LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Albert Salazar

Religious Empowerment

          In my previous research post, I made a point of how Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz used her understanding of her religion as a shield to defend her poetry from opposition that wanted to silence her. For instance, in La Repuesta (translated literally as The Reply), she states that poetry itself should not be condemned since much of scripture is verse, as well as other church writings, and that we sing hymns to worship. And that even though some people abuse the art of poetry that does not make all poetry evil. She also argues for the education of girls by playing on the ideas of female purity. She says, “We need learned women to avoid the perils of young girls being taught by men” and that “if women were learned, girls would not […] be subjected to temptation or seduction” (Impson). With this, Sor Juana is able to defend her writing and her education at a time when women did not have the opportunity to pursue their own interests due to the patriarchal institutions that held power over society. Sor Juana uses the powerful institution known as the church to challenge its own reasoning against the education of women.

          Sor Juana isn’t the only oppressed minority who used poetry to give themselves a voice in the while male written annals of literature. Phillis Wheatley, the black poet, was kidnapped and enslaved when she was roughly around seven years old. Luckily, her owners were more than willing to educated and encourage young Phillis as she slowly grew into the founding mother of African American literature. At age 14 she wrote, An Address to the Deist, where we can already witness her remarkable knowledge of scripture, as well as her skill in rhetoric to place herself at a higher position for argument while still being on the margin of society. In the poem, Wheatley starts off with the lines, “Must Ethiopians be employ’d for you? Much I rejoice if any good I do.” By appropriating the term “Ethiopians,” Wheatley does more than place attention to her complexion. As Carreta states, “By calling herself an Ethiopian rather than an African or a black in a religious poem, she claims an identity that grants her biblical authority to speak to her readers.” Wheatley expects her readers to recall that Moses had married an Ethiopian (Numbers 12:1) and that Psalms 68:31 predicts that “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (pg. 57).

          Other minority writers were not as forward with using their written works to promote equality or empower their own voices. Samson Occom, for example, was more involved in the education of Native Americans as well as missionary work that helped cross-fertilize Native American communities with Christian European culture. Although, his writing does not seem to invoke the same level of empowerment that Sor Juana’s or Wheatley’s poems, Occom’s priority in trying to win over converts is apparent in his works. In The Sufferings of Christ, Occom makes reference to the cross by referring to it as a tree. “He dies in Anguish on the Tree” (25). Later on he also writes “Shout, Brethren, shout in songs diving, he drank the Gall, to give us Wine, to quench our parching Thirst” (31-33). This appears to be calling to other Native Americans with the use of the word “brethren” as well as mentioning that Christ gave wine to them, possibly suggesting that wine is a gift and not a curse brought from the white man. The Sufferings of Christ seems like a typical religious poem, but in A Son’s Farewell it becomes clear that Occom’s true purpose has always been to teach the Natives about Christ and win them over to his religion. “And if thro’ preaching I shall gain true subjects to my Lord, ‘Twill more than recompense my pain, to see them love the Lord” (21-24). To Occom, converting Native Americans was the same as empowering them. After all, the church gave Occom the ability to read and write and travel outside the North American continent, knowledge he never could have obtained if he hadn’t taken an interest in Christianity.

Works Cited

Carreta, Vincent. Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage, University of Georgia Press, 2011

Occom, Samson. The Sufferings of Christ

Occom, Samson. A Son’s Farewell

Wheatley, Phillis. An Address to the Deist

http://bethimpson.wordpress.com/courses/english-214/eng-214-sor-juana-summary/