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LITR 4328: American Renaissance .png){kind=small} |
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Diane Oneydy Alonzo
American Renaissance: The Era That
Started the War
The American Renaissance, was a time of incredible advancements for the
United States. Manifest Destiny called for an expansion of the U.S. from coast
to coast, which caused cultural immersion of new western and southern states.
From growth of cities, to modernization in science, technology and literacy, the
American Renaissance was teeming with new ideas that were yearning to be
expressed. With literacy at an all-time high, writers were able to show the
public what life and imagination was like for different areas of the country.
Classic and popular writers like Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe introduced
Romance and Realism in America. There was much progress during this time in
America, but the nation was still flawed. Slavery was still in existence in
southern states and with the expansion of additional southern states, abolition
seemed non-existent. Abraham Lincoln, with the help of African American
activists and writers, rallied throughout the United States to light a fire of
change in society. Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Jacobs
brought the slave’s experience to white America. In reading essays and listening
to speeches, the literate public was able to understand that slavery was far
worse than they could ever imagine.
In this course, literature has changed my perspective of history. Many
Americans are taught the ‘major’ events that occurred before the Civil War, but
schools do not go into detail about what it was like to be a slave. I find this
unfortunate because I feel that students could have a deeper understanding of
the wickedness of slavery and the mistreatment of African Americans throughout
American history. In this day in age, we see some people’s ignorance become
hatred. If this nation were more knowledgeable of African American culture, it
is possible that our society would have a more unifying perspective of the way
we live.
Slave narratives, much like Romance narratives, have similar
characteristics. The conflict in both narratives have some sort of struggle.
With Romance, it is separation from an object of desire, like in the poem The
Raven, by Poe. Drowning in his sorrows, the protagonist is separated from his
true love, and encounters a raven who prophesizes that he will see her
“nevermore.” In the slave narrative, the struggle is realistic. Their inhibition
and degradation allows the reader to feel great sentiment for the mistreatment
of human beings.
Reading A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave, I was immersed into a world of cruelty and hatred for people that I
never imagined could be possible. In these writings, I could feel myself
standing and experiencing the abuse and degradation of a slave. When Douglass
described how his master treated a slave woman named Hester, I was overcome by
sorrow and brought to tears. He writes,
“I
have often
been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own
aunt of mine,
whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip
upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no
tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its
bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped;
and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to
make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by
fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin.”
In just this small portion of his narrative, he uses the Romantic gothic
rhetoric of blood in excess, and the startling sounds of screams awakening him.
He uses realism is the immense detail he brings forth in the descriptions of the
bloody scene. I was afraid to read more, but I knew I could not ignore the
realities of America’s tragic history. Reading slave narratives gave me an
experience that I will never forget.
In the action portion of a Romance narrative, the character goes through
tests to prove his or her worth. Similar to
The Wide, Wide World, by Susan B.
Warner, young Ellen’s happy life is flipped upside down by her mother’s illness.
Ellen leaves the comforts of her home and is taken to live with a distant aunt.
During her journey, Ellen is introduced to Christianity, and is challenged by
the unfamiliarity of her new home. In the end, she succeeds in becoming a good
Christian. In Slave narratives, the action is more external. Attempts of
escaping and fighting with their masters helps the reader identify their
rebellion with heroic characteristics. Seeing slavery from an African American
perspective, makes the reader side with the slave.
In Incidents in the Life of a
Slave Girl, Jacobs describes several obstacles she had to go through to
become free. From the sickening lust of her master toward her, to the hatred of
her mistress because of that lust, Jacobs knew that she must do something
drastic. She writes,
“For
years, my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to
destroy the pure principles inculcated by my grandmother, and the good mistress
of my childhood.
The influences of slavery had had the same effect on me that they had on other
young girls; they had made me prematurely knowing, concerning the evil ways of
the world.”
When her master decided that the only way he could sexually abuse Jacobs,
without his wife intervening, was by building her a small hut away from the
home, Jacobs decided that the only way to escape from his vile desires was to be
impregnated by another man.
She writes,
“As
for Dr. Flint, I had a feeling of satisfaction and triumph in the thought of
telling him…I told him I would
never enter it…In a few months I shall be a mother.”
When I read this part of her story, I could not fathom the circumstances. To be
a slave is one thing, but to be an object of lust to you master is a completely
different situation. She has gone against all the values that her grandmother
had instilled in her in order to escape her fearful position. Although I knew of
the mistreatment of slaves, I did not perceive the psychological toll enslaved
women had. Many of these women conceived their master’s children. The evil of
the masters did not stop there. To sell your own flesh and blood into bondage is
unimaginable. Unfortunately, these narratives are true. This really happened
here in the country where I was born. I feel shame and remorse to think that
humans were tortured so physically and emotionally. If it were not for this
course, I may not have ever known what it was to be a slave girl. I am
appreciative of the knowledge I know now and will spread my new findings to
others so that they may understand the African American experience.
The final part of a narrative is the conclusion. In a Romance narrative,
we find that the protagonist has reached a transcendence of some sort. In
The Lamplighter, Maria Susanna
Cummins writes about the abusive treatment of a little girl by her guardian. She
is beaten, starved and witnesses the death of her only friend, her kitten. This
traumatic story does have a happy ending. The lamplighter takes the little girl
in and cares for her as if she were his daughter. The transcendence of the
little girl from a helpless orphan out in the cold, to a girl who now is loved
and cared for by someone is a wonderful depiction of sentiment.
In a slave narrative, the ‘happily ever after’ is the transcendence of slave to
freeman (or woman). Equality is another characteristic of slave narrative
conclusions. One of Sojourner Truth’s most famous speeches called
Ain’t I a Woman? brings equality for
not only women, but African American women. She says,
“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and
lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody
ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place!
And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I
have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head [stop] me!
And ain't
I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man—when I could get it—and
bear the lash as well! And
ain't I a woman? I
have borne
thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out
with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”
Sojourner wanted the women at the convention to understand that she, a free
black slave, was capable to do anything any white man or woman could do. The
realism of her experiences as a slave gave listeners a window into her world.
The struggles and hardships she went through made her stronger and wiser. I
admire her courage to stand before those people and tell them what she truly
felt in her heart.
In this course, I learned that my American culture is not based only on
my experiences as a Latinx millennial. My culture is much more than that. This
course helped me appreciate what I have. It also gave me a new perspective on
life and the attitude of the other cultures in America. I know now that I must
humble myself and realize there is always more to learn. The American
Renaissance was a time of great change, but there is always more to be done. In
the words of Abraham Lincoln, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth
of freedom—and that, government of the people, by the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.”
