.ju

The writers we read this week actually have very different thoughts, despite the fact that Equiano’s work is also significant as a voice of the minority, here I will discuss the prominent difference between Wheatley and Apess.

Apess and Wheatley are both the minority in the society; however, they seem to focus on fairly different aspects in their works. Apess’s work, An Indian’s Looking-Glass For The White Man starts with a series of statements that God creates people by the image in its mind equally; thus, it is not the right of us to judge and decide who is better than the others. On the other hand, Wheatley expresses her gratitude to God for being brought to America and sees this as a way to redeem from where she came from. It feels like Apess senses a line between himself and the white man, but Wheatley feels accepted. It makes me wonder if Wheatley really feels this way, or it’s because of her religion, or the purpose of her writings?

Notes on the week’s discussion of the term “civilization” 

Both authors connect the idea of civilization with the issue of race, but in rather different ways. Apess expresses with a sarcastic and serious tone to the white men, that they are not on the same level, they are living different kinds of lives. The way Apess addresses “the civilized” is to develop the idea that those who are not white are being discriminated against and wrongfully put. On Wheatley, in her letter to George Washington, addresses her purpose in the position as an American citizen, and mentions she was writing the letter by “taken the freedom.” Different from Apess, Wheatley has her patriotic spirit for America, her words are not separating but uniting. “Civilized” may be used as rhetoric, a sarcastic tool of language for Apess as he tries to express his views, but Wheatley appears to use civilization as a universal appeal and a relatable issue (America especially), to develop her views on human rights and freedom.