On Being Brought From Africa To America By Phillis Wheatley

The poem by Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, gives the reader a glimpse into her life. She was taken from her country and was fortunate enough to have been purchased by a wealthy family. In this poem, we gain a brief insight into her inner feelings about her situation and the life of a slave girl in the 1770’s. This piece has historical and psychological elements of literature.

Phillis was kidnapped from her home country in West Africa when was about eight years old. As we read this poem, it gives us insight into the life of a girl of color. It tells that she was forcefully taken from her family and thrown onto a slave ship. Phillis did not know that she was bound for a foreign country. Her writings

are historically important to today’s reader. We gain an insight into some of the feelings she experienced after being sent on a ship to America.
One would think that being kidnapped and put on a slave ship would seem bad; but, not to our author. She writes that, “'Twas mercy brought me from my 'Pagan' land” (Wheatley 1). This tells the reader a little about her homeland. It was not one of Christian values as we read later in the piece. The author wants the reader to consider that she learned about God and found a Christian faith that was genuine because of her new situation in slavery. Phillis thought it was fortune that pulled her from a land that was merciless and vile. She did not dwell upon the fact that she was sold into slavery and had to work for her meager belongings. It is historically important since many tend to forget about slavery and kidnapping of a group of people in the recent history of America.
Also, one may need to ponder the idea that she would not want to write about the negative effects of slavery. Phillis wanted to continue her fame and monetary freedoms. To write about the wrong side of slavery would have been like punishing herself. It was safe to let the reader understand her history and share her happiness about her new life. The author has the reader believing that her owners treat her well, and that they have given her the best opportunities available at the time. She continued her travels and wrote more poetry. There is some speculation if she was only writing of her happiness to make it appear that she was cheerful so she could continue living with a wealthy family. Phillis was fortunate to have a following; she was a slave girl that had openly written about her color. Phillis did not write that the Wheatley’s had mistreated her; that could have been the end of her published works. The Wheatley family took care to promote Phillis’s writings. They did not necessarily view her as a slave. The Wheatley’s cared for Phillis as a close member of the family. She was not necessarily exposed to the hardships of slavery as other slavers had experienced.
Another historical element is when she writes about her color.

The article states, “Most critics agree that the fact that a slave could write and publish poetry at that time and place is itself noteworthy in history” (Johnson, 2015). Wheatley states, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye” (Wheatley 5). She is openly saying that she is not white, but she gives herself the color of sable. The word sable could mean positive or negative in this poem. To be sable is not the typical white person of the time. She would be giving her color away to the white establishment, which could in turn, bring her misfortune. There were numerous people of the time that would not purchase works of those of color. The word sable could also mean something positive. Sable is a rich word. The reader may find themselves wanting to associate with someone because of the sable or wealthy connotation of the word. Wheatley’s color was beneficial but not necessarily

profitable.

This piece is historically important in that the reader gains a deeper sense of slavery, but, it also tells how one person saw it as something good. Wheatley was thrown on a slave ship and sold cheap, but slavery changed her life for the better. We should use this as way of reflection on how we can take a seemingly bad situation and find the good in it as she did. Slavery was not all hard labor and beatings. Her writings give a reader another side to their lives as slaves for wealthy people.
The author has gone through psychological changes.

She wants others to be aware that the change in thinking can be good. She writes as though she is happy, and her Christian values have helped to bring out that psychological impact. Often change is not seen as something positive. Ms. Wheatley believed that being taken from a nation of pagans and poverty was a good thing. Her writings allow the reader to appreciate her views of her life prior to being kidnapped. Being a slave was better than being free in her home country. Now she has found God and will someday go on the “Angelic train” (Wheatley 8). This means that someday she will really be free to make her own choices. She will really be rich and have all that she needs. When she writes, “Once I redemption neither sought nor knew” (Wheatley 4), we understand she has moved into a different perspective with her life, and she does not want to go back to her home country. Her psychological views have made her a better person by knowing life is going to get

better.
When reading the psychologically element, we can read about the positive side to slavery from one that appreciated her new life in America. She accepted her role as slave. Ms. Wheatley did not fight the establishment, but wrote about the hope of the future. She made a choice to be happy in her situation, and to look to the future when she would totally be free. Her real freedom would happen when she could pass into Heaven. The historical and psychological elements within this poem are valuable to the reader wanting insight into life of a slave during the early years of America.