Slaveholder's God vs. God of the Enslaves. The Dualism of Christianity in "Clotel" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
PAYBACK Punkte
0 °P sammeln!
Bachelor Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Tubingen (English Department), language: English, abstract: Slaves' Christianity and Slaveholders' Christianity in the United States were not the same - far from it. In many ways, they were opposites. Given the importance of Christianity in society at the time in general, but also specifically in discourse about the topic of slavery, this begs the question: How are these different ideas of Christianity depicted in slave novels of the time and what purpose do they se...
Bachelor Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Tubingen (English Department), language: English, abstract: Slaves' Christianity and Slaveholders' Christianity in the United States were not the same - far from it. In many ways, they were opposites. Given the importance of Christianity in society at the time in general, but also specifically in discourse about the topic of slavery, this begs the question: How are these different ideas of Christianity depicted in slave novels of the time and what purpose do they serve? This bachelor thesis examines how these very different ideas of Christianity are depicted in two select antebellum slavery novels: "Clotel; or, The President's Daughter" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The thesis argues that both novels depict both sides of Christianity (pro- and antislavery), but do so in a way that highlights 'True Christianity' as fundamentally opposed to slavery and thus, both novels craft an abolitionist argument on the grounds of Christianity. Over the duration of slavery in the United States, religion always played a large role in the discourse surrounding it. In an early example of criticizing the institution of slavery on religious grounds, Virginian planter William Byrd, in 1736, wrote a letter to an English correspondent stating that Parliament should "put an end to this unchristian traffick of makeing merchandize of our fellow creatures". A sentiment that was shared by others, such as the American Quaker John Woolman who was a traveling minister and, in that function, "urged his fellow Friends to emancipate their slaves and thus quit their involvement in an injustice that was irreconcilable with Christianity". This line of thinking, however, was far from being generally agreed upon. Entirely converse arguments were also frequently made on grounds of faith. "Early theologians helped to create a justification for slavery along Biblical lines". They did so "On the basis of supposed differences in God-given intellectual and physical abilities [and] ... argued that enslaved blacks simply lacked the necessary control over themselves, their thoughts, beliefs, and passions". This line of thinking allowed those in favor of slavery to understand slavery as something that is not an evil, but in fact good for slaves themselves as, therefore, the slave system was seen as "a benevolent tool that would actually help to improve on the morally, culturally, and intellectually depleted African".
Andere Kunden interessierten sich für
