1. How does Wheatley characterize Africa different from how Angelou characterizes it in her poem?
My analysis of how Phillis Wheatley's description of Africa is different from of how Angelou described in her poem. I was able to find their views concerning this subject, Phillis Wheatley's "on being brought from Africa to America" and Angelou's "Africa".
When I read Wheatley's work I drew the conclusion that since she referred to Africa as a pagan land she found her "being brought" to the America as a liberating experience. Let's look at the first stanza,
"I was mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
taught my benighted soul to understand
that there's a God, that there's a Savior too".
Reading this tells us that she found her liberty in her faith since many of her writings makes the reader think that how she was so immersed by the religious teachings, and regardless the circumstances that made her life tough. She was able to see her presence in America and exposure to the education as…show more content… Thus she has lain Black through the years"
These words portray how Angelou viewed Africa. Further reading of this poem gives the reader idea of Angelou's emotional state concerning Africa let's look at another stanza
" Took her young daughters sold her strong sons churched her with Jesus bled her with guns. Thus she has lain."
Her analogy of blood and then mentioned the daughters and sons as if she thought of Africa as the fatherland.
In my analysis this was due to how they both Wheatley and Angelou experienced America. One took it as a blessing and tried to find that mechanical solidarity following the positivist theory and in the case of Angelou it's a tune of a