                                            Annotations

1. “Twas mercy brought me from Pagan land”- Phillis Wheatley opens up the poem with religion when she says twas mercy brought me from Pagan land. Pagan land which is referring to a polytheistic pre- Christian religion. Pagan comes from a Latin word paganus, meaning villager, rustic, civilian and itself comes from a pagus which refers to a small unit of land in a rural district. When Christianity came on board the Roman Empires, those who practiced the old ways came to be called pagans.

2.” Their colour is diabolic Remember, Christians, Negroes black as Cain”– these lines emphasize her faith during a grime time of her slavery. I believe she is describing the slave owners when she says their colour is a diabolic die which means showing cunning or ingenuity or wickedness. When she says black as Cain is similar to when she uses “benighted” to describe the dark state of her soul. She could also be referring to “niggers” (as they were called back then) as black as Cain because they are separated from God. While this connects the black race to the devil, readers could also interpret that the black race will still be protected by God.

3.” brought me from my Pagan land “– when the speaker writes “brought me from my Pagan land” the speaker is a slave that was brought from Africa to America by Mercy. And its mercy that converts the speaker to Christianity which she knew nothing about in Africa. It is what is giving her hope and peace through all the trials and tribulations that come with slavery. Her faith will get her through it as long as she believes it will.

4. “die”- we know that “die” is awfully close to “dye” so this could be a play with words, alluding to the dyes and goods that slaves were valuable in producing and/ or the color of the speaker’s skin is evil (diabolic) color. It’s as if she’s tainted with evil and godlessness because of her race. At least that’s how they were viewed back in the day. Die is also death. She could also be saying that people think her skin color has condemned her to death. But this could be more of a spiritual death saying that she is inferior because she is black and outside of god’s grace. As she told us she has been enlightened spiritually by Christianity.

5.” maybe refin’d and join’d the angelic train- here the speaker is talking about Christianity, race and heaven. The speaker’s tone is authoritative, as if addressing an audience that doesn’t believe quite what the speaker believes. She is calling all Christians refin’d meaning free of impurities can imply God’s colorblindness to offering salvation.