Professor
ENGL
July 5, 2020
Paper Topic
Week 1: The writings of Canassatego an Onondaga Indian and Ralph Waldo Emerson (a white man) have similar main ideas: commitment to the Indian cause of land ownership. It is interesting because both writings were in different time era (at least 185 years apart), both authors were from different nationality (one Indian and the other white), yet, the message was the same: The Indians reserved the rightful ownership of the lands.
The narrative of Canassatego was given as a speech at Lancaster treaty proceedings of 1744. He demanded compensation for lands claimed by the Iroquois (his tribe) for defeating Susquehanna (another Indian tribe). But the colonial governments were reluctant to fulfill these claims, arguing that they had previously purchased the land from the Susquehanna, and had been in possession of it above one hundred years (476). He told the governor his tribe had ownership even before one hundred years, they actually came from that ground. In a similar manner Ralph’s opinion was that it is not fair or right for the government to remove the Indians out of their lands. He wrote to explain that the treaty signed by a selected few Indians was not a reflection of the other majority natives. The treaty gave the government rights/ ownership of the lands therefore, they can decide who stays or who leaves. He was of the opinion, that the sham treaty signed, which gave the government rights to remove the Indians from their natural home/land was a pretended act and does not represent the will of the people. Both authors argued in favor of the indigenous claims and sovereignty of land by the Indians. In addition, both were writing to the government.
Other than the difference in time period when both literatures were written, there is also a difference in the level of government they wrote to, and the reasons justifying their claims. The narrative of Canassatego was to the governor and he claimed the Indians owned the land because they originated from there, their fore- fathers owned the lands and their seeds born after them. So, if the government wants ownership, they (the Indians) should get some forms of compensation. In comparison to Ralph, his writings implied some few members of the Indian tribes signed a sham treaty with the government that transferred ownership to the colonial government. However, the so-called treaty should not be held valid since a majority of the Indians did not agree with the plan for them to be removed. Therefore, they still reserve the right and ownership to their lands (649). Another difference was that Canassatego an Indian wrote to the governor while Ralph Emerson a white man wrote to the president of the united states.
Week 2: Slavery, Race, and the Making of American Literature
The period between 1787 and 1845 was a time when abolitionist literature was getting written by the African Americans as they advocated for the end of slavery. Most of the writings by African Americans were seeking the abolition of slavery, the improvement of the conditions of blacks that were free and reclaiming the principles of the declaration of independence as set out in the first draft by Thomas Jefferson. In 1820, Sidney Smith, an English man presented his critique of the literature coming from America. He used it to explain the paradox that exists in the fact that a country that is said to have been founded on the equality principles could end up being a country where slaves get held. Smith expresses his paradox in the statement, "…under which of the old tyrannical governments of Europe is every man a slave, whom whose fellow-creature may buy and sell and torture?” This statement made many writers in America to develop concerns about the issues of slavery and include them in their literary writings. The issue of the race gets brought out in the ruling by the Supreme Court in 1857 that blacks are an inferior race to whites and for that reason, they could not become United States citizens. Literature in the 1840s and 1850s was largely influenced by slavery debates (Gilmore, 2010). The writers that were white saw black writers as a threat of otherness that was dangerous to their white "superiority.”
Texts and biographies by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is greatly remembered in history for making the draft of the declaration of independence in 1776 in which he made a declaration that, “all men are created equal.” His words were responsible for the development of democratic institutions in America and the American Revolution. In his writings, Jefferson presents his view of slavery as evil (Jefferson 817). However, he gets viewed as hypocritical by some on the basis that while he acted like he was condemning slavery, as the third president of the United States, he was a slave owner. It gets discovered that in fact, he had a child with his slave. However, others regard Jefferson as a visionary and founding father who gave the ideals of the nation that are democratic, the most powerful expression in written form. In his writing, Notes on the State of Virginia, his disapproval of slavery was mainly aimed at reaching the European leaders. However, despite his advocacy against slavery, in his life, he later becomes dependent economically on his slaves, which made him become more of a person that defends the slave ownership rights in the South. Despite this, he still kept pushing for the abolition of slavery and that all people be treated equally regardless of their race.
David Walker
Walker’s writings spoke against colonization and how the black people have built America and made it rich but are still enslaved by them even though their fathers helped build it. In his opinion, David Walker believes that America belongs to everyone that helped in its building (Walker 820). In his writings, Walker appeals to the slaves to rise and free themselves by asking them, would you prefer "to be killed than to be a slave to a tyrant?" His writings in this appeal caused panic among the whites when Walker advises the slaves that they should not "trifle" but rise and kill those that continue to enslave them, their wives, and children. The writings by Walker got some of the citizens upset leading to the creation of a law that banned the circulation of publications that are "seditious". Another consequence of this is that the legislature in North Carolina passed measures that were the most repressive for use in controlling the free blacks and the slaves. Walker talks about the assertions that got made by Jefferson that all people are created equal and how that assertion has been swallowed by whites. He also compares the black slaves to the roman slaves, who are also slaves but are white. He asserts that the roman slaves get considered to be the finest of artists, they get an education. His comparison of the slaves in Rome and those in America lead him to ask the question, “Look how the American people treat us-have we souls in our bodies?”
Analysis of texts by Walker and Jefferson’s works
In their texts, both Jefferson and Walker address the issue of the abolition of slavery. Jefferson drafts the declaration of independence as part of the push for the abolition of slavery. Walker, on the other hand, appeals to the slaves that the only way to end slavery would be to fight back against those slavers that take away from them. His statement to the slaves is that they should live by the slogan, "kill or be killed." Walker further states that the United States of America failed to meet the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. His statement is based on the fact that the person that made the declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was a racist. Jefferson's racism gets viewed by some people in the sense that despite his declaration that all people are equal and that slavery should get abolished yet he himself engaged in slavery and becomes economically dependent on slaves.
Walker disagrees with Jefferson’s comparison of slaves in the United States of America to Roman slaves in which Jefferson's says that the conditions of slaves in America is not so bad as the slaves were under the Romans. His disagreement was based on the fact that when the slaves under the Romans got freed, they could rise to high positions while the freed slaves in America were still treated as slaves even after they were said to be free. Also, under the Romans, no law was instituted to hinder the buying of freedom by slaves. This gets brought out in Walker’s statement, “have not the Americans instituted laws to hinder us from obtaining our freedom?” This is the basis of his disagreement with Jefferson’s claim that the slaves in America live better than the Roman slaves did. Walker disagrees with Jefferson’s statement that all people are the same stating that black people are still treated differently and as slaves to the whites even after being freed.
Week 3: Suspense, Unpredictability, and Mystery as the Pillars of Poe’s Literature
Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most prolific American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor. Poe lived in the 19th century, but his works are effective to date, and they have often been relied upon by scholars either for academic purposes or for knowledge enrichment. In his short stories, Poe was recognized for the cultivation of fear and immense terror, and these always kept his readers on edge. While it is notable that the nature of Poe's stories that attracted him to audiences, it is also notable that his style and approach to writing played an important role in making him very popular among audiences, however, it is notable that Poe's works were not without controversy. Since he was writing at a time when slavery was being practiced in the country and was a source of tension between the north and south, Poe did not hide the side on which he stood in this controversy. It is recorded that "in Poe's writing overall, slavery and race remain highly problematic. Like many white writers at the time, Poe sometimes resorted to racial stereotypes, and sometimes he conveyed his fears on the possibilities of black violence" (732). Be that as it may, Poe was unpredictable, and many observers are still struggling to understand where he stood on the subject of slavery. A reading of Poe and his works suggests that he built on suspense, unpredictability, and mystery as the style of his writing, and this made him a very popular writer among his readers.
The editors of Poe's biography indicate that one of his main strengths is his unpredictability. For example, while it is notable that Poe did a significant work touching on racism and slavery, it was very difficult to say with any level of certainty whether not he supported slavery and racism. In many cases, it was left to his readers to determine where he stood in these controversies. When the editors indicate that that. “In Poe's writing overall, slavery and race remain highly problematic. Like many white writers at the time, Poe sometimes resorted to racial stereotypes, and sometimes he conveyed his fears on the possibilities of black violence" (732), a clear understanding does not deny or confirm whether or not he was racist or he supported racism. Ordinarily, when a writer assumes unpredictability and formlessness, they attract debates, and that may propel their profile among their readers.
The mystery is another style that Poe has used richly to add quality to his work. In literary work, the term mystery refers to puzzles or events that are difficult for the reader to discern. While it is assumed that the writer is all-knowing and should openly present all issues to the reader, in many of his works, Poe chose to create mystery. In the Black Cat, he says that "the second and third day passed, and still my tormentor came not. Once again, I breathed as a free man. The monster, in terror, had fled the premises forever!" (Poe 771). From this statement, it is not in doubt that Poe is creating a mysterious situation for the audience. The impact of mystery in this work is that it not only provokes the imagination of the audience, but it also brings the reader to the setting of the narrative by making the reader develop a personal relationship with the character. In using this approach, Poe succeeded in creating a personal relationship with his audience.
Finally, suspense forms a critical element of Poe’s work. Suspense is the element of narration that makes it unpredictable. When a reader is going through a piece of literature, it is always possible to predict what is likely to happen in the subsequent plot. This predictability does not usually lead to the creation of the best narratives. In his works, Poe used suspense as style to make his work effective. Just like mystery, suspense plays an important role in involving igniting the thought processes of the audience. In the Black Cat, Poe describes an encounter with a beast (770). This encounter is characterized by twists and turns that leave readers in high levels of suspense.
In conclusion, a reading of Poe and his works suggests that he built on suspense, unpredictability, and mystery as the style of his writing, and this made him a very popular writer among his readers. The editors of Poe’s biography indicate that one of his main strengths is his unpredictability. Ordinarily, when a writer assumes unpredictability and formlessness, they attract debates, and that may propel their profile among their readers, and that is what Poe's works did to his readers. Secondly, Poe of uses mystery in his work to not only provoke the imagination of the audience but also bring the reader to the setting of the narrative by making the reader develop a personal relationship. Finally, Poe uses suspense to engage the thoughts of his audience.
Works Cited
Canassatego. "Speech at Lancaster." The Norton Anthology American Literature: 1820 to 1865. 9th ed., vol. B, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, p. 476.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Letter to Martin Van Buren." The Norton Anthology American Literature: 1820 to 1865. 9th ed., vol. B, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, p. 649.
Jefferson, Thomas. "From Notes on the State of Virginia." The Norton Anthology American Literature: 1820 to 1865. 9th ed., vol. B, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 816-818.
Levine, Robert S. “David Walker.” Levine et al., pp. 819-20.
Levine, Robert S., et al. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.
Poe, Edgar Alan. "The Black Cat." The Norton Anthology American Literature: 1820 to 1865. 9th ed., vol. B, edited by Robert S. Levine, W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 766-772.
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