In the excerpt from the novel The Known World, Edward P. Jones describes the life of a slave after his master’s death. As the author reveals Moses life, he shows the eccentric characteristics of Moses. Through the use of imagery, Moses is seen as someone who is connected to the land and through the use of selection of detail, Moses is seen as someone who is in tune to his surroundings. In the beginning of the passage, the author reveals Moses peculiar characteristic through the use of imagery. Edward P. Jones states that “Moses closed his eyes and bent down and took a pinch of the soil and ate it…” Moses did not eat the soil due to the lack of food but instead he ate it in order to feel connected to the land. This reveals that Moses treasured
the land due to his hard work and dedication towards the land. Furthermore, the author states that “he ate it not only to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the field, but because the eating of it tied him to the only thing in his small world that meant almost as much as his own life.” This shows how Moses life revolved around the small piece of land due to his hard work; causing him to work from morning to night, just like an industrious ant. The author uses imagery to show how Moses was connected to the land through his peculiar characteristics. Additionally, the author uses selection of detail to show how Moses was in tune to his surroundings. Jones states that “Moses smelled the coming of rain. He breathed deeply, feeling it surge through him.” He also states that “on a night with the moon he could see some of the smoke rising from the world that was the lane.” This shows how Moses was always observant on what was around him. Also, the oddness of him smelling the rain signifies that he has a deep connection with nature like no other. The author uses selection of detail to show how Moses was in tune to his surroundings. In conclusion, through the use of imagery and selection of detail the author reveals Moses character on how he’s connected to the land and how he’s in tune to his surroundings.
Slavery consisted of numerous inhumane horrors completed to make its victims feel desolated and helpless. Many inescapable of these horrors of slavery are conveyed in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The entire prospect of the duration of the story is to plan an escape from the excruciating conditions awaiting Douglass as a slave. When his escape is finally executed, unpredictable emotions and thoughts overwhelm him. Within the conclusion of his narrative (shown in the given passage), Frederick Douglass uses figurative language, diction, and syntax to portray such states of mind he felt after escaping slavery: relief, loneliness, and paranoia.
The book of Exodus is a detailed account of the story of the freedom of the Israelite people from their time of slavery in Egypt. At times the verses may be confusing and it might be hard to grasp points. We will discuss below how The Prince of Egypt was able to portray the main storyline, and look at some points in the movie where there where some incorrect themes or details were shown.
The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.
There are also passages in the book that show the sacrifices and chances that had to be made to escape from the slave states. One of the most moving of these descriptions...
Jones employs the dynamics of change to his speaker throughout the poem. From an aimless vagrant to a passionate revolutionary, Jones plots his speaker's course using specific words and structural techniques. Through these elements, we witness the evolution of a new black man--one who is not content with the passivity of his earlier spiritual leaders. We are left with a threat--a steel fist in a velvet glove of poetry--and it becomes a poem that we "have to" understand, whether we want to or not.
McDaniel, Barbara. “Alienation in East of Eden: The ‘Chart of the Soul’.” Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 40 Vols. 151-155. Print.
Langston Hughes found himself in a world of misunderstanding. His confusion leads him to believe that there is no Jesus. This is part of the growing process. Learning from your own experience is the most important part of life. Conflict and struggle are also important aspects of life. They define each and every part of a human’s living day. Therefore, the narrative techniques used throughout this essay truly help the reader visualize what the author sees, feels, and hears.
Even though, considered as an African-American, I begin to read the book of Exodus from an African’s perspective. I mention this because even though somewhat Americanized, I still consider myself purely African at heart and soul. A business and minors in both French and Psychology at a predominantly white college also play a role in my understanding of the book of Exodus. Living in a white suburban neighborhood plays a major role on how I perceive a potentially liberating biblical text. Making the life changing move from Togo to the United States has also shapes my understanding of Exodus as whole.
The setting of the story is in Egypt where the Hebrews were in slavery under the Pharaoh’s commands. As the Hebrews mourned and cried their prayers to God, they had strong faith in a prophecy; that one day a male child will be born with a covenant to free the children of God from slavery. When the pharaoh had heard this prophecy he became concerned that it may be fulfilled, so he sent the Egyptian soldiers to kill all the Hebrew firstborn male babies. Moses was a Hebrew firstborn child at this time, his mother hid him for three months until she could not hide him anymore. Moses’ mother placed him in a basket that floated him along a river, she hoped that he would go to a safer place, as she believed that this was better than leaving him to the mercy of the soldiers. As this was happening, in the distance Moses’ sister followed him to the where the pharaoh’s sister was. The pharaoh’s sister had taken him in and raised him as her own son.
The relationship between Isaacs soul and his body is at the forefront. The description of his journal which was a “Tiny affair” signified that it was not the exterior that determined who he truly was, but his beliefs, thoughts, and soul that actually defined him. The fact that the only importance of the book was the letter written by Isaac inside of it, indicated that the body of the work was not of as great importance as the soul or letter. In the letter, he began to write in a personal
James’ childhood wasn’t the best. He mostly did fishing. But he was forced too. Sometimes he went a day, or days without eating or drinking. He got up early in the morning and didn’t get dont working till late at night. He wouldn’t take showers. He was dirty. He had barely enough time to sleep. Whatever he caught, the fishermen never shared with him. They fed him when they wanted to feed him. He was a child slave. He got taken away from his family. To be a slave.
Through telling stories of the slaves and their masters, enough evidence is provided as support. Diaries and letters show a more personal side of slavery into their identity and emotions, which further supports the main argument of these chapters. Each individual story that is told brings readers into the minds of slaves and how they felt about the
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).
He expresses himself in the way he describes his surroundings and the other people in the story. At times the descriptions can be seen as detached and unemotional but with closer scrutinizing feelings are exposed. When the narrator compares the cells filled with prisoners to “small animal cages” we are shown that he recognizes the inhumane way in which the whole lot of waders and magistrates are behaving with such hateful treatment.
We all have knowledge; it is what we do with it that makes us fail or succeed. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is presented with a choice; she can gain knowledge by eating the fruit from the tree of good and evil, or live in ignorance. She chooses knowledge, resulting in her exile from the garden. This parallels Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story, “By the Waters of Babylon,” in which the protagonist, John, is forbidden to seek knowledge, but his internal desire is to seek this knowledge and the truth. Benet’s story is written in the first person narrative, which helps the reader gain insight into John’s simplistic mind. Through this point of view, Benét highlights Man’s thirst for knowledge and the truth.