Topic > Analysis of Phillis Wheatley's message in the poem about being taken from Africa to America

Religion, particularly Christianity, offers Phillis Wheatley an outlet to communicate and influence her audience. Religion was a topic that Wheatley could easily relate to with her audience considering the vast differences between her and her audience. She was a former slave, a reformed savage saved by God, and they (her audience, i.e. the white Christians of America) were an elite, superior to Phillis Wheatley in every way. Despite the notable differences between her and her audience, Wheatley readily embraced and accepted their religion, Christianity, without imparting criticism or emphasizing the hypocrisies within Christianity. However, Wheatley's new religion did not prevent her from addressing the injustices of slavery in her poetry. In “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” Wheatley seeks to promote Christianity and, at the same time, accentuate redemption, so as to covertly insinuate the meaning of equality and the belief that all African Americans are capable of being saved. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The opening four lines of Wheatley's poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" ​​affirm the tenets of Christianity: "'Twas mercy brought me from my heathen land, taught my darkened soul to understand that there is a god, there is also a savior: once upon a time I neither sought nor knew redemption” (Wheatley). 'Africa - a blessing and a free act of compassion from God himself. Wheatley's grateful gaze is a modest recognition of the virtues of a Christian country like America, he defines it. mercy brought me from my pagan land” (Wheatley). Furthermore, he suggests that the discovery of God and Savior was what allowed the redemption of his soul during this time period and appreciated his poetry considering that Wheatley openly praised and promoted Christian values. Wheatley deserves credit for slavery having had a positive influence on her life because it led her to discover Christianity; his Christian faith was pure and unadulterated, yet his faith was the only safe topic Wheatley could address to interact with his audience. Using the topic of her faith and religion to relate to her audience allowed Wheatley to subtly use Christian wordplay and language to portray the message she wished to convey without being denounced by white Americans. It uses the phrase “Mercy Brought Me” and the title “On Being Brought” (Wheatley) to significantly de-emphasize the violent nature with which she was kidnapped from her home, endured horrendous conditions during her journey to America and the inhumane way in which she was sold into slavery. On another note, Wheatley's choice of words could be interpreted as a refutation of the power of the white people who captured and enslaved her; he does not give up on them but gives all the credit to God. In the last four lines of "On Being Brought from Africa to America", Wheatley installs the idea of ​​equality among all races: "Some view our black race with a scornful eye , “their color is a diabolical die.” Remember that Christians, Negroes, black like Cain, can be refined and join the angelic train” (Wheatley). parallel between the racist idea that.