Critical Lens Experts - New Historical #3 B.H

Toni Morrison's book Beloved references Frederick Douglass' book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in a variety of ways to the reader. Frederick Douglass was an ex-slave in the United States (1800s) and became an influential writer in the North. His book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was his autobiography and is considered to be the most significant African-American works from the 1800s. Douglass knew most of his audience would be white so he didn't publish his book as an "attack to America" but to give the white audience the knowledge of slavery itself. He uses actual evidence in his autobiography of slavery work and treatment instead of writing emotional slavery songs, while in some sections in the book Beloved, Paul D sings one of his songs. Around the time Beloved was published, Morrison could have put any slavery song without the fear of some uproar with the citizens of the U.S, while in Douglass' era it wasn't wise to write them in his autobiography. Morrison uses the songs not to inform the reader about the cruelty of slavery but shows what the characters have gone through in Sweet Home and other places. She relies the songs from Douglass' book to give the reader more than general view of slavery's brutality. The reason why Douglass never included any songs was because it was viewed as "a testimony against slavery and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains." Connection to New Historicism, Africans carried their rich culture to the U.S more importantly their songs. These songs have many uses; singing them while doing chores, show emotion, and hearing the history of Africans. For Africans, songs were a way to lead to freedom and to communicate with each other. These songs, known as spirituals, were passed from one group to another which give information about pathways to freedom without white people knowing what they are talking about. In one's mind, the songs could mean abut going to heaven but in different meanings, it could mean going up North for freedom or the dangerous path to freedom. A very smart concept during slavery to give other Africans very crucial information.