Afro Caribbean writers versus African American writers

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Literature

Document 1

Colonized by the British government, slave trade was hugely rampant where slaves were traded to Britain from its colonies. This slave trade was refereed top as the transatlantic slave trade since it happened across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the British country. Olaudah Equiano was hailed for his work as an emancipationist who highly advocated for the end of the slave trade. Most of his works had the intention of urging the colonial government to end the trading of slave between Britain and its African colonies. The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, ”The interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano” which was released to the public in the year 1807 was instrumental in the enactment of the British Slave Trade Act 1807 thereby halting the slave trade.

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After learning English language he published his first book which raised a lot of questions on his origin (Equiano). Equiano was sold by his master to Captain James Doran who took his to Montserrat in the Caribbean and traded him to Robert King. Equiano gained freedom and moved to England but he continued working across the sea. He settled in London where he started his revolution against slave trade as a member of the ‘Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade’. Equiano recounts on how he suffered as a slave and how he grew as an immigrant with an African origin. Unlike Equiano, Phyllis works depict some good in slavery. She narrates on slavery with a lot of reluctance.

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Most of Phyllis work were based on Christian themes while Equiano based his work purely on the theme of slavery. Her work in poetry was so excellent such that the colonists found it difficult to believe that it was composed by a female slave. This prompted Phyllis to defend her poetry in a court to prove that she was the true author of the work. She narrates of the existence of a ‘heavenly muse’, depicting her believe in the existence of divinity and immortality. Phyllis addressed her works to public figures who were important during her time such as poets, politicians and artists. in her poem “To S. M. a young African Painter, on seeing his work”, she praises Scipio Moorhead a slave artist living in Boston who had originated from Africa.

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Zora was an active member of the Harlem renaissance often referred to as ‘New Negro Movement’ during that era. The major objective of the movement was to push racism to an end through music, art, fashion and Christianity. Hurston caustic remarks sourced from the life lived by the African-American citizens, was published in different collections. Her writing portray the struggling life as an African-American. In her publication by World Tomorrow “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, Hurston portrays how her life as an African-American woman was filled with hardship due to racism. She however disagrees with the act of isolating people based on their skin color. In her conclusion, Hurston empties that every human being, irrespective of color has an importance to the ecosystem.

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She concludes that every human being on matter their skin color has a unique quality and that every race is important. Hurston urges her readers not to concentrate on the race of any individual but rather their awareness on their own individuality and common human characteristics. This essay is a primary factor in the study of African literature written by female writers. Claude’s articles are aimed at bringing collectiveness to the society which was highly clustered. In his address to Russia, he pointed out the possibility that America was hypocritical in racism issues and did not totally accept the African-American community. Most of his work try to show how the communism repressed independence in thought and individualism. Some of Claude’s writings support homosexuality and it was widely believed that he was bisexual.

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