Here are two tracks from MN rappers that are in the genre of personal narrative. Both deal with the issue of representation in interesting ways.
In POS's track "De la Souls", he calls himself "the new generation of slaves". What would it mean to be the new generation of slaves? To what extent are certain communities denied rights or privileges in a way analogous to slavery in the early history of our country?
In "Win Some Lose Some", Brother Ali discusses his own experiences growing up as a a picked-on and looked-down upon young man. In "Picket Fence", he describes his life growing up.
Both tracks deal with the issue of representation in interesting ways. How does POS represent himself? As part of what group? What about Brother Ali? Given his stage name and the content of his music, how would you label the group to which Brother Ali belongs? What constitutes membership in this group?
Showing posts with label personal narrative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal narrative. Show all posts
Monday, February 25, 2013
Thriving, Striving, Masculinity and Power
Here is the track "Prizefight" from Doomtree member Mike Mictlan. I post it here because it picks up on themes common to Frederick Douglass's personal narrative and the song itself is partially a personal narrative.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Douglass's Narrative, Continued
One question to be considered when reading Douglass's narrative is whether he is a good example of an Faustian, individual, striving hero. Is he more victor or more victim?
We pick back up the narrative after Douglass returned to the plantation after the death of one of the owners. He laments the poor condition of his grandmother with simple, repetitive language. It is suggested that Douglass has a preoccupation with manhood and power and that the limited role of women in the story creates a disconnect between his narrative and women. This is related to the question of who is being represented by Douglass's story. Who is represented? Who is excluded from the representation?
Dr. Jarratt then considered the narrative's force as a testament or as a kind of documentation. In Ch. I, we read about the sexual violation of women and the difficulty of forging bonds for slaves. Later in Ch. X, he discusses a slave being bought to breed. In Ch. II, we get a description of life in the fields. It is a life of bare survival and constant work. In Ch. III, he describes the hunger and constant threat of violence. In Ch. VI, he focuses on the lack of legal protection.
One of his most striking rhetorical strategies is to talk about slaves as if they are animals. Slaves were dehumanized systematically. Also, slaves were divided by prejudice and judgment among the hierarchy imposed on them. Douglass also talks about the dehumanizing effects on the slave-owners as well, as Sophia Auld became nasty and mean to him after being exposed to slavery.
In Chapter X, we get the story of how Douglass has to overcome the slave breaker, Covey. He is sent to the slave breaker after it becomes apparent to his owner, Thomas, that he is not adapted to field work. In this chapter, he first finds himself broken in body and spirit, feeling like an animal himself. He tries to convince his owner to abandon slavery, but is unsuccessful. He then encounters other slaves who are his peers, such as Sandy Jenkins. He also begins to think of himself as one slave among many, and claims that he can "bear as much as any of them" (84).
How do the two preceding paragraphs show different facets of representation in Douglass's narrative?
From here on, he makes more of an effort to forge bonds with other slaves. He describes intense love and a feeling of being connected to other slaves (95). He also taught other slaves to read (94). Then he went back to Baltimore, where he worked with free and enslaved blacks together. Still, in such a place, white carpenters in particular were violent against blacks and the idea of abolitionism. As he moves closer to his own escape plan, he also gains more freedom with his time and actions. He makes a lot of money, but of course cannot keep any for himself, but he does go on strike in a way (109-110). He speculates that many slaves do not escape because they are too strongly bound to their fellow slaves (110).
Once escaped and in the North, Douglass is still taxed by challenges. He feels insecure and lonely. He tries to get the reader to sympathize with him. He notices generous and prosperous black people in the North, but he still has problems getting a job as a caulker. He then turns toward the political cause of abolitionism. He tells us of "another kind of freedom" when speaking in front of people.
We pick back up the narrative after Douglass returned to the plantation after the death of one of the owners. He laments the poor condition of his grandmother with simple, repetitive language. It is suggested that Douglass has a preoccupation with manhood and power and that the limited role of women in the story creates a disconnect between his narrative and women. This is related to the question of who is being represented by Douglass's story. Who is represented? Who is excluded from the representation?
Dr. Jarratt then considered the narrative's force as a testament or as a kind of documentation. In Ch. I, we read about the sexual violation of women and the difficulty of forging bonds for slaves. Later in Ch. X, he discusses a slave being bought to breed. In Ch. II, we get a description of life in the fields. It is a life of bare survival and constant work. In Ch. III, he describes the hunger and constant threat of violence. In Ch. VI, he focuses on the lack of legal protection.
One of his most striking rhetorical strategies is to talk about slaves as if they are animals. Slaves were dehumanized systematically. Also, slaves were divided by prejudice and judgment among the hierarchy imposed on them. Douglass also talks about the dehumanizing effects on the slave-owners as well, as Sophia Auld became nasty and mean to him after being exposed to slavery.
In Chapter X, we get the story of how Douglass has to overcome the slave breaker, Covey. He is sent to the slave breaker after it becomes apparent to his owner, Thomas, that he is not adapted to field work. In this chapter, he first finds himself broken in body and spirit, feeling like an animal himself. He tries to convince his owner to abandon slavery, but is unsuccessful. He then encounters other slaves who are his peers, such as Sandy Jenkins. He also begins to think of himself as one slave among many, and claims that he can "bear as much as any of them" (84).
How do the two preceding paragraphs show different facets of representation in Douglass's narrative?
From here on, he makes more of an effort to forge bonds with other slaves. He describes intense love and a feeling of being connected to other slaves (95). He also taught other slaves to read (94). Then he went back to Baltimore, where he worked with free and enslaved blacks together. Still, in such a place, white carpenters in particular were violent against blacks and the idea of abolitionism. As he moves closer to his own escape plan, he also gains more freedom with his time and actions. He makes a lot of money, but of course cannot keep any for himself, but he does go on strike in a way (109-110). He speculates that many slaves do not escape because they are too strongly bound to their fellow slaves (110).
Once escaped and in the North, Douglass is still taxed by challenges. He feels insecure and lonely. He tries to get the reader to sympathize with him. He notices generous and prosperous black people in the North, but he still has problems getting a job as a caulker. He then turns toward the political cause of abolitionism. He tells us of "another kind of freedom" when speaking in front of people.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Douglass's Narrative
The genre is a crafted autobiography. Slave narratives in particular were quite common, as there were over 100 book-length narratives. This genre has elements of literature and factual reporting. In American in particular, there is a tradition of personal narratives, starting with early Puritans who viewed themselves as God's elect. Narratives are related to Enlightenment themes of individualism and autonomy and the opportunity for new creativity in America as a frontier.
Abolitionist movements go back to 1775 in the United States. William Lloyd Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which ran The Liberator, a newspaper. Garrison advocated immediate emancipation, decried the Constitution as a pro-slavery document and believed in pacifism. Garrison does, however, use the language of the Declaration of Independence.
As an orator, Douglass is filled with sympathy because he was a slave himself. He gave hundreds of speeches between 1839 and 1845. As a fugitive slave, he was both a victim and a victor, which helped to represent black Americans as complex, noble and intellectual. Because he was such an accomplished orator, people assumed that he was not a slave, so there was pressure for him to reveal details about his life. Further pressure to reveal information about his life came from the desire to use former slaves as living evidence of slavery. However, fugitive slaves were put in danger if the details about their owners became public knowledge.
Rhetorical challenges of the slave narrative include the question of representation, the challenge of moving beyond mere spectacle and the integration of argumentation and personal narrative. Rhetoricians in the 19th century used a dramatic ethos to encourage critical analysis of issues and therefore support more formal arguments.
Douglass's story comes "packaged" in a "white envelope", meaning that white Americans authenticated his story and bolstered his credibility. What tension might there be between Douglass's own credibility and such attempts by white folks?
The structure of the narrative is like a dramatic story. We begin with rising action including a childhood in slavery and many trials and tribulations. Then he is sent to Baltimore and decides to free himself. Then he is taught to read and write, a pursuit which is interrupted and then pursued with vigor, as he saw it as his path to freedom. After setbacks by being sent back to the plantation, where Master Thomas owns him, he has a descent into hell. He is sent to a slave-breaker, he begs God to save him and he fights Covey, the slave-breaker. In the last chapter, he makes an aborted attempt to escape before finally succeeding.
There is a question about whether or not Douglass tells his story from an impulse to share or whether he is motivated by external pressure. Another tension, another question--perhaps, is whether the narrator identifies as writing from inside slavery or from an external perspective. His discussion of slave songs seem to indicate that he is outside of this experience. How might night help a white reader (especially a Northerner) to relate to his story? Douglass himself indicates on page 54 that withholding details can encourage wisdom. He himself is either unwilling or unable to express all the details of his story, particularly the emotional experiences he had.
Another important part of the narrative is Douglass's discussion of his development into a public intellectual as a method of gaining freedom. Having been taught to read by Sophie Auld, he found that literacy would be key to his eventual freedom. He also began to informally teach and guide young black boys in his community. One question is whether his striving and thriving can be read as sympathetic with the struggle of black women.
Abolitionist movements go back to 1775 in the United States. William Lloyd Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which ran The Liberator, a newspaper. Garrison advocated immediate emancipation, decried the Constitution as a pro-slavery document and believed in pacifism. Garrison does, however, use the language of the Declaration of Independence.
As an orator, Douglass is filled with sympathy because he was a slave himself. He gave hundreds of speeches between 1839 and 1845. As a fugitive slave, he was both a victim and a victor, which helped to represent black Americans as complex, noble and intellectual. Because he was such an accomplished orator, people assumed that he was not a slave, so there was pressure for him to reveal details about his life. Further pressure to reveal information about his life came from the desire to use former slaves as living evidence of slavery. However, fugitive slaves were put in danger if the details about their owners became public knowledge.
Rhetorical challenges of the slave narrative include the question of representation, the challenge of moving beyond mere spectacle and the integration of argumentation and personal narrative. Rhetoricians in the 19th century used a dramatic ethos to encourage critical analysis of issues and therefore support more formal arguments.
Douglass's story comes "packaged" in a "white envelope", meaning that white Americans authenticated his story and bolstered his credibility. What tension might there be between Douglass's own credibility and such attempts by white folks?
The structure of the narrative is like a dramatic story. We begin with rising action including a childhood in slavery and many trials and tribulations. Then he is sent to Baltimore and decides to free himself. Then he is taught to read and write, a pursuit which is interrupted and then pursued with vigor, as he saw it as his path to freedom. After setbacks by being sent back to the plantation, where Master Thomas owns him, he has a descent into hell. He is sent to a slave-breaker, he begs God to save him and he fights Covey, the slave-breaker. In the last chapter, he makes an aborted attempt to escape before finally succeeding.
There is a question about whether or not Douglass tells his story from an impulse to share or whether he is motivated by external pressure. Another tension, another question--perhaps, is whether the narrator identifies as writing from inside slavery or from an external perspective. His discussion of slave songs seem to indicate that he is outside of this experience. How might night help a white reader (especially a Northerner) to relate to his story? Douglass himself indicates on page 54 that withholding details can encourage wisdom. He himself is either unwilling or unable to express all the details of his story, particularly the emotional experiences he had.
Another important part of the narrative is Douglass's discussion of his development into a public intellectual as a method of gaining freedom. Having been taught to read by Sophie Auld, he found that literacy would be key to his eventual freedom. He also began to informally teach and guide young black boys in his community. One question is whether his striving and thriving can be read as sympathetic with the struggle of black women.
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