Mine Eyes Have Seen By Alice Dunbar-Nelson: Play Analysis

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In her play in one-act, “Mine Eyes Have Seen”, Alice Dunbar-Nelson explores a belief that was prevalent in the early twentieth century; where a black man’s race and service to his country required his life. Chris, the younger brother in the play, has come to face the decision to accept his draft to the U.S. military or to exempt himself in order to support his crippled brother Dan and his frail and limp sister Lucy. Chris constantly questions Dan why would he fight in a war that was not his, and Dan proudly states that “Our men have always gone, Chris. They went in 1776 … 1812 ... 1861 … they helped work out their own salvation. And they were there in 1898” (5). Nelson’s text uses Christianity and patriotism to help describe poverty-stricken African-Americans as proud citizens of America as they were drafted to fight for …show more content…

Nelson depicts images of women and babies being thrown into pits of fire, and of people being crucified for reasons such as false religion. This appears to be done in order to prove that for someone to be considered with human values, they have to be willing to stop grieving with their own problems and help those who need it. In other words, if the African-Americans were to ignore Europe’s call for help during the war, African-Americans would be making an inconsiderate statement towards Europe’s plea that goes against the same idea of freedom that their previous generations had fought for. The end of Nelson’s play establishes Chris’s decision to accept his draft into the military with a tune called, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and it includes a parallel that relates Chris’s sacrifice to the Christian version of Jesus’s. Nelson has Dan, Chris and Cornelia sing, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord! … And Mine! As he died to make men holy, let us die to make them free!” (7). This comparison to such a highly respected religious figure in the American society gives great meaning to what Chris is doing

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