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Slavery narratives tropes
Characteristics of slave narratives
Literary strategies in slave narratives
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The Character of Captain Delano in Benito Cereno
Captain Amasa Delano is an interesting embodiment of white complacency about slavery and it's perpetuation. Delano is a human metaphor for white sentiment of the time. His deepest sensibilities of order and hierarchy make it impossible for him to see the realities of slavery. Delano's blindness to the mutiny is a metaphor for his blindness to the moral depravity of slavery. The examination of Captain Delano's views of nature, beauty, and humanity, allow us to see his often confusing system of hierarchical order which cripples his ability to see the mutiny and the injustice of slavery.
After Delano believes that Benito Cereno cut his faithful slave on the cheek for shaving him improperly, Delano exclaims: "slavery breeds ugly passions in man." (p. 77) This is an amazing claim for Delano to make, because Delano's deepest sensibilities are supportive of slavery. We must understand that Delano meant the remark as an offhand comment about Benito Cereno's misunderstanding of hierarchy and how to treat those lower than himself.
Hierarchy is important to Delano. As captain of a seagoing vessel, order and hierarchy are not only important, they are the key to his survival and supposedly to the survival of the ship itself. If order and hierarchy break down, mutiny could ensue. A ship's captain, more than anyone else must have a sense of the value of hierarchy. It is important to understand that while Captain Delano has a rigid sense of hierarchy, he does temper it with an understanding of human nature:
"In armies, navies, cities, or families, in nature herself, nothing more relaxes good order than misery."(p. 42)
So in this sense, Delano's remark that "slavery bree...
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...lave] trades," they "waft him to his grave."
Again and again we see Captain Delano taking delight in what perceives to be the natural order of things. He proclaims the beauty of relationships of order and servitude, he sees them in relationship to nature and celebrates nature who, in his estimation fits into his hierarchy. He ignores the fundamental humanity of the slaves, categorizing them with animals and trade material - he only treats them with the amount of humane-ness that he would an animal. Captain Delano's zeal might be described as a passion for order and hierarchy. In this light we can understand his assertion that "slavery breeds ugly passions in man" as an unconscious description of his own condition. A ugly passion to continue the moral depravity of slavery.
Works Cited:
Melville, Herman. Bartleby And Benito Cereno. New York: Dover, 1990.
In his book, Repcheck recounts how a Catholic Church cleric invented a highly complicated theory of the heavens’ architecture. Copernicus made a breakthrough by solving a significant astronomical problem. Everybody except the astronomers had earlier accepted Aristotle’s concept that heavenly objects revolved around the earth in perfectly circular orbits. The astronomers were opposed to this notion since their calculations could not work according to it. Repcheck introduces Ptolemy who described a cosmos in which the earth positioned itself somewhat off-center and other heavenly bodies revolved in one circular orbit inside a second ideal circle at changeable speeds. Even though Ptolemy’s model was rather complicated, astronomers found it to be reasonable in their calculations. Astronomers were still using this new concept even 1500 years later. In this regard, the author starts to bring Copernicus into the picture.
The slave narratives written by Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass, were important pieces of literature, helping to bring to the life the harsh realities of slavery. Equiano and Douglass, documented their experiences as slaves, to in hopes to connect with white audiences, showing them the immorality and hypocrisy of slavery. While both writers aimed to highlight the inhumanity of slavery, hoping it would lead to abolishment, Douglass and Equiano had different approaches. Both writers were influenced by different eras: Equiano’s writing is influenced by the Enlightenment Period, while Douglass was influenced by Romanticism. Comparing the styles, Douglass’ narratives are stinging, while Equiano’s narrative seems to be more appeasing. However, this has more to do with the influences of their time, than the character of either man. Contrasting styles of both men, echoes the contrasting philosophies of Romanticism and Enlightenment; different but one paves the way for the next.
mahogeny wood, which gives the guitar a more Classical look and feel and also a
There are other contrasting aspects of the stories that call for attention. Most significantly Benito Cereno – ultimately – portrays slaves as evil and Babo as the mind behind the cunning plan that deceives Captain Delano. The reason for this one-sided representation is naturally the fact that we experience the story from Delano’s point of view. In the beginning, we perceive Babo as the typical docile, helpful, and faithful servant so often portrayed in other slave characters such as Stowe’s Uncle Tom and Jim in Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Babo is more than just a slave; he is a “faithful fellow”, “a friend that cannot be called slave” . And despite all the underlying hints of a slave insurrection, Delano does not grasp their meaning. Examples are the slaves’ treatment of the Spanish sailors and the hatchet polishers , but in Delano’s narrow-minded world, only the white man is capable of conceiving plans of ‘evil’. And when he – and the reader too – finally sees “the mask torn away, flourishing hatchets and knives, in ferocious piratical revolt”, he is embarrassed and “with infinite pity he [withdraws] his hold from Don Benito” . From this moment on, Babo is a malign devil and Melville removes speech from Babo’s mouth. This strengthen our opinion of Babo as ‘evil’ even more, for how can we sympathise with him without hearing his version of the story? Apparently, Melville proposes no other alternative for the reader than to sympathise with the white slave owner Don Benito, whom Babo so ingeniously deceives.
...ns it held. Melville creates a character who never sees the reality on board the ship in his many speculations, particularly because Delano sees the slaves as too ignorant as to be able to devise such a thing, when the grand irony is the he is too blind to see it. Melville reverses the master and slave roles and brings them before a very slavery-conscious audience to whom he leaves the interpretation open, but laden with subtle messages about the horrible institution of slavery.
In comparison to other slaves that are discussed over time, Olaudah Equiano truly does lead an ‘interesting’ life. While his time as a slave was very poor, there are certainly other slaves that he mentions that received far more damaging treatment than he did. In turn, this inspires him to fight for the abolishment of slavery. By pointing out both negative and positive events that occurred, the treatment he received from all of his masters, the impact that religion had on his life and how abolishing slavery could benefit the future of everyone as a whole, Equiano develops a compelling argument that does help aid the battle against slavery. For Olaudah Equiano’s life journey, he expressed an array of cruelties that came with living the life of an African slave; which demonstrates all of the suffering that he endured, then proving how much it can change one’s point of view in life.
Copernicus was born in Torun Poland on February 19, 1473. His parents both died when he was very young so he was sent to live with his uncle who was a high ranking official in the Church. Copernicus studied canon law, medicine, astronomy, Greek, philosophy, and mathematics. His diversified fields of study led him to hold the positions of physician, teacher, member of parliament, and canon law expert for the Church. At the age of twenty Copernicus left Poland for Italy for the purposes of schooling and work. Copernicus released his theory of a sun centered universe in his book "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres" which was published in 1543. This is the same year in which he died at the age of 70. Copernicus waited to release his book until on his deathbed because he feared reprisal from the Church and his peers. Copernicus said he "saw his completed work only at his last breath apon the day that he died." Before Copernicus the world believed in the Ptolemaic model of the universe. Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who developed his model in 150 A.D. This model held that the Earth was at the center of the universe and that all of the planets, moons, and stars rotated around the Earth in different spheres. It also said that everything in space was made up of "perfect" material that was unchangeable. Ptolemy based his model on the teachings of Aristotle.
In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one of the major themes is how the institution of slavery has an effect on the moral health of the slaveholder. The power slaveholders have over their slaves is great, as well as corrupting. Douglass uses this theme to point out that the institution of slavery is bad for everyone involved, not just the slaves. Throughout the narrative, Douglass uses several of his former slaveholders as examples. Sophia Auld, once such a kind and caring woman, is transformed into a cruel and oppressive slave owner over the course of the narrative. Thomas Auld, also. Douglass ties this theme back to the main concern of authorial control. Although this is a personal account, it is also a tool of propaganda, and is used as such. Douglass’s intent is to convince readers that the system of slavery is horrible and damaging to all included, and thus should be abolished completely. Douglass makes it very clear in his examples how exactly the transformation occurs and how kind and moral people can become those who beat their slaves and pervert Christianity in an attempt to justify it.
Douglass's narrative is, on one surface, intended to show the barbarity and injustice of slavery. However, the underlying argument is that freedom is not simply attained through a physical escape from forced labor, but through a mental liberation from the attitude created by Southern slavery. The slaves of the South were psychologically oppressed by the slaveholders' disrespect for a slave’s family and for their education, as well as by the slaves' acceptance of their own subordination. Additionally, the slaveholders were trapped by a mentality that allowed them to justify behavior towards human beings that would normally not be acceptable. In this manner, both slaveholder and slave are corrupted by slavery.
Frederick Douglass’ landmark narrative describes the dehumanization of African-American slaves, while simultaneously humanizing them through his moving prose. Douglass shows the dehumanization of slaves through depictions of violence, deindividuation, and the broken justice system. However, Douglass’ pursuit of an education, moving rhetoric, and critique of his own masters demonstrates to the reader that African-Americans are just as intelligent as white people, thus proving their humanity.
and more amplification. He was the first to use the fan brace design on the inside of the resonating body. This increased the sound quality that was produced by the echo. This design is still in use today (Some Guitar History 2).
2, pg. 14). He uses his former experience with former master Colonel Lloyd to emotionally appeal, the use of pathos, to the reader that slavery is not something that should be supported whatsoever because it would horrify the very fabric of their existence, both of which, if taken into perspective, would counter any supporting statements for slavery. Douglass shows that the Southern argument for slavery is incredibly invalid by expertly showing how that supporters for slavery have not lived in the fragile bodies of the slaves who worked tirelessly and, sometimes, towards their unfortunate deaths, stating that their supporting stances would turn right around if they experienced a mere day in the hellhole that he experienced, if the person had a soul at all. Stating that the idea of slavery was a “system of fraud and inhumanity of slavery” (Ch. 10, pg. 77) that dressed in “robes already crimsoned with the blood of millions, and even now feasting itself greedily upon our own flesh” (Ch. 10, pg. 85), Douglass described the mere concept of slavery as a dreadful and malignant demon that seeks to destroy
"The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a captivating story in which Equiano, the author, reflects on his life from becoming a slave to a freeman during the 19th century. Through his experiences and writing, Equiano paints a vivid picture of the atrocities and cruelties of European slavery. Ultimately through his narrative, Equiano intends to persuade his audience, the British government, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade as well as alert them of the harsh treatment of slaves. He successfully accomplishes his goal by subtly making arguments through the use of character, action, and setting.
Nicolas Copernicus died never knowing what a revolution he made in the scientific world. Mathematicians and scientist like Ptolemy, Newton, and Brahe supported his heliocentric theory. He was born in Poland on February 19th, 1473 the baby of four children. His father was Nicholas Copernicus Sr. died in 1483 when Copernicus was at the young age of ten. He and his sibling went to live with his Uncle Lucas Waltzenrode the bishop of Warmia in Germany. His family’s exceptional wealth allowed him to attend some of the finest schools in Europe. After attending Cracow for mathematics he went to Italy to study canon law. Under the influence of his uncle he become a canon, which is just below a bishop. In Italy he made his first astronomical observation one night with a friend who was a professor of astronomy. Copernicus explored many occupations: a canon, mathematician, and the one he is most known for astronomer.
As Copernicus began to study astronomy more, he came to strongly disagree with the Ptolemaic system of astronomy. This system was based on the idea that the earth was fixed in the center and all the other heavenly bodies moved around it. Astronomers believed that the earth was in the center because it was heavy. Copernicus saw many problems associated with this system of astronomy. For example, sometimes the planets appeared to be going in the opposite direction and the brightness of the planets would tend to change as well.