From Ignorance To Enlightenment Wheatleys OBBAA - Literature Essay Samples

West African autochthon Phillis Wheatley employs her tactful methods of writing to convey a subtle but powerful message in her poem †On Being Brought from Africa to America† (1773). At a very young age, about 7 or 8, Phillis was enslaved and brought to America as chattel, with the inability to read and write. Four years later, Phillis was able to read and write in English and Latin, demonstrating how intellectually precocious she was. She soon began writing poems on various topics such as religion, morals, and death. Phillis was inspired by Neoclassical writers, such as Alexander Pope, and often referenced stories of that time. In her poem OBBAA, she expresses her gratitude for being taken to America from Africa, but she does so in a sardonic tone, thus addressing racial inequality, and religion. The opening of OBBAA finds Phillis Wheatley showing gratitude and describing the circumstances of her metamorphosis: â€Å"Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land; /Taught my benighted soul to understand† (143; 1-2). Wheatley uses the term â€Å"Pagan land,† to describe her native land of Africa, and she uses the word pagan, because her native land was devoid of Christianity. This is the reason she says that it was â€Å"mercy† that permitted her to be enslaved, because in it that enslavement she became acquainted with Christianity. The word â€Å"benighted† is used in the second line, which means to be overtaken in darkness in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance. This word draws a parallel between Phillis’s race which was black, and her ignorance of the religion of Christianity. Although the use of the word benighted seems to infer that those of the African race were inferior to whites, what Phillis actually meant is that they were ignorant of the wonders of Christianity, not of everything. Later on in the poem Phillis is seen continuing to explain why being in bondage in America was in a sense, better than being in Africa: â€Å"Taught my benighted soul to understand/ That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too/ Once I redemption neither sought nor knew† (2-4). In these lines Wheatley juxtaposes the words â€Å"benighted soul,†and â€Å"Saviour,† in order to show how even herself, an ignorant black person, was saved. Once again Wheatley emphasizes how christianity gave her a newfound chance at redemption, from the â€Å"benighted† situation that she was in. She does this in line 4, when she says that at a certain juncture in time, she â€Å"neither sought nor knew† redemption. Although subtle, the message that she was trying to send to slaves in this line, was that through Christianity anyone can be saved. Phillis Wheatley clearly describes how some people view blacks, which was in a disdainful way: â€Å"Some view our sable race with scornful eye/ ‘Their colour is a diabolic die’† (5-6). In these lines Wheatley accurately shows how negro life was perceived by white slave owners, and whites in general. The last main point of this poem is begun in these lines, where Wheatley brilliantly juxtaposes the words â€Å"our sable race,†which means black, and â€Å"diabolic die.† She uses this juxtaposition to show even though white people visually see the black race as a diabolic dye,she still is unified with them, as seen by the words â€Å"our sable race.† The visual darkness on black people that Wheatley says the white people call a diabolic dye, is also compared to the moral and intellectual darkness that Wheatley talks about, when she calls her soul,â€Å"benighted.† The poem is making a swing back around to connect its main ideas. Although OBBAA was written to convey a message, the most potent section in it comes with the last two lines:†Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain/ May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.† Wheatley’s positioning of the words â€Å"Christians,† and â€Å"Negros,† is extremely important to her point. By positioning those words right beside each other, and right after the imperative â€Å"Remember,† Wheatley put Negros and white Christians on an equal playing field. She subtly pointed out that Negros weren’t perfect, but also that neither were those white-enslaving christians. She even makes an allusion to the bible, saying that even those who are as bad as Cain, the first person to ever commit a murder, can be â€Å"refin’d and join th’ angelic train.† Although Phillis Wheatley did not blatantly and directly criticize white-enslaving Christians, her method of subtly calling them out might have been the best course of action for an african-american during her time. Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American to write a book of poems, and get them published. She had no predecessors’ works to look back and improve upon. Considering this fact, Phillis Wheatley made a brilliant move to use subtle methods and get her point across in OBBAA. This poem is just one of the multitude of masterpieces that have made Wheatley a great contributor to African-American progress. Works Cited Phillis, Wheatley On Being Brought from Africa to America. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Valerie A. Smith, New York: Norton, 2014. 143-144. Print.

Reflection of Student life in her Career Path - 825 Words

Reflection of Student life in her Career Path (Essay Sample) Content: NameInstructor CourseDatePersonal ReflectionStudents are future leaders in all the spheres of life hence the current quality of a student will predict students career path and bright future. Every student dreams to have the best job in the world, although to achieve our dream there are many challenges we have to encounter in our journey to success. In this class, I have come to appreciate that there are certain qualities am expected to uphold and possess before I qualify to become a better student. In this class, I have learned that there are three qualities that have to possess to become a better writer. First, in order to become a better writers I have to be passionate, possess the willing and the ability to learn new and challenging course. This reminded me that immediately after graduating from high school, I had opted to consult people around me to help me discover myself on what I am good at. At this time, I thought I was good at computer programming, and I alwa ys tried to figure out how to make programs by understanding the basics of creating a program. I then decided to pursue my career dream by applying Computer Engineering Technology at Middle Tennessee State University. Two weeks after enrollment I have come to realize that am supposed to take three units in calculus. Bearing in mind that mathematics was my weakest subject from high school, I decided to change my major and give priority to a major that has fewer mathematics units. After this class, I have come to realize I did a mistake to quit from my first major because I would not have become a better writer without the willingness and the ability to learn new and challenging subjects.Secondly, in this class have learned that I need to be perceptive, which is the ability to perceive and interpret meanings from a debate or a conversation. In this case, I should always perceive the correct meaning from a lecture, discussion, or a conversation. Moreover, this class has enlightened me on the importance of understanding the initial thought of another writer or a speaker and making a right conclusion. Thirdly, it has come to my realization that I should always ensure I understand class concepts rather than memorizing. After a personal research, have come to appreciate that theories and facts I memorize will only stay in my memory until I leave college. Once out of college, I have totally forgotten the core theories and concepts I learned. In this class, I have known that am a better writer because I understand concepts rather than memorizing. From all the classes, I have learned that I should be self-disciplined and possess excellence academic skills. In this context, academic skills include the ability to write effectively, to speak fluently, read comprehensively, and communicate clearly. In addition, I have appreciated the importance of academic skills with special emphasize on the essence of communicating clearly. To this end, communicating clearly is essent ial in every aspect of life. Effective communication especially in class has eliminated dissatisfaction, misunderstanding, and confusion hence making me shine in all the classes. With effective communication skills, I have necessary skills to counter human resource challenges, the financial, and be in a better position to express myself in interviews. Additionally, effective communication skill has created a sense of independent immediately after graduating. Thus, communication skills have served as my foundation to academic, social, and political success. Nonetheless, I realized I can work as a public relation officer in companies and writes magazine articles. Secondly, in all my classes I have learned that I have self-discipline. This has enabled me to manage my time and avoided delaying tasks such as reading textbooks, writing assignments am...