Essays on Slavery

Claude McKay’s work is an authentic representation of the Harlem Renaissance and the struggles of racism and prejudice in the 1920s. The poem “If We Must Die,” written by McKay in 1919, demonstrates the theme of fighting against oppression by using the symbolism of war,…

Andrew Marvell’s “Ametas and Thestylis Making Hay Ropes” is an entertaining critique of the limitations in the 16th century. The oppression applied by the those who occupied power on literature had deeply influenced the characteristic of classic literature that is still being analyzed and as…

Sex trafficking is one of the greatest threats to America’s growing population. This criminal industry is responsible for the enslavement of millions around the globe, and the number of victims is steadily on the rise. The experiences that these victims have to go through are…

One film that I’ve seen recently, which I think deserves merit is the movie Harriet. According to IMDb, this film is based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic African American freedom fighter. Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from…

Introduction The Islamic Revolution is a historic event that is often portrayed in many inaccurate stories. Marjane Satrapi, the author of Persepolis shares with her readers a true insight of not just what the Islamic Revolution was but what it was like to live in…

In an excerpt from his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he argues that by giving slaves the access to learn how to read and write they will be empowered with freedom through determination from ignorance. In his essay, Douglass expresses how he…

In the novel, Kindred by Octavia Butler, the perspective of the author was told through Dana, the protagonist of the novel. It initially started as she found herself in a dangerous situation where she needed to save a boy, named Rufus, which is in imminent…

During a time in which slavery played a large role in the structure of the United States, people were beginning to realize its negative effects on the people centered around it. Thus creating a group of people known as abolitionists. Among these people was Frederick…

What was it like to be born into slavery and to be treated lesser than the dogs on the plantation? Many people speculate this question and could not imagine how horrible it could have been to be a black person in the slavery era. Harriet…

Drip, drop; drip, drop. The sound of the sweat pouring down a young boys’ face brings to light a larger issue of dangerous work for young kids. From 1870-1900, children worked in unsafe conditions that led to a loss of limbs and overall health. Minors…