Unit 3 Literary Skills Focus Essays

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Unit 3Literary Skills Focus Essays
Chapter 6 Slave Narratives Chapter 7 The Rise
of Realism Chapter 8 Styles of Poetry
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Chapter 6 Slave Narratives
Characteristics of Slave Narratives

• Firsthand accounts written or recounted by slaves
• Tales of harrowing journeys from enslavement in
  the South to freedom in the North
• Detailed records of the mental as well as
  physical oppression of the narrator

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Slave Narratives
Tisnt he who has stood and looked on, that can
tell you what slavery istis who has endured.

John Little (1855)
These words by a fugitive slave appear in a slave
narrativea firsthand account written or orally
recounted by a former slave.
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Slave Narratives
Slave narratives are an important part of
American literature for several reasons
They serve as historical documents that provide
eyewitness accounts of slavery.
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As autobiographies, they give a voice to
generations of enslaved people.
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They constitute the beginning of a literary
movement by African Americans.
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Slave NarrativesThe Origin of Slave Narratives
In the years before the Civil War, abolitionists
worked to end slavery in the United States. They
used a variety of methods

• speeches to educate the public

• advocacy of public policies that would help make
  slavery illegal

• antislavery publications such as journals and
  newspapers

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Slave NarrativesThe Origin of Slave Narratives
One of the abolitionists most effective weapons
was the testimony of former slaves.

• While helping black runaways escape to the North,
  the abolitionists interviewed the fugitive slaves.

• They recorded their firsthand accounts of the
  inhumanity of slavery.

• The interviews were published in antislavery
  newspapers.

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Slave NarrativesThe Origin of Slave Narratives
Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an
American Slave was one of the best-known slave
narratives. This autobiographical work

• gave a remarkably accurate picture of slavery.

• offered a compelling portrait of African American
  humanity.

Frederick Douglass
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Slave NarrativesThe Origin of Slave Narratives
Slave Narratives by Women

• One harsh reality of slavery was that it tried to
  turn human beings into helpless, hopeless
  victims.

• Former slaves such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet
  A. Jacobs spoke and wrote of their heroic efforts
  to preserve their self-respect as women in the
  face of enslavement.

Sojourner Truth
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Slave NarrativesThe Origin of Slave Narratives
Slave Narratives by Women
In the following excerpt, a female slave from the
West Indies recalls being sold at an auction
I then saw my sisters led forth, and sold to
different owners so that we had not the sad
satisfaction of being partners in bondage. When
the sale was over, my mother hugged and kissed
us, and mourned over us, begging of us to keep up
a good heart, and do our duty to our new masters.
It was a sad parting one went one way, one
another, and our poor mammy went home with
nothing. Mary Prince
(1831)
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Slave NarrativesThe Legacy of Slave Narratives

• The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was
  established during the Depression of the 1930s.

• The Federal Writers Project, a program of the
  WPA, employed writers to conduct a series of
  interviews with surviving ex-slaves.

• These valuable oral histories were compiled into
  a set of documents that were thought to be the
  last recorded slave narratives (others have been
  recovered since that time).

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Slave NarrativesThe Legacy of Slave Narratives
The narratives compiled by the WPA provide
eyewitness accounts of historical events, such as
this event from the end of the Civil War
Marster and missus then went into the house got
two large arm chairs put them on the porch facing
the avenue and sat down side by side and remained
there watching. In about an hour there was one of
the blackest clouds coming up the avenue from the
main road. It was the Yankee soldiers. . . . They
called the slaves, saying, You are free. Slaves
were whooping and laughing and acting like they
were crazy. . . .
Mary
Anderson
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Slave NarrativesThe Legacy of Slave Narratives
The legacy of the slave narrative continues
today. Its influence can be seen in

• the autobiographies of modern African American
  writers such as Richard Wright and Malcolm X.

• important contemporary novels such as William
  Styrons The Confessions of Nat Turner and Toni
  Morrisons Beloved.

Toni Morrison
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Slave Narratives
Ask Yourself
1. What role did abolitionists play in the
development and publication of slave
narratives? 2. In your own words, describe the
scene at the auction in the excerpt from Mary
Princes narrative. 3. What influence have slave
narratives had on contemporary literature?
End of Section
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Chapter 7 The Rise of Realism
Influences on American Realism

• Development of realism as a literary form in
  Europe, with a fundamental emphasis on ordinary
  characters in real-life situations
• Disillusionment created by the brutality of the
  Civil War and the harshness of frontier life
• Reactions to the social ills created by rapid
  industrialization and the growth of cities

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The Rise of RealismRealism Takes Root
Before the Civil War, Romanticism was the
dominant literary form.

• The Romantic novel presented idealistic,
  larger-than-life heroes engaged in exciting
  adventures.

• Great fiction writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and
  Herman Melville used Romantic elements to reveal
  truths that would be hidden in a more realistic
  story.

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The Rise of RealismRealism Takes Root

• The poet Walt Whitman believed Romanticism could
  never be used to describe the harsh realities of
  the Civil War.

• The real war, he predicted, will never get
  into the books.

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The Rise of RealismRealism Takes Root

• After the Civil War, a new generation of writers
  known as realists arose.

• The realists wanted to accurately represent the
  environment and the real events of ordinary life.

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The Rise of RealismInside the Human Mind
Seeking to explain why ordinary people behave the
way they do, realistic novelists

• often relied on the sciences of human and animal
  behaviorbiology, psychology, and sociology

• trusted their own insights and observations

• drew their subjects from city slums and factories

• created far-from-idealized characters such as
  corrupt politicians and even prostitutes

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The Rise of RealismInside the Human Mind
Stephen Crane was one of the most important early
realists.

• Crane possessed profound psychological insight.

• His main interest was how humans think and behave
  in moments of great stress.

Stephen Crane
It would take a sensibility like Cranes to get
the real war into the books at last.
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The Rise of Realism
Ask Yourself
1. How did the criteria of realist writers such
as Stephen Crane differ from the standards of
Romantic writers of the past? 2. Why was realism
well suited to describe the horrors of war?
End of Section
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Chapter 8 Styles of Poetry
Influences on American Poetic Styles

• The emergence of free verse, with its open forms
  and rhythms
• Americas expanding diversity and celebration of
  democracy
• The tight, meditative rhythms of hymns
• An emphasis on individuality and self-discovery

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
In the mid-nineteenth century, two very different
poets planted the seeds of modern American poetry
Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson

• larger-than-life figure
• broad audience during his lifetime
• free verse broad, flowing style
• direct messages

• private and reclusive
• died unknown, leaving unpublished poems
• short, terse lines and tight rhythms
• mysterious meanings

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
Two Paths for American Poetry

• Whitman boldly published Leaves of Grass at his
  own expense in 1855.

• At first the book was mostly either ignored or
  considered too radical.

• Nevertheless, he continued to publish new and
  expanded editions.

• The poems gained attention over the years, and
  Whitman eventually became famous.

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
Two Paths for American Poetry

• Unlike Whitman, Dickinson was content to write in
  obscurity.

• She rarely left her house and made little effort
  to publish her poems.

• Although her poetry was read by very few while
  she was alive, she received widespread acclaim
  from subsequent generations.

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
Two Paths for American Poetry

• Whitman pioneered free versepoetry without
  regular rhyme or meter.

• His style introduced new rhythms and cleared a
  path for poets to explore a wide variety of forms
  and voices.

• Whitman aimed for the large, overall impression.

• His technique is based on cadencethe natural,
  rhythmic rise and fall of language that echoes
  the speeches of orators and preachers.

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
Two Paths for American Poetry

• Whitman used his broad, flowing, conversational
  style to celebrate brotherhood and democracy.

• He had grand expectations and saw his poems as a
  way to pass his message along to future
  generations.

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Styles of PoetryAmerican Masters
Two Paths for American Poetry

• Dickinson explored the private corners of her
  mind with a quiet, intense voice.

• Her crisp, focused style established a different
  path for later generations of poets.

• Dickinsons precise control and careful word
  choice often had a startling effect.

• Her neat stanzas are controlled by the demands of
  rhyme and the meters she found in her hymn book.

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Styles of PoetryModels for Future Poets
Whitman and Dickinson have both served as models
for later poets.
Whitmans Influence
Dickinsons Influence

• poetry as public speech still prominent
• many poets using the cadences of free verse
• young poets drawn to Whitmans broad vision

• poetry as private observation prominent
• careful rhyme and meter often used
• poems often regarded as experiences rather than
  statements

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Styles of PoetryModels for Future Poets
Whitman has been so influential that many writers
have addressed him directly in their work.
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt
Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets
under the trees with a headache self-conscious
looking at the full moon.
Allen Ginsberg from A Supermarket in
California
The rhythms in these lines by Ginsberg reflect
the free-flowing cadences in Whitmans own work.
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Styles of PoetryModels for Future Poets
The work of many major twentieth-century poets
reflects the style of Dickinson.

• William Carlos Williams and others have credited
  her with inspiring their style.

• The works of Sylvia Plath show the crispness and
  precision pioneered by Dickinson

The hills step off into whiteness.People or
starsRegard me sadly, I disappoint them.
Sylvia Plath, from Sheep in
Fog
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Styles of PoetryModels for Future Poets
Whitman and Dickinson chose different paths but
took parallel journeys.
Together their work marks the beginning of modern
American poetry.
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Styles of Poetry
Ask Yourself
1. How are the lives and personalities of Whitman
and Dickinson reflected in the kinds of poetry
they wrote? 2. What are the main differences
between the two poets styles of
writing? 3. Where can you find the influence of
Whitman and Dickinson in popular poetry and
writing today?
End of Section
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The End