Discussion: "Early Abolitionist Art and Literature"

Respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Explain whether you think an autobiographical or fictional account by a slave (such as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano) is more persuasive than a biographical or fictional account by a white author (such as John Gabriel Stedman or Aphra Behn). Explain whether you believe the representations of slavery in the visual arts (such as William Blake's illustrations, William Hackwood's cameo, or John Singleton Copley's painting) were more compelling and convincing of the injustices of slavery than the literary representations already mentioned. In your explanations, use specific examples and consider both audience and the content and nature of the work. Identify the literary or art form in modern times that you think is most effective at depicting injustice.

Explore:

Early Abolitionist Art & Literature

• Chapter 26 (pp. 870-2): Equiano, Stedman, Wheatley, Behn; Chapter 26 (pp. 877-879): Equiano and Behn
• Wheatley.
• Chapter 26 (pp. 870-873): Blake, Hackwood, Copley.