Early African-American Literature
The traditions of storytelling in African-American cultures have a long and varied history. They originate in the myths and folktales told by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the eighteenth century. They then expanded in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to include a wide range of literary works by people from all walks of life—slaves to senators, preachers to politicians–to describe their socio-cultural experience and their environment. Included in this collection of literary works are slave narratives and autobiographies; collections of letters and correspondence; non-fiction writings in the social sciences, especially history, and sociology; novels, short stories, plays, and films; and a legacy of poetry that stretches from Phyllis Wheatley to Tupac Shakur Through their works writers sought to portray the lives and contributions of African Americans to American societies. They played upon the realism and irony of the African-American condition and communicated the depth and range of personal and communal expression in the African-American community to the world. In all of these styles of literature people of color emerge as the conscience of the American community. Write short answers, [3-5 sentences] for each of the questions below. Each answer is worth 25 points toward a maximum score of 125 points. A well-written short answer should identify significant themes addressed in each lesson.
1. How did Sundiata Keita overcome his childhood handicaps to eventually become the ruler of the empire of Mali?
2. Why did African-American writers in the 18th and 19th centuries use poetry to address the issues of slavery?
3. Why are the narratives of former slaves, such as Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Keckley, and Solomon Northrop important contributions to African-American literature?
4. What factors and life experiences aided Frederick Douglass in his attempt to escape from slavery?
5. What did W.E.B. DuBois mean when he used the term “double consciousness” to describe the experience of Negros in the United States?
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