Historical Fiction In The Underground Railroad
History and historical fiction are virtually identical, realistically only being separated by one major difference; history is an account of the past, presented through facts while historical fiction recognizes the facts but is flexible with the author’s use of fiction. At face value, historical fiction appears to be virtually pointless; why would fiction be relevant in history, a recollection of the past based on facts? A historical novelist, Steve Wiegenstein, discussed the purpose of historical fiction in his writing “Understanding the Past” where he states, “We turn to historical fiction not for a comprehensive understanding of an era or event but for a sense of what the lived experience of that era would have been like; not for what happened, …show more content…
History today is generally taught as overview of a specific time period, recognizing things that happened in the past but never plunging farther than material on the surface. Colson Whitehead’s novel, “The Underground Railroad” uses the concept of historical fiction to stress an interpretation of history through fictional humanization and other literary devices, motivating emotional appeal in the reader with a specific story, albeit fictional. By developing pathos, novels resembling Whitehead’s are able to give the world a new account of history—one that is likely to be more memorable due to the influence on human appeal. While the novel uses fiction to explore history, it does so without taking away the reality of history, using the facts presented in the story to build logos. Historical fiction novels allow the reader to explore outdated philosophies by presenting the information from a different perspective with pressure on having an authentic mindset from the time. Historical fiction authors such as Whitehead use the idea of “entertainment” value, better described as emotional appeal (pathos) to their advantage, manipulating the reader into learning details from a historical time period that they wouldn’t otherwise obtain from a textbook. The genre breaks down extensive topics such as slavery into individual accounts that are representative of the overall ideas in history, without overwhelming the reader with seemingly endless content. While at first glance historical fiction seems to be a rather trivial concept, with further examination it proves to be much more complex, using literary devices to leave the reader with an unforgettable view of
Examples Of Violence In Frederick Douglass
1636 Words | 7 PagesJust Versus Unjust Violence: A Rhetorical Analysis of Violence in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Uncle Tom’s Cabin Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe present slavery in vastly distinct ways. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, author Frederick Douglass dives into a grisly world filled with bloodshed and in the middle of it a man willing to do what it takes to be educated and in control of his own person, narrated with the voice of reason. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, author Harriet Beecher Stowe depicts a variety of characters, their struggle with slavery and religion, their personal relationships, and their deep inner feelings, with no small degree of emotion and sentimentality. Douglass and Stowe’s use of
Octavian Nothing Traitor To The Nation Summary
913 Words | 4 PagesIn the novel, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party, by MT Anderson, follows a young boy named Octavian. This book is set in Boston in the 1700s. As a 13-year-old, Octavian’s mother is bought as a slave by Mr. Gitney, the head of the college, as a 2-for-1 deal. Mr. Gitney is conducting an experiment at his college, the College of Lucidity. He is trying to figure out if an African American could be as intelligent as white royalty if they are provided with the same education.
Rhetorical Strategies In Freakonomics
1658 Words | 7 PagesThe authors use pathos to grab us by our emotions and make us want to keep reading about such a historically powerful but terrible group. To do so they use powerful, livid, and emotional language. Levitt and Dubner help us to remember how terrible the Ku Klux Klan was and the repulsive things they did to not just “black people” but to human beings that did in no way deserve what they had to go through during slavery and even after with language that appeals to the senses. “The early Klan did its work through pamphleteering, lynching, shooting, burning, castrating, pistol-whipping, and a thousand forms of intimidation” (52). Levitt and Dubner start right off the bat using a rhetorical strategy called appeal to pity by very vividly listing the things the Ku Klux Klan did to their victims.
The Underground Railrod And The Abolitionist Movement
171 Words | 1 PagesThe Abolitionists were people that were against slavery, and the group was dedicated to the cause of getting rid of it. Most of abolitionists were from the North, and the Abolitionist movement started in the 1830s. The Underground Railroad is the most thought of when we think of the Abolitionist Movement. The Underground Railrod helped fugitive slaves from the south, get to the North. Most of the slaves that went through this process made it to their destination, and became free African Americans like they had wanted to be.
History In Jane Yolen's Briar Rose
948 Words | 4 PagesA novel can influence our understanding of history. I strongly agree with this statement. A historical novel is a novel that has as its setting a period of history and attempts to convey personal experiences and historical events to historical fact. The novel Briar Rose (1992) written by Jane Yolen is an example of a historical novel. Briar Rose influences our understanding of the Holocaust and allows a reader to gain an understanding of how a human who went through the Holocaust deals with and shares their experiences.
The Underground Railroad Essay
1358 Words | 6 PagesThe Underground Railroad. A metaphor as it was, it was neither a railroad nor was it even underground. In the time where slavery became a divided issue with the status of legality in various parts of the country, the underground railroad found its beginnings through collective organized efforts from abolitionists and allies alike to help enslaved African americans to escape to territories and states where they could be free from slavery. It was a loosely-developed system that also included series of routes led by “conductors” such as Harriet Tubman, for escaping slaves, or “passengers”.
Human Nature In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
1105 Words | 5 PagesIn life, humans have many different traits that describes themself. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass shows life a slave in the nineteenth century. In the story, Douglass brings us back in time to show his experiences of the hypocrisy of human nature. Disputes with Douglass and his masters are seen throughout the story showing both the good and bad traits of human nature. American literature of the nineteenth century reveals that human nature embodies contrasting traits such as love and cruelty through the uses of literary devices.
Frederick Douglass Use And Abuse Of Power Essay
498 Words | 2 PagesThe Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.
Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay
854 Words | 4 PagesThe idiosyncratic style Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass depicts the discriminatory actions of postcolonial slave owners in the southern United States, which reflects their greed for unpaid labor on their plantations. He employs the metaphor of the book that their masters prohibited them from owning by law throughout the memoir to demonstrate the avarice that drives white slave owners to turn a darker-skinned, intelligent being into a machine for personal benefit for centuries after the colonization of America. Also, the irony further displays the power of greed by expressing the slaveholder’s uncivilized method of forcing another human out of civilization. Furthermore, his use of a paradox of the use of pure religious beliefs to justify a slaveholder’s inhumane treatment reveals their rapacious actions that contradict the teachings of the church.
Frederick Douglass An American Slave Rhetorical Analysis Essay
732 Words | 3 PagesBy appealing to the emotions of the reader, Frederick Douglass can build his argument of how awful slavery was and how the slave owners used Christianity to justify what they did. In the book, Narrative of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, the author uses his language to bring meaning to what he is writing. He creates an emotional connection to the reader using pathos, and builds his argument using the credibility of others, using ethos. In his book he uses his words to prove his argument to the reader of how the slave owners would use Christianity to justify slavery and violence, and how slavery affected everyone who was
Literary Devices In The Underground Railroad
1642 Words | 7 PagesLiterature is often credited with the ability to enhance one’s understanding of history by providing a view of a former conflict. In doing so, the reader is able to gain both an emotional and logistical understanding of a historically significant event. Additionally, literature provides context that can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the political climate of a time period. Within the text of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead’s, the use of literary elements such as imagery, metaphor, and paradox amplifies the reader’s understanding of early 19th century slavery and its role in the South of the United States of America. Throughout the novel, Whitehead utilizes a girl named Cora to navigate the political and personal consequences of escaping slavery, the Underground Railroad, and her transition
Ahistorical Elements In The Underground Railroad
1621 Words | 7 PagesThe novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is full of ahistorical elements. In a book about slavery in America, his use of ahistorical elements results in a commentary on racial discrimination and abuse in a unique, narrative way. He portrays every state differently, using each of them as an example of a different type of discrimination. South Carolina is represented as a “progressive” and modern state, with new and innovative ideas on how to treat slaves. It even has the Griffin Building to represent its modernism, even though that wasn 't built historically until 1910.
Inhuman Traffick
933 Words | 4 PagesGraphic histories allow once bland, and sometimes hard to comprehend text, to transform into a detailed account of history through colorful images. The illustrations in the graphic history give reality to the emotional pain and physical torture slaves endured on the slave trade, and give a better perspective and raw feeling than what a simple paragraph of text gives. These images allow the text to come to life, which can help with feeling the emotions, fears, etc. of those going through the hardships of the transatlantic slave trade. The story of Thomas George and his wife Sarah is told in the primary sources. It once again is told, but also shown in the graphic history portion of the book, and fully portrays the raw emotion of both Thomas and Sarah.
Frederick Douglass Negative Effects On Slaves
753 Words | 4 PagesFrederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.
Analysis Of Amistad's Orphans: An Atlantic Story Of Slavery
2077 Words | 9 PagesIn the 19th century the prevalence of slavery had a major impact on the lives of many. The violence, torture, and the overall unhuman lifestyles each African American had to endure is unimaginable when looking at society today in the 21st century. Still, even though it is difficult to fully understand what each and every slave had to go through during the time of white supremacy, there are many novels that help us better understand and sympathize with the African American community. Many books, movies, and stories depict the lives of slaves and the various hardships faced during the gruesome period, however, these stories are often shaped around the hardships of African American adults. Amistad’s Orphans: An Atlantic Story of Children, Slavery,
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