The Harlem Renaissance and Slave Narratives - 1431 Words

The Harlem Renaissance began around the 1920’s and was the hub of African American artistic endeavors, with less discrimination, more freedom, and amazing strides in politics and economics which was very different from how the slaves lived and hoped, but there still were similarities like a will for a better life, and hope for the future which both embraced even though they were in a dreadful position. Of course there also are differences, in this case that Harlem writers and artist were more educated and saw education as a stair way towards progress and equality, where the slave authors didn’t have education and didn’t care about it, the second difference is their purpose and their audience which are both different in the slave narratives†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps, for myself, I was soon reduced so low here that it was thou ght necessary to keep me almost always on deck.† Here Equiano explains to us the condition and atmosphere that the slaves are in, but fails to tell us what he thought of the white men who had allowed him on the deck. If Equiano had been educated like most of the Harlem Renaissance writers he could have written a magnificent narrative. Unlike the slave narratives the Harlem writers like Langston Hughes wrote stories and poems which were full of artistic creativity and were complex unlike the slave narratives. In the poem The Weary Blues† Hughes informs the readers (black or white ) about the Blues which was a style of music invented by African-Americans around the end of the nineteenth century, typically expressed sorrow and was influenced by the struggles of the previous generations of African Americans. â€Å"Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night by the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway, he did a lazy sway.† From the two examples you can see that Hughes’ poem is much more sophisticated and that it has a lot moreShow MoreRelatedThe Influence Of The Harlem Renaissance On African American Literature1144 Words   |  5 PagesThe Affect of the Harlem Renaissance on African American Literature The second half of the eighteenth century introduced a new expression to the literary world. The new expression was a voice that belonged to the African American writers. The African American writers wrote with a flair and brought a new perspective to the realm of literature. 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